The following are some of the most commonly/easily misspelled words in English. For many of the words listed below, the common misspelled form of the word is in parentheses.
- a lot
(mistakenly written as alot) - all right
(mistakenly written as alright) - convenient
- definitely
(mistakenly written as definately) - dessert
(as in the sweet stuff, not the geographical term; mistakenly written as desert)
Tip: Remember that dessert has two s‘s because it tastes so good that we want more of it. - forty
(mistakenly written as fourty) - its
(for showing possession; mistakenly written as it’s, the contraction for it is) - lose
(as in “unable to find”; mistakenly written as loose) - mnemonic
- paraphernalia
- receive
(mistakenly written as recieve) - restaurant
(mistakenly written as restuarant, restraunt, and countless other ways) - separate
(mistakenly written as seperate) - truly
(mistakenly written as truely) - you’re
(contraction for you are; mistakenly written as your, which is for showing possession) - weird
- (mistakenly written as wierd)
Tips on How to Be a Better Speller:
- Do not rely too heavily on your computer’s spell checking program. While spell check may recognize receive written as recieve as incorrect, it will not alert you when you spell dessert as desert. If in doubt, consult a dictionary.
- If you find that you consistently misspell a word, practice writing it five or ten times the correct way. This will help you to remember the correct spelling the next time you use the word.
- Use mnemonic devices to help you remember tricky words. For example, remember this rule for spelling words like receive: i before e, except after c, or when sounded like a as in neighbor and weigh. For the exceptions to this rule, remember the following sentence: Neither financier seized either weird species of leisure.
- Read! By being an avid reader, you will be better able to recognize when the spelling of a word just doesn’t look right.
Dill_Weed: Thanks for sharing the link!
http://yourofficecareer.blogspot.com/ is terrible! That’s a college class??? Teachers are writing that! That’s funny.
For me, as a poet, it was very interesting!
http://yourofficecareer.blogspot.com/
If you want to see some terrible grammar, spelling, and punctuation, check out this blog. By the way, this blog is written by people with Baccalaureate degrees. This is an office administration program at a state college in Florida.
Andy, you are right. “Species” technically isn’t an exception. This is a sentence that I learned in school years ago as a way to remember the “i before e” rule. I think “species” may be considered an exception because the “i/e” combination is used to form the plural of a word, so it doesn’t fit in with the typical “i before e” words.
Alright. Your a truely convinient resource. This definately helps alot.
Sorry I meant the word species
Hello there. Why is the word receive the exception to the i before e except after c rule?
My 8th grade English teacher taught us “Neither the weird financier nor foreigner seizes leisure at its height.” I still say it today, on occasion, right along with “i before e…” And I was in 8th grade a LONG time ago!
Ahh, I can’t thank you enough!!!!
Thank you all so much! I have to write an important letter and these tips really helped. Thanks again!
Marge