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General Spelling Rules

General Spelling Rules

If you’ve ever felt afraid to write without a spell checker, this lesson is for you. While you should definitely keep spell check turned on, here are a few simple rules to boost your spelling confidence.

“I” Before “E”

Did you ever learn the rhyme, “I before E except after C, or when sounded as A, as in neighbour  and weigh”? That mnemonic makes this rule easy to remember, so let’s look at some examples:

  • chief
  • yield
  • niece
  • ceiling
  • receive
  • deceit
  • eight
  • vein
  • veil

Now, it’s time for some exceptions!

  • weird
  • foreign
  • leisure
  • science
  • efficient
  • ancient

Spell check will almost certainly correct you if you spell one of these words wrong.

Change -y to -ie when Pluralizing

If a word ends in -y when it’s singular, change it to -ie when you pluralize:

  • bunny bunnies
  • sky skies
  • party parties

When to Add -es to Pluralize

Generally, you make a word plural by adding -s to the end of  it. But with words that end in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, you add -es to make them plural.

  • bus buses
  • brush brushes
  • church churches
  • fox foxes
  • buzz buzzes

If the -ch is pronounced like a “k”, you pluralize by just adding -s.

  • stomach stomachs

Changing -f to -ves when Pluralizing

This is our last rule about plurals. Words that end in -f or -fe usually change their ending to -ves in the plural.

  • scarf scarves
  • knife knives
  • leaf leaves

Of course, there are exceptions:

  • chief chiefs
  • roof roofs

Words that end in -ff just add -s:

  • cliff cliffs
  • sniff sniffs

Doubling Consonants

When you add a suffix (ending) to a word, double the final consonant if the last three letters are consonant vowel consonant.

  • hop hopping
  • stop stopped
  • beg begging

There are many exceptions to this rule, so pay attention to your spell checker.

Adding -ly

Adding -ly to a word is very common when you’re forming adverbs. Generally, you just stick the -ly right on to the end of the word.

  • sad sadly
  • general generally
  • childish childishly

Now, it’s time for some exceptions!

If the word ends in -ll, just add -y:

  • full fully

If the word ends in -le, remove the -e and and -y:

  • capable capably

If the word ends in -y, remove the -y and add -ily:

  • angry angrily

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Differences Between American and British Spelling

Differences Between American and British Spelling

When you’re writing, it’s helpful to know where your client is from so that you can follow their preferred spelling. American spelling in used in the US, British spelling in used in other English speaking countries, and both versions are common in Canada. If your spell checker is set on American English it will generally not recognize British spellings, and vice versa.

-Or/-Our

Words that are spelled -or in American English are spelled -our in British English.

favorite favourite

honor honour

color colour

-Er/-Re

Words that end in -er in American English end in -re in British English.

theater theatre

center centre

liter litre

-Ize/-Ise

Words that are spelled -ize in American English are spelled -ise in British English.

pluralize pluralise

democratize democratise

civilization civilisation

-Yze/-Yse

Similarly, words that end in -yze in American English end in -yse in British English.

analyze analyse

paralyze paralyse

catalyze catalyse

-Ense/-Ence

Words that end in -ense in American English end in -ence in British English.

defense defence

license licence

pretense pretence

-Og/-Ogue

In American spelling, words can end in -og or -ogue. In British spelling they always end in -ogue.

catalog catalogue

analog analogue

epilog epilogue

-L/-Ll

Verbs that end in a vowel + -l do not double the “l” when adding suffixes in American English. The “l” is doubled in British English.

traveled travelled

pedaled pedalled

canceled cancelled

-Ed/-T

The past tense of single syllable words is formed by adding -ed in American English. It is formed by adding -t in British English.

spelled spelt

learned learnt

dreamed dreamt

Single/Double Vowels

Some words that are spelled with a single vowel in American English use two vowels British English.

leukemia leukaemia

maneuver manoeuver

encyclopedia encyclopaedia

Completely Different Spellings

Some words are just spelled differently in American and British English:

airplane areoplane

check cheque

curb kerb

jail gaol

program programme

pyjamas pajamas

tire tyre

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Commonly Misspelled Words

Commonly Misspelled Words

Spelling mistakes detract from your content by making you look unprofessional and sloppy. English has so many wacky spellings that it can be difficult to spell correctly. Here are some of the most commonly misspelled words so that you can make sure you’re spelling them correctly.

