Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Spelling rules
• Part 2 of 2: Practicing with games
• Tips
• Warnings

English is a difficult language full of irregularities. Whether you have just started with English or want to learn the language a bit better, you will soon notice that there are not rules for everything and that if there is a rule for something, there are almost always exceptions. This also applies to the spelling rules in English. If you would like to learn to spell better in English, it is best to read and write in that language as much as possible. In addition, it will certainly help if you know the most important spelling rules (and the exceptions to those rules). There are also several clever tricks and mnemonics that can help you, and you can try to practice the words you are having trouble with as often as possible. You will find that if you are consistent and practice a lot, you too can become an expert at spelling all those tricky English words with their stupid vowels, confusing consonants and weird pronunciations!

To step

Part 1 of 2: Spelling rules

1. Normally, the letter "i" comes before the letter "e". A useful rule to remember is that the "i" always comes before the "e", except after the letter "c". This means that you must always write the letter "i" before the letter "e" if they occur consecutively in a word (for example, "friend" or "piece"), except after the letter "c ", because then the" e "comes before the" i "(as in" receive "for example). If you apply this rule, you will have much less trouble spelling words that occur frequently and in which the order of the "i" and "e" can be confusing.
   • Say the word out loud: Another helpful way to know in which order to write the "i" and "e" is to say the word out loud. If the combination of the vowels "e" and "i" sounds like an elongated "a" ("pat"), the "e" comes before the "i". Examples include the words "eight" and "weigh".
   • Exceptions: Of course there are exceptions to this rule and there are words that you don't spell according to the rule "i" before "e" except after a "c". This includes the words "either", "leisure", "protein", "their" and "weird". Unfortunately, there is no trick to help you remember which words you are not writing according to the rule above. So there is no other option than to memorize those words.
   • More exceptions: Other exceptions include words containing the letters "cien", such as "ancient", "efficient", "science", and words containing the letters "eigen" (also like the "e "and the" i "together sound like" pat "), such as" height "and" foreign ".
2. Words with two vowels. For words with a double vowel (or two different vowels in a row) it is sometimes difficult to say which of the two comes first. The rhyme below can help you determine the order of the vowels:
   • When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking, in other words: With two vowels in a row, only the first is audible. This means that the vowel you hear when you say the word comes first, and the vowel you can't hear comes last.
   • Listen for the longest vowel: In other words with two vowels in a row, you pronounce the first vowel as a “long” vowel while you don't hear the second vowel. For example, if you say the word "boat" out loud, you will hear the "o" but not the "a".
   • So if you're not sure what order to spell the vowels in a word, just say the word out loud - what long vowel do you hear? That vowel comes first. Words that you spell according to this rule are for example "team" (you hear the "e"), "mean" (you hear the "e") and "wait" (you hear the " a").
   • Exceptions: There are of course exceptions to this rule that you have to memorize. A few exceptions are for example the words "you" (you hear the sound of the "u" rather than the "o"), "phoenix" (fenix) (you hear the sound of the "e" and not the "o") and "great" (you hear the sound of the "a" and not the "e").
3. Beware of consonant combinations of which you only pronounce one. In many words in which two consonants come after each other, you do not pronounce one of those consonants. So that is a “stupid” consonant that, as it were, piggybacks on the sound of the other consonant.
   • Because of these "piggyback" dumb consonants, the spelling of words in which two consonants are consecutive is often difficult, and chances are that you will forget the consonant you do not hear and only write the consonant you well hears.
   • It is therefore important that you know in which words such a consonant combination with one stupid consonant occurs, so that you can also spell those words correctly.
   • Below we have listed the most common consonant combinations where you only pronounce one of the two consonants for you:
   • Gn, pn and kn - in these consonant combinations you only hear the sound of the "n", while you do not pronounce the first consonant. Words with these consonant combinations are, for example, "gnome", "pneumonia" (pneumonia) and "knife".
   • Rh and wr - in these combinations you only hear the "r". The other consonants are dumb consonants. These combinations occur, for example, in the words "rhyme" and "wrestle".
   • Ps and sc - in these combinations you only hear the sound of the "s" and the letters "p" and "c" are mute consonants. These combinations can be found in the words "psychic" and "science" (science).
