Spelling Tricks

There are many words that are difficult to spell.  There are also a number of words that either look alike or sound alike, and it is difficult to remember when to use each one.  I have included some tips that help me remember how to spell many of the difficult words.  I have also included hints about when to use the homophones (words that sound alike) and homographs (words that look alike).  I hope these tips and tricks will help you, too!  

This list will continue to grow, so be sure to check back often!  Send in your suggestions!

There a lots of ways to remember how to spell words.  If you like to draw, you can draw a picture and "hide" words in the picture.  For example, draw a picture of a hot air balloon with the word "balloon" on it.  Draw a building below the balloon with the word "building" going up the side of the building.  Do you like codes?  Write your spelling words in code (a=1, b=2, etc).  Do you like music or poetry?  Make up a song or poem using your spelling words.  Many of the tips on this website involve using silly sentences to remember how to spell or use the words.  They are fun to create.  Have fun with words and you might find that spelling and grammar can be fun, too!

Commonly Misspelled Words

Absence is a very difficult word to spell.  The "s" and "c" are hard to remember.  To help you, try this phrase:  Her absence was absolutely the end of her career.

Academy can be confusing to spell.  It can sound like it has an "a" instead of an "e" toward the end.  To remember the "e", this phrase might be useful:  Eve will go to the academy to get an education.

Accident is often misspelled.  People often use just one "c" instead of the required "cc".  This phrase may help:  When cars collide they make a dent.

Accommodate trips me up.  I tend to use an "i" in place of that second "o", and I never remember that second "m".  I try to remember that "The ark can accommodate 2 alligators, 2 cats, 2 owls and 2 monkeys".

Acquire is another difficult word.  The "c" is easy to forget.  I try to remember it this way:  To acquire respect, you must act quite respectably.      

Address can trick you.  It contains two d's, not just one.  To remember how to spell it, this sentence may help:  Add the proper address to the envelope.

Advice is easily confused with advise.  To remember the "c" in advice, try this: The nice penguin gave me great advice about ice. 

Amateur has a strange mix of vowels at the end.  To remember the order of the vowels, pretend you are texting your friend, or in Australian terms, your "mate":  A mate u r!

Apparent can be tricky.  I sometimes forget the second "p".  Try this: It is apparent that this app was created for a picky parent.

Argument is difficult.  You want to add an "e" because the word argue has an "e".  This is a silly phrase to help you remember to get rid of the "e":  Don't get in an argument over gum.

Athlete has a difficult ending.  You are tempted to use the "eat" ending.  I use this silly phrase to help me remember:  A decathlon athlete has to compete in exactly ten events.

Attendance is a hard word to spell because it sounds like it should end with "ence".  To remember that it ends with "ance", try this: I want to attend the dance.

Beautiful is an awful word to spell, which is ironic since it is describing something pretty.  This funny sentence might help remember that odd mixture of vowels:  Big ears aren't ugly, they're beautiful!

Bicycle can trick you with the placement of the "i" and "y".  This might help you remember:  When it's icy, don't ride your bicycle.

Calendar is often misspelled.  People mistakenly spell the word with an "er" at the end.  One way to remember that there are two a's instead of two e's is this phrase:  There are two a’s in calendar, one for April and one for August.

Calorie has a difficult ending.  The "ie" isn't what you'd expect.  I remember it this way: A calorie is something I eat.

Careful is a hard word to spell.  To remember to keep that "e" and only use one "l", try this:  Be careful not to scare that fox under the log.

Category is difficult because you want to spell it the way it sounds, with an "a" in place of the "e".  I use this phrase to help me remember:  This category of cats eats gophers.

Ceiling is a horrible word to spell!  Yes, it follows the "i before e except after c" rule, but it's hard to remember that there's an "i" in there at all.  Ceiling cat entertains in lights. 

Cemetery seems like it should contain an "a", but it doesn't.  To remember that the only vowel is "e", I use this phrase: Eek!  The cemetery is eerie!

Chief is difficult to remember even though it does follow that "i before e except after c" rule.  There is a "c", but there's an "h" creating a buffer.  Try this phrase (but not before you eat!):  The police chief caught him in elephant feces.

Citizen is hard to spell because it is not pronounced the way it is spelled.  We usually pronounce it sit-i-sen, not sit-i-zen.  To remember the "z", this sentence may help:  As a new citizen to the U.S., Zed went to the zoo to see the zebras. 

Committed can be confusing because it has an extra "t".  Try this funny phrase to remember to add a "t": You were right to commit Ted; that guy is nuts!

Convenience is a difficult word.  This might help you remember:  For your convenience, the cockroach convention is ending.