 

Accommodate

Amateur

Apparent

Argument

Basically

Beginning

Believe

Calendar

Cemetery

Column

Completely

Conscience

Conscious

Definitely

Dilemma

Embarrass

Exceed

Existence

Fahrenheit

Finally

Foreign

Forty

Friend

Gauge

Grateful

Guarantee

Guard

Harass

Height

Humorous

Ignorance

Immediately

Independent

Interrupt

Irresistible

Judgment

Knowledge

Leisure

Liaison

Library

Maintenance

Memento

Millennium

Miniature

Minuscule

Mischievous

Misspell

Necessary

Noticeable

Occasionally

Occurrence

Pastime

Perseverance

Persistent

Playwright

Possession

Precede

Preferred

Privilege

Pronunciation

Publicly

Questionnaire

Really

Receive

Recommend

Referred

Relevant

Religious

Resistance

Restaurant

Rhyme

Rhythm

Schedule

Separate

Siege

Successful

Supersede

Threshold

Tomorrow

Tongue

Truly

Twelfth

Tyranny

Until

Vacuum

Weird

Which

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Commonly Confused Words

Commonly Confused Words

English is full homophones — words that sound sound the same but are spelled differently. In this lesson, we’re going to sort out any confusion you may have with homophones and other commonly confused words.

It’s especially important to spell these words correctly because your spell checker might not realize that you’re using the wrong word.

Accept/Except

Accept means to take, receive, agree, or consent. Except means to exclude something.

I accept your love of sardines.

Gabrielle likes all pizza toppings except sardines.

Advice/Advise

Advice is a noun meaning opinion or recommendation. Advise is a verb meaning to offer advice.

My mother gave me good advice about shopping frugally.

My mother advises me to shop frugally.

Affect/Effect

Affect is a verb meaning to influence. Effect is a noun meaning the result. So when you affect something, you produce an effect.

Drinking coffee at 10PM affects my ability to sleep.

Late night coffee has a detrimental effect on my sleep.

Allowed/Aloud

Allowed means permitted. Aloud means not silent.

Hudson allowed his daughter to ride his skateboard.

I sometimes think aloud while skateboarding.

Allot/A lot/Alot

Allot is a verb meaning to divide, distribute, or give a portion of something. A lot means a large amount. Alot is not a word.

I will allot the left side of the garden to Vanessa.

There are a lot of plants in that garden.

Ascent/Assent

Ascent is a noun meaning a rise or climb. Assent is a noun meaning agreement and a verb meaning to agree.

Mt. Everest is a steep ascent.

Kane assented to waiting another day at the base camp.

Cite/Sight/Site

Cite means to quote. Sight means to see or the sense of seeing. Site means a location and is used to refer to websites.

Nina cited four different sources in this blog post.

Nina’s blog is dedicated to understanding sight.

Nina’s blog is my favorite site about science.

Complement/Compliment

Complement means go well together. Compliment is a nice remark. Complimentary also means that something is free.

Shane’s passion for blogging complements his skill.

He loves compliments about his writing.

Shane promotes his blog with complimentary giveaways.

Desert/Dessert

Desert is a piece of land that is extremely dry. Dessert is something sweet eaten after a meal.

If I were lost is the desert, I would look for chocolate first and water second.

Unsurprisingly, chocolate is my favorite dessert.

Its/It’s

Lay/Lie

Lay is a transitive verb, meaning that it must take an object (have something that it’s doing the action to). It means to put down. Lie is intransitive, so it doesn’t take an object. It means to recline.

Helena lay down her book.

Now she lies in the sun instead of reading.

In the first sentence, “book” is the object. In the second sentence, there is not object.

Now, it’s time for another complication. Laid is the past tense of  lay, and  lay is the past tense of lie.

Helena laid down her book.

Then she lay in the sun instead of reading.

Loose/Lose

Loose means not tight. Lose means to be deprived of or unable to find something.

These pants aren’t loose enough.

If I lose weight, they might fit, though.

Principal/Principle

Principal can be a noun or an adjective. As an adjective, it refers to the main or most important thing. Its meaning as a noun is similar; it means the head or leader of something. Principle is always a noun, and it refers to a fundamental idea or rule as well as beliefs and morals.

My principal concern is who will run the school.

Since the principal is the head of the school, that should be his job.

