A language is made of twists and turns, and more often than not, it manages to fool us with grammatical and spelling rules. These linguistic regulations are set through time and however confusing they may be, they cannot be changed, we can only accept, learn and remember.
You will find below the top ten most common spelling mistakes people make when using English. Some of these will sound obvious to you, others may be surprising, but the bottom line is to remember the correct spelling of these mischievous words.
1. The famous they’re/ there / their
These three words have different spellings, different meanings, and are used in different contexts but they all sound the same!
TIP
Remember the context in which each word is used:
- They’re is short for they are
- There is to describe a location, like here
- Their describes possession for a group of people, similar to his, her, our.
This type of mistake is also made with the words you’re and your. Remember, you’re is short for you are and your is belonging to you.
2. i before e, except after c rule:
This rule only applies for words with the sound ‘ee’, such as achieve, believe, piece, thief,chief, priest and yield. However, if the sound comes after the letter c, e is usually placed before i. This is applied on the following words: ceiling, deceive, perceive, receive, receipt.
But the English language has a mind of its own, and this rule includes many “weird” exceptions: caffeine, codeine, foreign, forfeit, leisure, neither, seize, …
And to make the rules even more confusing, certain words have ie after c… to name a few,ancient, conscience, efficient, sufficient…
TIP
Use the rule as a general guide in most cases and learn the exceptions!
3. The e before suffix rule
One of the simplest rules, as it has very few exceptions. The rule goes as follows:
- Remove the final e before a suffix that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u):
ride -> riding; hope -> hoping; guide -> guidance; - Keep the final e before a suffix starting with a consonant:
care -> careful; use -> useless; peace -> peaceful - Keep the final e before a suffix, when the root word ends in ‘ee’ or ‘ye’:
agree -> agreeing; guarantee -> guaranteeing; eye -> eyeing - If the root word ends in ‘ge’ or ‘ce’, and the suffix is either ‘able’ or ‘ous, the letter e is kept:notice -> noticeable; outrage -> outrageous;
- Keep the e if the suffix is ‘-ment’
advertise -> advertisement; involve -> involvement; replace -> replacement
4. Effect /affect rule
Easy rule to learn!
- Effect is a noun meaning ‘a result’: ‘The rain had no effect on the show’.
- Affect is a verb meaning ‘to influence on’: ‘The rain didn’t affect the show’.
5. The suffixes –ant /-ent rule
They are frequently mistaken because they both sound the same. This is a tricky one as there is no rule! Just remember:
- If the suffix can be -ment, then the end of the word is spelt –ent:
management, agreement, placement,etc - For the rest, you must rely on your memory! The most common mistake with this rule is with the word independent. It has e, not a!
6. On the same lines as the previous rule, the letter a often sneaks in the word definitely. Remember it’s definitely, not definately.
7. It’s separate, and not seperate! A great way to remember is “2 eas -y” i.e. 2 x e and 2 x a
8. The double consonant rule
In words such as accommodate, embarrassment and misspell:
- accommodate: remember, 2 C’s and 2 M’s. The world is big enough to accommodate two C’s and two M’s!
- embarrassment: remember, 2 R’s and 2 M’s. Avoid the embarrassment, and don’t forget to put two R’s and two M’s!
- misspell: how embarrassing to misspell the word describing the problem? Remember to cut the word in half: it’s mis + spell. Easy!
9. February.
Yes, this word is a trap. Some people know that the word contains the letters R and a U somewhere, but are unsure of their positions; and others don’t know at all.
- So, to make it clear for everybody, straight after ‘Feb’, stick an R and a U, and finish off the word as planned.
- It’s F-e-b-r–u-a-r-y. Not Febuary, not Febrary and certainly not Febryuary!
10. A lot.
There are a lot of people that make this mistake, and write it as one word.
It’s not alot, it’s a lot. They are two separate words, so remember to put a space.
If you think about it, the same rule applies to a little, a bunch and a chicken wing!
So there you have it! Ten BIG mistakes that many people make every day so we are not alone! Unfortunately, they also make a BIG impression.
So keep a watchful eye, think twice and always check the dictionary; it’s a small detail that makes a big difference!