   • Wh - in this consonant pair you only hear the sound of the "h". You don't pronounce the "w". This combination occurs, for example, in the word "whole".
4. Be careful with the spelling of homonyms and homophones. Homonyms and homophones are two types of words that often cause spelling problems. Before explaining how to deal with the spelling of these words, let's first explain what homonyms and homophones actually are.
   • A homonym is one word (or a group of words) that can have different meanings, even if you write it the same way and don't change its pronunciation. A good example of this in English is the word bank, for example, because it can mean both a dike and a place where you keep your money.
   • Homophones are two words or groups of words, such as the words night and knight, which are pronounced in the same way but have different meanings. Sometimes they are written the same way - such as the word "rose" (meaning rose, or the flower) and "rose" (the past tense of the verb rise) - and sometimes they are written differently, such as the words "to", "too" and "two".
   • A homonym is therefore always also a homophone because you pronounce the words in the same way. But not all homophones are homonyms because not all homophones are spelled the same way (and all homonyms are).
   • Examples: A few more examples of homonyms and homophones that are common are "here" and "hear"; "eight" and "ate" (the past tense of the verb "eat"; "wear", "true" (merchandise) and "where" (where); "lose" ) and "loose", and "sent" (the past tense of the verb "send"), "scent" and "cent" (cent).
   • The following homonyms and homophones are often misspelled. When using these words, always pay attention to the spelling:
     • You're (you are) and Your (your)
     • There (there / there), Their (their) and They're (they are)
     • Than (then in the sense of "greater than") and Then (then in the sense of "then", "at that moment")
     • Affect (affect / influence) and Effect (consequence / result)
     • Its (his / her) and It's (it is)
5. Be careful with prefixes. Prefixes are parts of words that come at the beginning of another word to change the meaning of that word. For example, putting the prefix "un-" before the word "happy" gives you "unhappy" (meaning "unhappy" or "not happy"). It can be difficult to spell prefixed words correctly, but luckily there are rules that can help you:
   • Do not add or omit letters: If you put a prefix before a word, the spelling of that word does not change, even if it means that two of the same letters come after each other. So you should never add new letters or omit letters, even if you think it looks crazy, as in the words "misstep", "preeminent" (excellent) and "unnecessary" (unnecessary).
   • Hyphen or not? Sometimes a hyphen or hyphen appears between the prefix and the root word, as in the following cases: if the prefix comes before a proper name or a numeral (for example un-American), after the prefix "ex-" in the meaning of "former" (as for example in ex-military), after the prefix "self-" (as for example in self-indulgence, self-importance), between two "a's ", two" i's "or certain other letter combinations if that increases legibility (such as in ultra-ambitious (very ambitious), anti-intellectual (anti-intellectual) or co-worker (colleague)).
6. Memorize the plural forms. The plural forms of certain words also often cause spelling problems. You usually make the plural of an English word by adding an "s" to the word, but there are also many words in English that have a different plural form.
   • Look at the last letters of the word: You can often determine the plural form of a word by looking at the last letter or the last two letters of the word in the singular. These letters indicate how to form the plural. Among other things, the following rules apply:
   • The plural of most nouns that end in the singular with the letters "ch", "sh", "s", "x" or "z", you form by sticking the letters "es" to the word. For example, the plural of the word "box" is "boxes", the plural of "bus" is "buses" and the plural of the word "prize" is " prizes "(prices).
   • The plural of most nouns ending in a vowel followed by the letter "y" you form by simply sticking an "s" to the word. For example, the plural of the word "boy" is "boys" and the plural of the word "day" is "days".
   • The plural of most nouns that end with a consonant followed by a "y" you create by replacing the "y" with the letters "ies". For example, the plural of the word "baby" is "babies", the plural of "country" is "countries", and the plural of "spy" is "spies".
   • The plural of most nouns ending in "f" or "fe" you form by replacing the "f" or the letters "fe" with "ves". For example, the plural of the word "elf" (elf / fairy) is "elves" (fairies / fairies), the plural of "loaf" (bread) is "loaves" (loaves) and the plural of "thief" (thief) is "thieves" (thieves).
   • The plural of most nouns ending in "o" you form by simply sticking an "s" to the word. For example, the plural of the word "kangaroo" (kangaroo) is "kangaroos" (kangaroos) and the plural of "piano" is "pianos", but sometimes, when a word ends in a consonant followed by an "o", make the plural by adding "es" to the word. For example, the plural of "potato" is "potatoes" and the plural of the word "hero" is "heroes".

