Many writers find a large number of English words tricky to spell. We have added short notes to help you remember the right spelling.
| abscess | sc in the middle, two s’s at the end |
| abseil | ends with -seil (not -sail) |
| accommodate, accommodation, etc. | two cs, two ms |
| accumulate, accumulation, etc. | two cs, one m |
| achieve | i before e |
| acquaint, acquire, acquit, etc. | remember the c before the q |
| address | two ds |
| aggressive, aggression, etc. | two g’s, two s’s |
| all right | two words (not alright) |
| a lot | two words (not alot) |
| amateur | ends with -eur (not -uer) |
| anaesthetic | -ae- after the n |
| Antarctic | remember the c after the r |
| apartment | only one p |
| apparent | ends with -ent (not -ant) |
| aqueduct | e after the u (not aqua-) |
| archaeology | -ae- after the h |
Arctic |
remember the c after the r |
| argument | no e after the u |
| artefact | arte- (arti- is the US spelling) |
| asterisk | ends with -isk (Asterix is a cartoon character) |
| attach | ends with -ach (no t) |
| beautiful, beauty, etc. | remember the u (not beat-) |
| belief, believe | i before e |
| benighted | no k in the middle |
| besiege | i before e |
| biased | only one s |
| bigoted | only one t |
| blatant | ends with -ant (not -ent) |
| brief | i before e |
| broccoli | two cs, one l |
| buoy, buoyant | u before the o |
| cappuccino | two ps, two cs |
Caribbean |
one r, two bs |
| ceiling | e before i |
| cemetery | 3 vowels, all es |
| civilian | only one l |
| coconut | -co- in the middle (no a) |
| commemorate | two ms, then single m |
| commitment | two ms, one t in the middle |
| committee | two ms, two ts |
| comparative | -rative (not -ritive) |
| compatible | -tible (not -table) |
| competent | ends with -ent (not -ant) |
| conceive | e before i |
| consensus | -sensus (not -census) |
| contemporary | ends with -porary (not -pory) |
| correspondence | ends with -ence (not -ance) |
| cursor | ends with -or (not -er) |
| deceive | e before i |
| definite | -ite (not -ate) |
| descendant | ends with -ant (not -ent) |
| despair | begins with des- (not dis-) |
| desperate | -per- in the middle (not -par-) |
| detach | ends with -ach (no t) |
| diarrhoea | two rs, ends with -hoea |
| disappear | one s, two ps |
| disappoint | one s, two ps |
| disastrous | ends with -trous (not -terous) |
| discipline | remember the c after the s |
| dissect | two s’s |
| ecstasy | ecs- (not x), ends with -asy |
| eighth | two hs, ends with -hth |
| embarrass, embarrassment, etc. | two rs, two s’s |
| environment | remember the n before the m |
| espresso | begins with es- (not ex-) |
| estuary | -tuary (not -taury) |
| exaggerate, exaggeration | two gs, one r |
| except | remember the c after the x |
| exhilarate | -lar- in the middle (not -ler-) |
| existence | ends with -ence (not -ance) |
| extraordinary | begins with extraor- (not extror-) |
| extrovert | begins with extro- (not extra-) |
| familiar | only one l |
| fascinate, fascination | remember the c after the s |
| February | two rs (-ruary not -uary) |
| fierce | i before e |
| fluorescent | fluor- (not flour-) |
| foreign | e before i |
| forty | begins with for- (no u) |
| friend | i before e |
| fulfil, fulfilment | two single ls |
| gauge | -au- (not -ua-) |
| glamorous, glamorize | -mor- in the middle (no u) |
| government | remember the n before the m |
| graffiti | two fs, one t |
| grammar | ends with -ar (not -er) |
| grateful | begins with grate- (not great-) |
| grief, grieve | i before e |
| guarantee | -ua- (not -au-) |
| guard, guardian, etc. | -ua- (not -au-) |
| hamster | ham-, (not hamp-) |
| handkerchief | remember the d |
| harass, harassment, etc. | one r, two s’s |
| hers | no apostrophe |
| hierarchy | i before e, ends with -archy |
| hindrance | ends with -drance (not -derance) |
| homogeneous | the ending is -eous, with an e |
| honorary | -nor- in the middle (no u) |
| humorous, humorist | -mor- in the middle (no u) |
| hygiene, hygienic | i before e |
| idiosyncrasy | ends with -asy (not -acy) |