Yes, that’s the general principle.

But do you think his principles are good enough for the job?

Regardless/Irregardless

Regardless means without concern or attention. Irregardless is not a word. Regardless already means without regard, so irregardless would mean without without regard, which doesn’t make sense.

Martin, regardless of my advice, went to the library during the blizzard.

Than/Then

Than compares two things. Then indicates when something happened.

I like writing Facebook posts more than writing tweets.

I will write the Facebook posts and then the tweets.

Their, There, They’re

To/Too/Two

To indicates direction. Too means also. Two is the number 2.

I’m going to the basketball game.

Do you want to come too?

The two teams are both amazing.

Weather/Whether

Weather refers to the temperature outside. Whether is a conjunction used in choosing between two options and also expresses inquiry or investigation.

This is record-breaking hot weather.

I’m not sure whether we should go swimming at the lake or in the ocean.

Your/You’re

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Commonly Confused Expressions

Commonly Confused Expressions

You know that phrase that you mispronounced as a kid and have never quite figured how to actually say it. Well, now’s your chance.

180 Degree Turn (Not 360 Degree Turn)

There are 360 degrees in a circle, so if you make a complete turn or change, you turn 180 degrees.

Emily was going to buy a new house with her lottery money, but she made a 180 degree turn and donated all the money to charity.

Couldn’t Care Less (Not Could Care Less)

Saying “I couldn’t care less” means “I don’t care at all”. If you say “I could care less”, it sounds like you do care, which I bet isn’t what you mean.

I couldn’t care less about National Thread the Needle day.

For All Intents and Purposes (Not For All Intensive Purposes)

This phrase means “practically speaking”. It has intents and purposes, but not intensive purposes.

Max visits sometimes, but for all intents and purposes I live alone.

Literally (Used in the Wrong Situations)

Literally means it really truly happened.

If you’re reading this, you’ve never literally died.

Nip It in the Bud (Not Nip It in the Butt)

This phrase means “stop it early”. The “bud” is like a flower bud, something that’s young and hasn’t developed yet. That’s not the same as “butt”.

Patricia nips all unprofitable transactions in the bud.

Supposed To (Not Suppose To)

Yep, you’ve got to have that -d on the end of supposed.

Adrian is supposed to do his homework, but he prefers watching music videos.

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Semicolons

Semicolons

The Oatmeal calls semicolons “the most feared punctuation on earth”. If you’re afraid, don’t be! This lesson will be quick, easy, and solve your semicolon woes.

Join Independent Clauses

An independent clause is a complete thought with a subject and a verb; it can be a complete sentence. You can join independent clauses with either a comma and a coordinating conjunction, or with a semicolon

Comma and coordinating conjunction: Today we’re having lasagna for dinner, and I’m making apple pie for dessert.

Semicolon: Today we’re having lasagna for dinner; I’m making apple pie for dessert.

Comma and coordinating conjunction: Caitlin studies Russian literature, and she wants to be a professor.

Semicolon: Caitlin studies Russian literature; she wants to be a professor.

As you can see, both of these methods work, but sometimes one sounds better than the other.

Note: Sometimes, especially in lengthy sentences, writers use a semicolon with a coordinating conjunction to avoid confusion.

Join Independent Clauses with a Conjunctive Adverb

This is the same principle as above. If your second independent clause starts with a conjunctive adverb, you can join it to the previous independent clause with a semicolon, not with a comma.

Trevor is a pizza fiend; however, he appears to be too full to eat the last slice.

The weather forecast is awful; therefore we’re going to stay home this weekend.

Reduce Confusion in Lists with Commas

Look at this sentence:

I invited Karim, my best friend from high school, Maryam, my next-door neighbour, her sister, Sarah, and Yael.

How many people did I invite? If you have no idea, you’re right. In sentences like this, where there are modifiers set off by commas, it’s best to use semicolons to separate the items on the list.

I invited Karim, my best friend from high school; Maryam, my next-door neighbour; her sister, Sarah; and Yael.

Now it’s obvious that I invited four people.

That was pretty painless, wasn’t it?

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Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks

No one agrees about quotation marks. American usage is frequently the exact opposite of British usage, Canadians often form a hybrid, and exceptions abound. So, can you just do what you like with quotation marks? Well, not quite. Here are some rules that you do need to follow:

American Style: 5 Easy Rules

1. Enclose Direct Quotes in Double Quotation Marks

A direct quote is word-for-word and is not introduced by the word “that”.

