I'm new here so apologies if this has already been covered. Are there any words that you always, but always have to look up the spelling of? I have a few and it drives me up the wall. I'll list a few here, but just bare with me while I look up their spelling. The bits in brackets aren't direct questions, by the way, they're just explaining why the words trip me up. • Particularly [It's the 'larly' bit that gets me] • Necessary [How many C's, how many S's ?] • Diarrhoea [I get as far as 'Di' and then have to reach for my dictionary] • Immediately [I can get this sometimes, if I break down its sylables, but I can't just run it off auto-pilot style] • Syllables [One or two L's?] • Phlegm [If ever a word demonstrated how stupid the English language can be at times, it's this] • Privilege [I always want to put a D in there. PrivileDge] There are more, just can't think of them right now.
Do you realise what you did there with the syllables? I don't like privilege much either I must confess! The thing that gets me most and makes me really think is effect or affect. I've looked it up a bit but when it comes down to it I always seem to go with a guess. I'm probably wrong most of the time!
Necessary always gets me too when I'm not paying attention to what I'm typing it usually turns out something like nessecary completely backwards.
Differently( I sometimes spell it: Differantly or diferently.) Beautiful (God damn it,I hate this word. It's confusing as hell: Beatiful, this is how I spell it nearly every time GAH!) Succeed(Two C's and tow E's, gotta remember. Two C's and two E's...) That's pretty much it. I don't use complex words that much but when I do I usually just write it how I know and then Word corrects it.
Silhouette (I think I just about got this one down, but I don't use it often enough.) nauseous (I always want to spell this as naucious.)
I'm okay with most of those words. It's 'disappear' that always gets me. I always put double s or not enough p's.
'Separate' used to be an annoying one for me. 'Murmured' was another one which got me. And the really annoying thing about the word 'diarrohea' is that some of the American spellings are different. I think the differences in American and British spellings can be so confusing at times. It drives me bonkers when my spell checker tells me my British spelling is 'wrong'.
Do your browsing with Firefox. Can't remember what it's called, but there's an add-on that counters that. No more being told that colour should be color
Or set your computer's language settings to English (United Kingdom) instead of English (United States).
January Funny, I wrote it right this time. I almost always have to double check that one. I try to swap the a and r nearly every time.
Will that make a difference to the search engines and forums that incorporate spell checkers, though?
Separate gets me. No idea if that's correct either. Embarass is also annoying! Necessary used to get me as well until a friend taught me "Never Eat Cake, Eat Soggy Sandwiches And Remain Young." Makes no sense really but helps out a lot!
I like things like those! I can NEVER NEVER NEVER spell "definatly". I dunno if thats right, but I always end up spelling "defiantly". It bothers me greatly!
It may sound a bit noobish but beautiful always catches me. I spelled it right this time so maybe I'm getting better. I can never figure out which order the a, e, and u go in. It drives me crazy!
Just think 'finite'. You can't forget how to spell finite. (fye-night) Definitely is just finite with 'de' and 'ly' tacked on. I used to have trouble with this one myself... I still sometimes type it with an A instead of an I. stupid fingers.. they never fing the way I want... Break those bad habbits early or they punish you to your grave.
Yeah definitely always gets me... and necessary, February, spelled (not spelt) and for some reason cynical always wants to be spelled synical or at the worst of times sinical
Any word that sounds like it should have a silent E on the end, but doesn't. I also hate words that America has decided to spell differently. I submit to Canada and the US, so I have to create two different submissions for everything.
Interrupting is one of mine - one 'r' or two? Is it guage like with guard? Or gauge like with gaudy? I always try to have Word open so that I can jump over and check the spelling and pop back when I'm writing replies or emails but I'm a stickler for correctness in my spelling because I am irked when I see incorrectly spelt words and, for some unknown reason, don't want people to be likewise irked by mine.
Let's see... I have issues with necessary-- always want to spell it nescassary) Then there is, beneath -- beneith is what I always end up with. For some reason 'facility' always makes me want to spell physical, so it ends up come out "Phacility" ---I know weird right! Then there is the ever present effect/affect, advice/advise, there/they're/their, your/you're issue. Which one goes where? Let's not forget about 'sincerely'...doesn't that just beg to be spelt 'sincerly' ? And yes, it can be spelled or spelt, dreamed or dreamt, learned or learned or learnt, spilled or spilt, ....and I can't think of any more. But both of those spellings are correct per most dictionaries. I know I have other words that trip me up frequently,but I don't know they are.
I remember another one: Disappointment. I always want to stick two 's' in it and only one 'p'. Describe is another one, cause I pronounce it "DIScribe." Probably and possibility also tend to get misspelled....so does "mispelled" lol Truly, that is another tricky word that always insists on being spelled "truely" Completely usually comes out "completly." Disassemble is sometime "Disasemble"
Hm, thats a good trick. I think I'll start using it. For beautiful, whenever I spell it, I just break it up. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. If you say each letter sound it's easier.
If I'm not mistaken, I believe "effect" is a noun and "affect" is a verb. What allowed me to better remember which one is a noun and which is a verb is the phrase "sound effect."