Criticize trips me up because the ending sounds like the word "size".  To remember the ending, I use this phrase:  Don't criticize the cats if zebras escape.

Definite can be hard to spell.  It's a shame we don't pronounce it dee-fine-ite the way it is spelled.  To help me remember how to spell this word, I toss in a little math:  It's definite that the cards in this deck are finite.

Desperate is tricky because we often drop the "er" sound when we say the word.  To remember it, I think of Tales of Despereaux.  Despereaux ate soup when he was desperate.

Develop is hard for me because I want to add an "e" at the end.  I remember it this way: Develop your mind to no end.

Dilemma is a another tricky word.  It seems like there should be an "ll", not an "mm".  These phrases might help:  Did the lemmings arrive?  If not, we have a dilemma.

Disappear is a difficult word to spell.  I use this phrase to help me:  D'Anjou is a picky pear; if you plant it in the wrong place it will disappear.

Discipline is very hard word to spell.  I'm a big fan of Garfield the cat and his humor about disco, so I remember how to spell "discipline" this way:  Disco!  I pity line dancers, because it takes more discipline.

Embarrassing is a tough word.  It's hard to remember which letters appear twice.  Mother burped as red robin attacked slinky snakes.  Embarrassing!

Environment is commonly heard today, but it's hard to spell.  The "iron" portion is easy to forget.  Just remember that "It is dangerous to have too much iron in the environment".

Equipped has an ending that sounds like "pt".  To remember the "ped", I use this phrase:  Pedestrians are not equipped to use pedals.

Exaggerate doesn't sound the way it is spelled.  Try this silly sentence:   Exit as gray goats eat radishes this evening.

Excellent is not an excellent word to spell!  The "c" is hard to remember.  This sentence might help:  Extra cells in your brain are excellent.

Except is hard to spell (especially with that "c"), and it doesn't help that it sounds like "accept" (see the "Which Word Should I Use" section, below).  No excuses except death!

Exercise is important to do but not easy to spell thanks to the "s" that is pretending to be a "z".  When I exercise, I continue improving self-esteem.  There is no size in exercise!

Existence has an "e" toward the end that is often pronounced as an "a".  There are no Great Auks in existence.  (I'm a bird enthusiast, so you might want to pick another animal for "a".) 

Experience is difficult to spell because it's tempting to put an "ance" at the end.   I use this phrase:  Science is quite an experience.

Experiment is hard to spell because we often pronounce it "ex-peer-a-mint".  Try this:  I like to experiment with Mentos and Coke.

Fascinating has an "sc" that is hard to remember.  I remember it this way: Scat is fascinating. 

Foreign certainly seems foreign to me!  Try this:  For even in great nations places can seem foreign.
  
Forty is an oddly spelled word.  It seems that there should be a "u", since the word four has a "u".  It's another oddity of the English language.  I remember how to spell it this way:  These forty forts are not for you.

Fundamental has an "a" in the middle that sounds like an "e".  I use this phrase: It is fundamental that a Friday be a fun day.

Generally adds an extra "l" to the end.  I use this sentence to help remember it:  Generally, loud leprechauns yell.

Government has that middle "n" that is easy to forget.  Try this phrase:  The government was created to govern men.

Grammar is a difficult word to spell.  Many people mistakenly spell it with an "e" toward the end.  This phrase might help: Grandma uses perfect grammar.

Guarantee is such a hard word!  I try to remember the vowels with this text message:  Guarantee U all Apples end early.

Guidance has an "a" toward the end, but you'd expect an "e" since the root word is "guide".  My guidance counselor can dance!

Humorous is not funny.  That is, it is not a fun word to spell.  I tend to add an "use" at the end, rather than "us".  I use this phrase to remember: It was not humorous to us.

Imitations is hard to spell because we pronounce the second "i" like a short "a".  I use this to help me remember: I'm "it" at ions; the rest are imitations. 

Independent can be hard to remember because it seems that there should be more than one "i" and maybe an "a".  Try this: Trees only need e's because they are independent.

Irrelevant is a tricky word.  It sounds like there is an "ent" at the end.  To remember the "ant", is use this sentence: An ant is so tiny it seems irrelevant (but ants are actually very important to us).

Lightning is difficult because we pronounce it as light-en-ing, instead of light-ning.  This one is tough to remember.  I use this:  Light!  Zing!   I know the phrase is missing that middle "n", but it reminds me that there is no "e" sound in the middle.

Medallion is a tough word, too.  To remember the "ll" and the "ion", try these funny sentences:  We awarded a medal to the lion.  It's a gold medallion!

Misspell  This is one of the most commonly misspelled words.  No wonder!  It's so easy to forget that second "s"!  To remember that second "s", I use this phrase:  Missy is so silly that she misspelled that word!  The "ss" in Missy and repeating the s in the next two words remind me that the word "misspell" has an "ss".