| imaginary | ends with -ary (not -ery) |
| immediately | ends with -ately (not -atly) |
| inadvertent | ends with -ent (not -ant) |
| independent | ends with -ent (not -ant) |
| inoculate | one n, one c |
| insistent | ends with -ent (not -ant) |
| instalment | one l |
| interrupt, interruption | two rs |
| introvert | begins with intro- (not intra-) |
| irrelevant | two rs, ends with -ant |
| itinerary | ends with -ary (not -ery) |
| jocular | ends with -ar (not -er) |
| judgement | use judgement in general contexts, judgment in legal use |
| kernel | ends with -el (not -al) |
| knowledge | remember the d |
| language | -guage (not -gauge) |
| liaise, liaison | remember the second i: liais- |
| library | two rs (-rary) |
| lightning | lightn- (no e) |
| liquefy | -efy (not -ify) |
| maintenance | -ten- (not -tain-), ends with -ance |
| manoeuvre | -oeu- in the middle, ends with -vre |
| medicine | begins with medi- (not mede-) |
Mediterranean |
one d, one t, two rs |
| millennium | two ls, two ns |
| millionaire | two ls, one n |
| miniature | remember the a after the i : minia- |
| minuscule | -uscule (not -iscule) |
| mischievous | i before e, ends with -vous (not -vious) |
| misspell | two s’s |
| moreover | remember the middle e |
| necessary, necessity, etc. | one c, two s’s |
| negotiate | ends with -tiate (not -ciate) |
| niece | i before e |
| noticeable | remember the middle e |
| occasion | two cs, one s |
| occur | two cs, one r |
| occurrence | two cs, two rs |
| omission, omit | one m |
| opportunity | two ps |
| ours | no apostrophe |
| parallel | two ls in the middle, ends with one l |
| parliament | -lia- in the middle |
| pejorative | begins with pej- (not perj-) |
| perceive | e before i |
| permanent | ends with -ent (not -ant) |
| persistent | ends with -ent (not -ant) |
| pharaoh | ends with -aoh (not -oah) |
| pigeon | no d before the g |
| Portuguese | ends with -guese (remember the 2nd u) |
| possess, possession, etc. | two s’s in the middle and two at the end |
| potato | no e at the end of the singular (but add -es to make the plural) |
| privilege | ends with -lege (not -ledge) |
| pronunciation | -nunc- in the middle (no o) |
| propaganda | begins with propa- (not propo-) |
| protein | e before i |
| publicly | ends with -cly (not -cally) |
| pursue, pursuit | begins with pur- (not per-) |
| questionnaire | two ns, one r |
| rarefied | rare- (not rari-) |
| receive | e before i |
| recommend, recommendation, etc. | one c, two ms |
| refrigerator | no d |
| relevant | ends with -ant (not -ent) |
| relief, relieve | i before e |
| religious | ends with -gious (not -gous) |
| restaurateur | no n: -rateur |
| resuscitate | -susc- in the middle (not -suss-) |
| rhythm | begins with rhy-, ends with -thm |
| rigorous | -gor- in the middle (no u) |
| risotto | one s, two ts |
| sacrilege | -rilege (not -relige) |
| Scandinavian | -din- in the middle (not -dan-) |
| seize | e before i |
| separate | -par- in the middle (not -per-) |
| siege | i before e |
| sieve | i before e |
| skilful | two single ls |
| success, successful, etc. | two cs, two s’s |
| supersede | -sede (not -cede) |
| suppress | two ps |
| surprise | begins with sur- (not sup-) |
| tariff | one r, two fs |
| temperature | -pera- in the middle |
| theirs | no apostrophe |
| thief | i before e |
| threshold | one h in the middle |
| tomato | no e at the end of the singular (but add -es to make the plural) |
| tomorrow | one m, two rs |
| truly | no e |
| underrate | two rs in the middle |
| unforeseen | remember the e after the r |
| until | just one l at the end |
| unwieldy | i before e |
| usage | just one e, at the end |
| vaccinate | two cs |
| vegetable | vege- (not vega-) |
| veterinary | -er- in the middle; -ary at the end |
| vulnerable | remember the l before the n |
| Wednesday | remember the d before the n |
| weird | e before i |
| wield | i before e |
| wilful | two single ls |
| withhold | two hs in the middle |
| yield | i before e |
| yours | no apostrophe |