Part 2 of 2: Practicing with games

1. Divide a difficult word into syllables and see if you can discover other words within the word. The spelling of long words is often not that difficult at all - break the word into syllables and see which shorter words you can discover in the long word.
   • Break words into shorter words: For example, the word “together” can be divided into three shorter words: “to,” “get,” and “her” (“to get her”), which are not difficult to spell apart at all!
   • Dividing words into syllables: Even if you cannot divide a word into actual words, it can still help to divide a long word into shorter syllables. For example, you can break the word "hospital" into pieces into "hos-pit-al", and the word "university" into "u-ni-ver-si-ty".
   • Break words into pieces: Even a long fourteen letter word that seems very difficult, such as "hypothyroidism", for example, can be made easier by breaking it into pieces: a prefix, a complete word and a suffix: "hypo-", "thyroid," And "-ism."
   • A good way to improve your spelling in English is to memorize all the commonly used prefixes and suffixes, as there are many words that start with a prefix or end with a suffix, or both.
2. Say the words out loud to yourself. Saying a word (in an exaggerated way) can help you know how to write the word. Of course, this only works if you pronounce the word correctly.
   • Therefore, always pay extra attention to your pronunciation (do not swallow vowels or consonants that you should actually pronounce) so that it is more likely that you will spell the words without errors.
   • Examples of this are: For example, a few words that are often mispronounced - and therefore often misspelled - are: "probably" (this word is often pronounced "probly"), "different" (often pronounced " difrent ")," Wednesday "(usually pronounced" Wishday "), and" library "(usually pronounced" libry ").
   • Furthermore, if you use the trick above, you should be careful with words that we often say very quickly, such as "interesting" or "comfortable". Since many people tend to pronounce those words very quickly, it can be difficult to determine how to write the word just by saying it out loud.
   • Talk slower: When saying these words out loud, try to speak slower and really pronounce each syllable. For example, pronounce the word "interesting" as "in-TER-esting" so that you don't forget the "e" in the middle, and pronounce the word "comfortable" as "com-FOR-ta-ble" to get your to help you remember the order in which to write the vowels again.
3. Use mnemonics or other mnemonics. Everyone sometimes uses a mnemonic to remember certain things, such as how to write a certain word. There are many different mnemonics. Below we give you a few examples of mnemonics that can help you learn to spell better in English:
   • Nonsense phrases: A fun mnemonic for remembering how to write certain problem words is to come up with sentences where the first letter of each word is a letter of the word you want to remember. For example, to remember how to write the word "because", you can use the phrase "Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants". And to remember how to write the word "physical" again, you can use the phrase "Please Have Your Strawberry Ice Cream And Lollipops". The crazier the sentence, the better!
   • Smart Tricks: Furthermore, certain words provide you with handy tricks and tricks that can help you spell. For example, if you can't tell the words "desert" and the word "dessert" apart, remember to write the word "dessert" with two "s's" because you always get it twice. want to brag.
   • If you have problems with the word "separate", remember that there are a rat (a rat) sits in the middle. If you keep forgetting the difference between the words "stationery" and "stationary" (stationary), remember that "stationery" with an "e" is a place to buy envelopes. And if you find it difficult to tell the words "principal" and "principle" apart, remember that the highest authority or the director of the company you work for is your "pal". / buddy).
4. Memorize all the words you often misspell. Even if you know all the rules and use all of the spelling tricks, you will likely be left with words that you can't remember and that you keep spelling wrong. With these words there is no other option than to memorize them.
   • Recognizing problem words: First you will have to learn to recognize the words where you most have problems with it. You can do this by checking texts that you have previously written. This is probably easiest with documents you have on your computer that you can check with a spell checker, but the best way is to have your texts checked by a spelling expert (someone who can spell very well). Which words do you most often misspell?
   • Make a list: Make a list of all words that you misspell often and copy each word at least ten times (without mistakes). Look closely at each word, say it out loud, try to "see" the different syllables and stamp them in your head!
   • Practice makes perfect is a well-known saying in English that means as much as "if you practice enough, you will succeed." Try to do the exercise above every day or every other day. You "train" your brain and your fingers in writing the word without mistakes. After a while, you can test yourself by asking someone to read the words out loud to you (or you can record yourself saying the words). Then you write down every word you hear. Then check what you wrote to see which words you still misspell.
   • To use word cards and stickers: Another method you can use to spell difficult words without mistakes is with word cards and stickers. Write the names of objects in the house on cards or labels and then stick them on those objects, such as "faucet" (faucet), "duvet" (comforter), "television" and "mirror" (mirror). You will then be reminded every time you use one of those objects what it is called in English and how you write the word again. You can also stick a card with 2 or 3 of your problem words next to the sink or on the coffee maker - you can work on your spelling while you brush your teeth or wait for the coffee to be ready!
   • Use your senses: You can also "write" the words with your finger - trace the shape of the letters on a book, on your desk or on the beach in the sand! The more different senses you use, the better you train your brain.

