The English language can be tricky and has plenty of words that are easy to misspell. Case in point – I just had to make sure how you spell the word “misspell”. Hey, nobody’s perfect! Do you think you can correctly spell some of the most commonly misspelled words in English? Our quiz will test your knowledge. In the meantime, learn the crucial spelling rules and check out a few typical misspellings in the English language.
There are several fundamental spelling rules everybody should know. They make it so much easier to remember how to spell certain words. It’s worth noting that many rules come with some exceptions. It will be beneficial for you to learn them.
The first rule is “U always follows Q”. There are some exceptions to this, but almost always, the letter u follows the letter q. Examples could be words such as queen, queue, earthquake.
The second rule is “S never follows X”. Many words are pronounced with an “s” sound after the letter x, which leads to spelling mistakes. The rule states that the letter s never goes after the letter x. Instead, the letter c is used to achieve the “s” sound. Examples are: excite, excel.
The third rule states that “Every syllable includes a vowel”. Every word has at least one vowel in every syllable. Most one-syllable words with short vowels only require one vowel. When spelling a word, say it aloud to determine the number of syllables. Examine your work to ensure that each syllable contains at least one vowel. If not, reconsider how you spelled it. Some syllables may have a vowel digraph, a pair of vowels that form one sound.
The fourth rule is “I before E except after C”. In words such as niece, cashier, achieve, the letter i comes before the letter e. The exception is when i and e follow the letter c, like in the words conceit, ceiling, or if the vowel pair makes a long “a” sound, such as in neighbor or weigh.
The fifth rule is “Use -ck after a short vowel”. In words ending with the “k” sound, you use “ck” after a short vowel, for example in the words duck, suck, tick. Other than that, the world should end with k (sulk, balk, beak).
The sixth rule states that one-syllable words should end with double f’s and double l’s. The only exception is words that end with a consonant blend, such as whirl or wharf.
The seventh rule is that one-syllable words should usually end with two s’s. There are some exceptions to that rule, for example, plural words that end with the letter s have only one s.
Drop the silent E before most suffixes – states the eight rule. Many words end with a silent “e”. In American English, it should be removed when we add a suffix starting with a vowel. The silent “e” should be kept when adding -able (like in the word capable), or when a word ends with two e’s.
The ninth rule says we should keep all letters with a vowel, -y ending. Just add the suffix to the original word when adding a suffix to a word that ends with a vowel and a “y.” There will be no need to change or remove any letters. Because the final two letters of the original word are a vowel followed by a “y,” the word jockey becomes jockeying or jockeyed.
As the tenth rule states, we should remove “l” from “all” as a prefix. The word “all”, when written by itself, has two l’s, but when we use it as a prefix, it only has one “l”. Examples of this rule include: always, also, almost.
Apostrophes go where letters are removed. Proper apostrophe placement in contractions is critical for spelling. An apostrophe should be placed exactly where a letter is missing (or multiple missing letters). The apostrophe in the word “can’t,” for example, represents the missing letters “n” and “o” from the word cannot.
Proper nouns must be capitalized – this is yet another rule of spelling. Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, or things. Africa, Georgia, Empire State Building, Microsoft, Agatha Christie, Oreos – these are all examples of proper nouns. Proper nouns are specific labels, and whenever someone’s name or the official title is being used, these nouns must be capitalized.
Another rule states not to end a word with V or J. There are no commonly used words that end with those letters. If you’re spelling a word that ends with a “v” sound, there must be a silent “e” on the end, as with hive or jive. Words that end with a /j/ sound are typically spelled with -dge at the end, such as judge or edge.
Time to see if you can spell some of the most commonly misspelled words in English. Are you ready? Get down to the questions and test yourself! Good luck!