25 Spelling

25

Spelling

Misspelled words are among the most common errors for many student writers. Be sure to pay attention to spelling as you edit and proofread your papers, and keep a dictionary close at hand. Misspellings can make your paper appear carelessly written. Use the tips in the accompanying box and the basic spelling rules that follow to help improve your spelling.

25a Remember to put i before e except after c or when pronounced as an a, as in neighbor and weigh

i before e: achieve, thief

except after c: conceive, receive

or when pronounced as an a: freight, their

Memorize the exceptions, such as either, foreign, height, leisure, neither, seize, and weird.

TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR SPELLING

  • Purchase a collegiate dictionary and take the time to look up the correct spellings of unfamiliar words.
  • Use your word processor’s spell-checker function. Be sure to take advantage of the spell-checker as you edit and proofread your drafts. However, keep in mind that this function will not catch all spelling errors; for example, it cannot detect the incorrect use of it’s versus its or of homonyms such as there versus their and weather versus whether. (See 25d for a list of homonyms.)
  • Proofread your drafts for spelling errors. To avoid being distracted by the flow of ideas in your essays, proofread them backward, from the last word to the first, looking only for misspellings. For words that sound alike but have different spellings (to/too/two, their/there), stop to check their use in the sentence and determine whether you have used the correct word.
  • Keep a list of words you commonly misspell. Whenever you catch spelling errors in a draft or see misspellings marked by your instructor in papers returned to you, add the words to your list. Use your dictionary to locate the correct spelling and pronunciation of each word in the list. Review your list of words periodically, and practice pronouncing and writing the words until you master their correct spellings and usage.
  • Develop a spelling awareness. As you read and write, pay attention to words and how they are spelled. When you encounter a new word, pronounce it slowly and carefully while taking note of its spelling. Try to create a mental image of each word, especially words with silent letters or unusual spellings.

25b Add -s or -es to form the plural of most nouns

Singular common nouns ending in -s, -ch, -sh, or -x form the plural by adding -es. Nouns ending in -o usually form the plural by adding -s when the -o follows a vowel or -es when the -o follows a consonant.

Add -s:

professor, professors zoo, zoos

Add -es:

sandwich, sandwiches hero, heroes

To form the plural of common nouns ending in -y, change the y to i and add -es when the y is preceded by a consonant. Add only -s when the y is preceded by a vowel.

story stories day days
baby babies key keys

Compound nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es to the most important word or, when all the words are equally important, to the last word of the compound.

mother-in-law mothers-in-law
passerby passersby
stand-in stand-ins

Proper nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es without changing the noun’s ending.

Thursday Thursdays
Mr. and Mrs. Jones the Joneses

image

25c Drop, keep, change, or double the final letter when adding endings to some words

Drop the silent e when adding an ending that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u). Keep the silent e when adding an ending that begins with a consonant.

hope hoping care careful
force forcing encourage encouragement
advise advisable love lovely

For words that end in y, change the final y to i before adding an ending when the y follows a consonant. Keep the final y when the y follows a vowel, when the ending is -ing, or when y ends a proper name.

study studies buy buyer
marry married marry marrying
Fahey Faheys

Exception: Drop the final y whenever you add -ize.

memory memorize
category categorize

When adding an ending to one-syllable words, double the final consonant if the ending starts with a vowel and the final consonant follows a single vowel. Do not double the consonant when two vowels or a vowel and another consonant precede it.

hop hopped pair paired
trek trekked rent rented

When adding an ending to words with two or more syllables, double the final consonant if a single vowel precedes it and the stress falls on the last syllable.

transmit transmitted
refer referral

Do not double the final consonant when two vowels or a vowel and another consonant precede it.

react reacted
redeem redeeming

Do not double the final consonant if the ending starts with a consonant.

commit commitment
regret regretfully

25d Watch out for homonyms, groups of words that sound the same but are spelled differently

The following list includes some commonly confused groups of words.

Homonyms Examples of Usage
accept (to take or receive) Most stores accept credit cards.
except (other than) Everyone has arrived except Harry.
affect (to influence) The new law will affect us.
effect (the result, outcome) The effect of the storm was frightening.
allusion (a reference to) The poem contained an allusion to Greek mythology.
illusion (a fantasy) Josette is under the illusion that she is famous.
already (by now) Marguerite is already in class.
all ready (fully prepared) Geoffrey is all ready.
cite (to refer to) Be sure to cite your sources.
sight (vision, or a tourist attraction) Her sight is failing.
site (a place) We visited the site of the accident.
complement (to complete, a counterpart) The side dishes complement the main course.
compliment (praise) Allison received numerous compliments.
elicit (to bring out) The film elicits an emotional response.
illicit (illegal) The sale of illicit drugs is prohibited on campus.
its (possessive of it) The show has found its audience.
it’s (contraction of it is) It’s too late to go back.
lead (verb: to guide or direct) Professor Hong will lead the discussion group.
led (past tense of verb lead) Professor Hong led the discussion group.
lead (noun: a heavy metal) Lead poisoning is dangerous.
loose (not securely attached) The button was loose.
lose (to fail to keep) I often lose my keys.
principal (most important, or a head of a school) The citizens’ principal concern is educational costs.
principle (a basic rule or truth) This principle should govern all of your actions.
their (possessive of they) The students brought their books to class.
there (in that place, opposite of here) There is the bus.
they’re (contraction of they are) They’re early.
to (toward) Please move to the front of the class.
too (also, or excessively) Sal is coming too.
two (following one) The two speeches were similar.
who’s (contraction of who is) Who’s taking a cab?
whose (possessive of who) Whose book is this?
your (possessive of you) Your experiment is well designed.
you’re (contraction of you are) You’re passing the course.

25e Watch out for commonly misspelled words

absence

accept

accessible

accidentally

accommodate

accuracy

achievement

acquaintance

acquire

amateur

analysis

analyze

apologize

apparent

appearance

argument

ascend

athlete

attendance

beginning

believe

benefited

boundary

Britain

bureaucracy

business

calendar

cemetery

changeable

characteristic

column

committee

conceive

conscience

conscious

convenience

criticism

criticize

curiosity

deceive

decision

definitely

descendant

disappearance

disappoint

disastrous

discipline

efficiency

efficient

eighth

eligible

embarrass

emphasize

environment

especially

exaggerate

excellence

exercise

existence

experience

explanation

familiar

fascinate

February

foreign

forty

fulfill or fulfil

government

grammar

guarantee

harass

height

humorous

hypocrisy

imagination

immediately

incredible

inevitable

intelligence

interest

irresistible

judgment

knowledge

laboratory

leisure

length

library

license

lightning

loneliness

maintenance

maneuver

marriage

mathematics

miniature

mischievous

necessary

niece

ninety

noticeable

occasionally

occurrence

omission

originally

parallel

particularly

permissible

physical

picnicking

pleasant

possible

practically

precede

preference

prejudice

preparation

prevalent

privilege

probably

proceed

professor

pronunciation

psychology

quantity

quiet

receive

recognize

recommend

reference

referred

relieve

repetition

restaurant

rhythm

ridiculous

roommate

sacrifice

schedule

secretary

seize

separate

sergeant

several

similar

sincerely

sophomore

succeed

successful

summary

surprise

tendency

thorough

through

tragedy

truly

unanimous

usually

vacuum

vengeance

villain

weird

writing

25f Be alert for words that are formed from the same root (they may have different spellings) and for words with silent letters

heir/heredity

aisle

pneumonia