Necessary This is another tough one.  It's hard to remember whether there are two c's or two s's.  You can remember it this way: It is necessary that your shirt have one collar and two sleeves.  Or you can try this: It is necessary that you wear one cap and two shoes.

Parallel is an odd word.  It's easy to put the "ll" at the end.  It might look better there, but that's not where it goes.  To remember where those double lines go, try to visualize this:  The parallel train tracks only run through the middle of the town.

People is really difficult to spell correctly.  It is not spelled the way it sounds.  This phrase might help you remember this odd word:  People eat omelets; people like eggs.

Possible is easy to misspell mainly because we often pronounce it as "poss-a-ble".  This short sentence may help you to remember that there is an "i" at the end:  I think anything is possible.

Repetition is a tough one.  Just remember the "e" repeats then the "i" repeats.

Rhythm is one of the strangest words to spell.  To remember the order of the letters, try this phrase:  Rhythm helps your two hips move!

Separate is hard for me to spell because I forget about that first "a".  I just try to remember that the two a's are separated in separate.  

Shoulder has a "u" that is unexpected.  This phrase might help:  You should pat yourself on the shoulder.

Special is easy to misspell because of the "cia".  To remember this sneaky word, think espionage:  That is a CIA special agent.

Speech is difficult because the "ea" in "speak" is easy to confuse with the "ee" in speech.  When the eel gave a speech, the bird didn't open its beak to speak.

Strength can be hard to spell.  I always add an extra vowel.  I use this phrase to help me remember that there is only one vowel:  The "e" has so much strength that it can support all those consonants by itself.

Surprise is hard to spell because we pronounce it sur-prize.  To remember the "s", I use this phrase: It is a surprise that she will rise so early.

Two is one of the most oddly spelled words.  It doesn't sound the way it is spelled at all.  Try this:  The two twins saw two Twilight movies.

Vacuum is really hard!  It's hard to remember the "cuu" in the middle.  This might help:  Val cleans up ugly messes with a vacuum.

Wednesday is difficult to spell because we do not pronounce it the way it is spelled: Wed-nes-day.  Instead, we pronounce it Wens-day.  To remember the first two syllables, try this silly sentence:  We do not eat sandwiches on Wednesday.



Which Word Should I Use?

When words seem so similar, it's difficult to know which word to use in a sentence.  I've included some phrases that may help you to remember the proper use for each word.

Accept or except – Accept is to take, while except means to exclude.  This sentence might help you remember the difference:  I will accept anything except excuses!

Affect or effect - Affect is an action, but Effect is a result.

Alter or altar - Alter is a verb.

Brake or break – Brake when you take a corner on your bike.  The bird will break its beak on those hard seeds.

Bye, by, buy – I always say bye when I pass by something I shouldn’t buy.

Capital or capitol – The capitol is where the government is located.

Compliment or complement - Complement completes something.  I like compliments.

Cord or chord – To sing a chord, you need a chorus.  A cord is a rope at its core.

Dear or deer – A deer emerged from the eerie forest.

Desert or dessert – The desert has sand, but a dessert is full of sweet stuff.

Dual or duel – Dual is an adjective, but a duel will end the fight.

Emigrate or Immigrate - If you emigrate you exit the country, but if you immigrate you come in to country.

Flour or flower – It takes an hour to grind the flour, but flowers have the power to make their own food.

Grate or great – I ate the cheese you grated.  It was great to eat with you!

Here or hear – You hear with your ear, but here is where you are.

Knew or New – I thought there was nothing new to learn. I kicked myself because I knew that answer.

Loose or lose – If your pants are too loose, they’ll fall down.

Pear or pair – Pears are delicious to eat!  A pair of great shoes make you feel like you’re walking on air.

Principal or principle - The principal is your pal, but a principle is a rule.

Ring or Wring – Take off your ring when you ring the red bell.  Wring the water out of the wet washcloth.

Stationary or stationery - It's stationary like an anchor.  I need stationery like an envelope.

Steak or stake - Steak is meat, but a stake makes it stay.

Then or than - When? Then!

Their, they’re, there – Go from here to there.  They're stuck together but they are apart.  Their heirloom china was stolen.

Two, to, too - The two twins went to the Tonight Show.  Too cool!

Vain, vane, vein - She's so vain she was upset when her dress got a stain, and she wished in vain for rain to wash the stain away.  The low-flying plane almost hit the weather vane.  A vein is something you have in your body.

   

      

EEK!

Ted

 

  

   

  
  
  

      

 

  

  
  
  
  
  

ZING!