Direct: Maurice said, “There will be croissants at brunch.”

Indirect: Maurice said that there would be croissants at brunch.

Double quotation marks look like this: “ ”

Words that you are trying to distinguish from the rest of the sentence can be put in double quotation marks, too.

I always misspell “embarrass” and “definitely.”

2. Place All Periods and Commas Inside Quotation Marks

 Whether or not this punctuation was part of the original material that you’re quoting, it goes inside the quotes.

“Their,” “they’re,” and “there” are commonly confused.

Hannah announced her intention “to systematize quotation mark usage once and for all.”

3. Place Colons and Semicolons Outside Quotation Marks

 Whether or not this punctuation was part of the original material that you’re quoting, it goes outside the quotes.

At the meeting, Mr. Suzuki revealed his “sure-to-succeed strategy”: blogging, networking, and advertising.

Cathy responded, “My music is only suited for sophisticated ears”; City Music Review considers this statement insulting.

4. Place Question and Exclamation Marks Where They Fit Logically

 If your quote is a question, place the question mark inside the quotation marks. If your sentence is a question, place the question mark outside the quotation marks. The same rules apply for exclamation marks.

Alexander asked, “Have you ever seen a wolf on the beach?”

Do you know who said, “We’re all worms, but I am a glow worm”?

The pirate bellowed, “Avast mateys!”

I published my poem “Blog Blues”!

5. For Quoted Material Inside a Quotation, Use Single Quotation Marks

“And then Phoebe said, ‘I’m busy on Friday too’,” sighed Amanda.

British Style: 5 Logical Rules

1. Enclose Direct Quotes in Single Quotation Marks

 Yep! That’s the opposite of American style.

Maurice said, ‘There will be croissants at brunch’.

Single quotation marks look like this: ‘ ’

Words that you are trying to distinguish from the rest of the sentence can be put in single quotation marks, too.

I always misspell ‘embarrass’ and ‘definitely’.

2. Place Periods and Commas Where They Fit Logically

 If the comma or period is part of what you’re quoting, place it inside the quotes. If not, place it outside.

“Their”, “they’re”, and “there” are commonly confused.

“I was reading about how important a  healthy lifestyle is,” said Jaques, “so I’m going to start exercising more.”

Hannah announced her intention “to systematize quotation mark usage once and for all”.

If the period could go inside or outside the quotes, place it outside:

My dad always said, “Eat your broccoli”.

3. Place Colons and Semicolons Outside Quotation Marks

This is exactly the same as American English! Whether or not this punctuation was part of the original material that you’re quoting, it goes outside the quotes.

At the meeting, Mr. Suzuki revealed his “sure-to-succeed strategy”: blogging, networking, and advertising.

Cathy responded, “My music is only suited for sophisticated ears”; City Music Review considers this statement insulting.

4. Place Question and Exclamation Marks Where They Fit Logically

Hey! This is the same as American usage, too! If your quote is a question, place the question mark inside the quotation marks. If your sentence is a question, place the question mark outside the quotation marks. The same rules apply for exclamation marks.

Alexander asked, “Have you ever seen a wolf on the beach?”

Do you know who said, “We’re all worms, but I am a glow worm”?

The pirate bellowed, “Avast mateys!”

I published my poem “Blog Blues”!

5. For Quoted Material Inside a Quotation, Use Double Quotation Marks

‘And then Phoebe said, “I’m busy on Friday too”’, sighed Amanda.

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Parentheses and Brackets

Parentheses and Brackets

Parentheses provide non-essential information in unquoted text. Brackets provide additional information in quoted text.

Parentheses

As with commas and dashes, you can use parentheses to insert some non-essential text into your writing. If the parentheses occur within a sentence, place the final period or comma outside the parentheses and don’t capitalize the first word in parentheses:

I encourage you to watch the show (the cast may be amateur, but they are talented).

The stage director approved of my performance (even though I thought it was awful), but suggested a different costume.

If the parentheses occur within a sentence, place exclamation and question marks inside them, but don’t capitalize the first word in parentheses:

I saw Olivia (is she your cousin?) at the ice rink today

My brother is the head chef at a restaurant that serves nothing but artichokes (yuck!).

