Spelling Errors

At a glance 10 rules

1. 1The i-before-e ruleWrite ie (achieve, friend), but ei straight after c (receive, ceiling, receipt). Learn the rule-breakers: seize, weird, foreign, height.
2. 2Doubling before -ed, -ingDouble the last consonant only when the stress falls on it: occurred, beginning; not offered, visited. British spelling still doubles l after one vowel: travelled, cancelled.
3. 3Silent eDrop a final silent e before a vowel suffix (hoping, writing) and keep it before a consonant (hopeful). Exceptions to learn: argument, truly, ninth.
4. 4Keeping e in -eableKeep the e before -able or -ous when it keeps c or g soft: noticeable, manageable, changeable, peaceable, courageous.
5. 5Prefix plus rootJoin a prefix without adding or dropping letters: mis + spell = misspell, un + necessary = unnecessary, dis + satisfied = dissatisfied, dis + appear = disappear.
6. 6Final yAfter a consonant, y turns to i (replied, happiness), but it stays before -ing (studying, carrying) and after a vowel (enjoyable, played).
7. 7Double-letter trapsTwo double pairs: accommodate, embarrass; committee has three (mm, tt, ee). One c, two s: necessary. One c, two m: recommend. One m, two r: tomorrow. One r: harass.
8. 8Sound out every letterSay the skipped letters: environ-ment, govern-ment, Wed-nes-day, sep-a-rate. Don't add any: maintenance (not maintainance), pronunciation (not pronounciation).
9. 9Endings you cannot hear-ful has one l: careful, grateful (not great-). -ence and -ance, -ent and -ant sound alike, so learn each word: existence, independent, relevant.
10. 10Judge each word aloneCheck each word at its risky spot: double letters, ie or ei, the ending. Odd-looking words such as questionnaire and maintenance are often right.