Tips

• Always check everything you write. We all get busy at some point while we are writing something, and you are more likely to make mistakes and, for example, two words that sound almost the same, such as the English words 'reef' and 'wreath' (wreath). ), gets mixed up. Often you go on without realizing that you've made a mistake, until you see your work later, or have someone else read your text ... and then you think to yourself, "What, did I have that? written?"
• Always look up compound words in a dictionary. The only way to know if you write the English word for stomach ache as "stomachache," "stomach-ache," or "stomach ache" is to look it up in a dictionary. By the way, hyphens use changes often these days, so use a fairly recent dictionary, noting whether the dictionary uses British or American spelling, or both.
• It also helps if you speak one or more other foreign languages ​​and know where certain words in English come from, because you can then use certain rules and tricks from other foreign languages. For example, in French you write the "sh" sound as "ch", and this is reflected in English words like "cliche" (cliché) and "chic" (elegant).
• Use a dictionary, preferably a monolingual English dictionary. Many words in English come from other languages. Many old words in English come from the Germanic or French-speaking founders of Great Britain and many other English words come from Greek or Latin. A good dictionary will tell you where the word comes from, and as you learn those words you will naturally begin to see certain patterns.
• In English you can often pronounce one particular word in many different ways. For example, you can theoretically pronounce the (non-existent) word "ghoti" in English as "fish"; through the letters gh to pronounce just as in the word tough (difficult), the letter O as in the word wOmen (women) and the letters ti as in the word nation (nation)).
• It can be very useful to check a text written by someone else. Often the best way to learn something is to explain it to someone else. Teach yourself to correct other people's spelling mistakes, including those in books. (Yes, there are sometimes errors in books too.) To start with, you can, for example, check an article from wikiHow. Click on the "change" tab, and you can start improving. If you would like to join the wikiHow community, please create your own wikiHow address.
• Reading as many books, newspapers, magazines and posters as possible in English will also improve your spelling. If you see a word you don't know, write it down, on a tissue or napkin if necessary. Then look up the word home in your dictionary. The more you read and the more you look up, the better you will learn to spell.
• Take the letters of the word and then come up with a sentence with all those letters. For example, you can learn how to write the word “arithmetic” using the phrase “A rat in the house might eat the ice cream.” And using the phrase 'I want accommodation in castles and mansions', you will no longer forget that you write the word accommodation with 2 'c's and 2' m's.

Warnings

• Don't automatically assume that a word is spelled correctly because it is printed in a book. Mistakes are also made in books, just like in other written texts. Yes really!
• Keep in mind that you have certain words ("color," "color" (color); "goiter," "goitre" (crop); "gray," "gray"; "checkered," "checkered" ( with a chessboard pattern); "theater," "theater"; "spelled", "spelled" (spelled)) in multiple ways. Both ways are correct, but often a particular spelling is preferred in British, American, or even Australian English.
• Many spell checkers often still accept misspelled words, even if they are obviously misspelled. It is therefore better not to rely too much on such programs.
• That spell checkers are NOT watertight, you can see from the following sentence, which would just roll through an English spell checker: "Eye tolled ewe, eye am knew at this." The words themselves are spelled correctly, but they have no meaning in the sentence above.
• There are different types of English spelling. Always try to find out which version you are dealing with. For example, an article may have been written by a Brit or an American, but it may be that someone else has added things to it and someone else may have checked the text. If you check the text with a spell checker, it may be that errors remain or that the program corrects the wrong words.