When a whole sentence is in parentheses, place all punctuation inside the parentheses and capitalize the first letter:

I applied for a job with Google, but I’m almost certain I’ll be rejected. (Although my aunt’s friend’s cousin works there, so maybe that connection will help.)

Your sentence needs to make grammatical sense without the parenthetical part.

Wrong: Charles (and his dog) are cooking dinner.

Right: Charles (and his dog) is cooking dinner.

Brackets

Use brackets to insert your own writing into a quotes. They use the same rules of punctuation as parentheses:

Then she said, “I think we should invite her [Lucille], too”.

“It’s like deja-vu all over again [what?].

If you spot a mistake in the text that you’re quoting, italicize the word sic and put it in brackets after the mistake:

In her essay on Hamlet, May wrote, “‘To bee [sic], or not to be, that is the question.’”

If you change part of a quote, place the change in brackets.

Original: “I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”

Changed: “I say to you today, my friends, […] I still have a dream.”

Original:But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”

Changed: “[W]e cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”

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It’s, They’re, You’re

It’s, They’re, You’re

Now that you know the rules for apostrophes, it’s time to look at some common problems.

It’s vs. Its

It’s has a contraction because it’s short for it is or it has.

It’s -10C today.

It’s been great talking to you.

Its is possessive. Just like his, my, yours and other possessive pronouns, its doesn’t have an apostrophe.

Its face is so cute.

Its minty aroma is the perfect finishing touch.

They’re, Their, and There

They’re is a contraction of they are.

They’re going to the gym.

They’re my parents.

Their is the possessive form of they.

Their writing has improved immensely.

Their joke was my favorite.

There refers to a place or idea.

Eliza lives there.

There is some confusion about what I said.

You’re vs. Your

You’re is another contraction, and it means you are.

You’re my best friend.

You’re really going to New Zealand?

Your is the possessive form of you.

Your strawberry pie is irresistible

Your kindness is appreciated.

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Hyphens and Dashes

Hyphens and Dashes

Hyphens and Dashes look similar.

This is a hyphen: –

This is a dash: — (made by writing two hyphens)

Connect Words and Numbers with a Hyphen

You can combine two words with a hyphen to create a compound adjective or name:

I love ChineseAmerican food.

MaryLou ConwayRichardson had the longest name in her class.

Numbers from 21 to 99 are also written with a hyphen:

My greataunt Eileen is almost ninetyeight.

It’s Brad’s twentyfirst birthday next week.

Replace “To” with a Hyphen

Instead of writing “to”, you can use a hyphen.

Malachi took the Boston to New York City train.

Malachi took the BostonNew York City train.

I prefer temperatures in the 20 to 25C range.

I prefer temperatures in the 2025C range.

Substitute Other Punctuation with a Dash

Dashes are less formal than colons, semicolons, parentheses, commas and ellipses, but they can be used some of the same ways.

A dash can replace a colon, but only if it is not followed by a list.

Right: There’s only one person that I love in the whole universe: you.

Right: There’s only one person that I love in the whole universe you.

Right: Lee has three favourite sports: curling, water polo, and lacrosse.

Wrong: Lee has three favourite sports curling, water polo, and lacrosse.

In informal writing, you can replace a semicolon with a dash, if the two clauses are short and contrasting.

I’m vegetarian; my brother is a butcher.

I’m vegetarian my brother is a butcher.

Parenthetical (or non-restrictive) phrases can be set off by commas, parentheses, or dashes. These punctuation marks are not interchangeable, however.

In phrases that start with who or which, a commas is best.

Right: Dominic, who came in first place this year, began training at age five.

Okay: Dominic (who came in first place this year) began training at age five.

Bad: Dominic who came in first place this year began training at age five.

When the parenthetical phrase is an independent clause, you can’t use commas

Right: I was devastated about dropping all my china (my grandmother had given this heirloom set to me at my wedding), but I managed to salvage some of it.

Right: I was devastated about dropping all my china my grandmother had given this heirloom set to me at my wedding but I managed to salvage some of it.

Wrong: I was devastated about dropping all my china, my grandmother had given this heirloom set to me at my wedding, but I managed to salvage some of it.

Use ellipses or a dash depending whether you want to create a slow trailing off or a quick break.

Slow: I wonder where I put my keys…. Oh! I know!

Fast: I wonder where I put my keys Oh! I know

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