12 words which can be difficult to spell
Are there certain words or phrases which always trip you up?
I’ll hold my hand up 🙋♀️ and admit that extra concentration is always needed when writing it’s/its. Don’t ask me why, but I always want to add the apostrophe 😬
Thankfully, it’s (see what I did there) something I’ve been aware of for years, so can now keep an eye on what I’m writing.
When it comes to words with weird or difficult spelling, mnemonics (patterns and associations) can be helpful.
Back in school, I learned the correct way to spell stationery (the word relating to paper products in an office as opposed to the word describing something which has stopped).
“E is for envelope”
An envelope is an item of stationery, therefore the word ends ‘ery’ not ‘ary’. By default, the vehicle which has stopped is stationary.
It’s brilliant, and so simple.
Here are 12 more words which can be difficult to get right…
1. Argument
Is it argument or arguement? I lost an ‘e’ in an argument.
2. Bare or Bear?
To be naked is to be bare, whereas a bear is a brown furry animal. Bear also means to carry something, so remember it by thinking of a grizzly bear carrying something heavy.
3. Believe
I do not beLIEve a lie.
4. Cemetery
Does it end with ‘ery’ or ‘ary’? This spooky word has three e’s altogether, like screaming “eeek”!
5. Descendant
When you’re descended from a particular ancestor, does the word descendant end with ‘ent’ or ‘ant’? Aunt is a relative, so ‘ant’.
6. Desert or dessert?
A desert is sandy (‘s’), a dessert pudding is strawberry shortbread (‘ss’).
7. Embarrass
We get confused with this word, but make sure you don’t forget any rr’s or ss’s and you’ll never be embarrassed.
8. Hear or Here?
You HEAR with your ear.
9. Its or It’s?
Its means ‘belonging to it’ (I can see its teeth) whereas it’s is short for ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ (it’s cloudy, it’s got 2 eyes).
10. Lose or Loose?
When you’ve lost a competition, you lose (lose also means you’ve misplaced something), so lose the extra ‘o’. Loose means that something has escaped or is not confined.
11. Misspell
One ‘s’ or two? The word is actually just mis + spell, but to make it easier remember that ‘Miss Pell never misspells’.
12. Rhythm
Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move. LOVE this one, and it makes a difficult word so easy.
One final note of caution
If you’re in the UK, watch out for US spelling when using spell checkers.
The default is often ‘English US’, so ensure (make certain it happens, not insure which is to issue an insurance policy) that you switch it to ‘English UK’ otherwise you could get gray instead of grey and color instead of colour!
Phew!