-
*its/it’s:
-
its=possessive pronoun, does NOT need
apostrophe, as in belonging to it
-
it’s=contraction for "it is" or "it has"
-
*than/then:
-
than=used for
comparisons, as in “My
car is dirtier than yours.”
-
then=adverb, as in next, as in “Then, I
went to my next class.”
-
were/where/wear:
-
were=linking verb
-
where=adverb, as in
place, as in “Where
did you come from?”
-
wear=verb, as in wear clothes
-
there/their:
-
there=adverb, as in over there or “There
was a fly on the wall.”
-
their=possessive pronoun, as in belonging
to a group of people
-
they’re=contraction for they are
-
your/you’re:
-
who’s/whose:
-
who’s=contraction for who is
-
whose=possessive
pronoun, as in belonging to whom, as in “Whose
book is this?”
-
too/to/two:
-
too=intensifier, as in
too much/many, in excess—so it has an excess of o’s,
as in “I ate too
much.” Also means “also,”
as in “I want some,
too.”
-
to=preposition, starts
prep. phrases and infinitives, as in “I
went to the store to buy milk.”
-
two=the number 2
-
threw/through:
-
threw=verb, as in “The
pitcher threw the ball to the first-baseman.”
-
through=preposition, as in “The
ghost walked through the wall.”
|
-
accept/except:
-
accept=to receive;
-
except=excluding
-
affect/effect:
-
affect=verb, to act upon OR to have an
effect upon;
-
effect=noun only, a change caused by an
action
-
allude/elude:
-
bear/bare:
-
capital/capitol:
-
cite/sight/site:
-
cite=to make mention of or to quote as an
example;
-
sight=something seen or one of the five
senses;
-
site=a place or location (Web site)
-
complement/compliment:
-
complement=something that finishes, goes
with, completes (subject complement);
-
compliment=to praise or flatter
-
conscience/conscious:
-
conscience=noun, moral compass;
-
conscious=adjective, aware, awake
-
coarse/course:
-
counsel/council:
-
counsel=noun, advice OR noun, a lawyer OR
verb, to advise;
-
council=a deliberative body
-
desert/dessert:
-
desert=noun, barren land OR verb, to
abandon;
-
dessert=noun, after-dinner treat
-
elicit/illicit:
-
elicit=verb, to bring out;
-
illicit=adjective, illegal, unlawful
-
fair/fare:
-
fair=adjective, just, reasonable OR noun,
festival, carnival;
-
fare=noun, ticket price OR noun, food OR
verb, to get along
-
later/latter:
-
lead/led:
-
lead=present tense of the verb, to guide
OR noun, a heavy metal or graphite in a pencil
-
led=past tense of the verb (pronounced
like the noun)
-
loose/lose:
-
loose=adjective, baggy, not tight;
-
lose=verb, to misplace OR verb, to fail to
win
-
moral/morale:
-
moral=adjective, virtuous, good OR noun,
lesson taught by a story
-
morale=noun, mood, spirit, mental
condition
-
patience/patients:
-
personal/personnel:
-
personal=adjective, private OR adjective,
individual;
-
personnel=noun, staff, workers
-
peace/piece:
-
plain/plane:
-
plain=adjective, unadorned, simple OR
noun, level land;
-
plane=short for airplane OR carpenter’s
tool OR level surface
-
principal/principle:
-
principal=noun, head of school OR noun,
sum of money;
-
principle=basic law or guideline
-
quiet/quite:
-
quiet=adjective, silent, still
-
quite=adverb, completely, entirely OR
adverb, very, considerably
-
stationary/stationery:
-
stationary=adjective, in a fixed position,
immobile
-
stationery=noun, writing supplies and
especially paper
-
straight/strait:
-
straight=adjective, not
crooked/curved OR adjective, direct, truthful,
honest OR adverb, directly
-
strait=noun, channel between two large
bodies of water OR noun, distress, difficulty
-
than/then:
-
than=used in comparison;
-
then=adverb, next
-
wear/where:
-
weather/whether:
-
weather=noun, climate;
-
whether=if
|
(1)
i BEFORE e, EXCEPT AFTER c: |
Write i
before e
Except after c
Or when sounded like "ay"
As in neighbor and weigh. |
-
ie words:
-
believe, brief, chief, field, hierarchy, niece,
obedient, relief, yield
-
ei words:
-
ceiling, conceit, conceive, deceive, perceive,
receive, receipt, vein
-
exceptions to the rule:
-
ancient, caffeine, conscience, science,
counterfeit, forfeit, either, neither, financier
-
feisty, foreign, heist, height, (weight),
leisure, seize, seismic, sheik, species, efficient
-
sufficient, weird
a- |
in, on, of,
up, to |
abed, afoot,
agog |
for- |
away, off,
from |
forget,
forswear |
fore- |
before,
previous |
foretell,
forefathers |
mis- |
bad, poorly,
not |
misspell,
misfire, mistake |
un- |
not, opposite
of |
unhappy,
unlock |
◄►
ab- |
from, away,
off |
abdicate,
abjure |
ante-
|
before,
previous |
antecedent,
anteroom, antediluvian |
bi-
|
two |
bisect,
biweekly |
circum- |
around |
circumference,
circumnavigate |
com- |
with, together |
commotion,
complicate |
de-
|
from, down |
depart,
decrease |
dis-
|
away from,
off, down, not |
disappear,
dissent |
ex-
|
out, former |
expatriate,
extract |
in- |
in, into |
invade,
intrude |
inter- |
among, between |
intercede,
interrupt, interstate |
intra- |
within |
intramural,
intrastate |
non- |
not |
nonsense,
nonentity |
post- |
after,
following |
post-election,
postscript, postpone |
pre- |
before |
prelapsarian,
prevent, predict |
pro- |
forward, in
place of, in favor of |
produce,
pronoun, pro-Choice/Life |
re- |
back, again |
recurrence,
revoke, repeat |
retro- |
back, backward |
retroactive,
retrospect |
semi- |
half |
semi-pro,
semicircle, semicolon |
sub- |
under, beneath |
subordinate,
subjugate |
super- |
above, extra |
supercilious,
supernumerary |
trans- |
across,
beyond, over |
trans-Siberian, translate, transport |
ultra- |
beyond,
excessively |
ultra-modern,
ultrasonic, ultraviolet |
◄►
GREEK: |
|
|
a- |
without,
lacking |
amoral,
agnostic |
anti- |
against,
opposing |
antipathy,
antisocial, anti-war |
dia- |
through,
across, apart |
diameter,
diagnose |
hyper- |
excessive,
over |
hyperdrive,
hyperactive, hypertension |
hypo- |
under,
beneath |
hypodermic,
hypothesis |
para- |
beside, beyond |
parallel,
paramilitary, paradox |
peri- |
around |
perimeter,
periscope |
pro- |
before |
prognosis,
program |
sym- |
with, together |
symbiotic,
sympathy, symphony |
-dom |
state, rank,
condition |
serfdom,
wisdom |
-er |
performer,
maker |
runner,
hunter, dancer |
-hood |
state,
condition |
parenthood,
statehood |
-ness |
quality, state |
greatness,
quickness |
-th |
act, state,
quality |
warmth, width |
◄►
FOREIGN
(Latin, French, Greek): |
-age |
process,
state, rank |
passage,
bondage |
-ance |
act,
condition, fact |
acceptance,
vigilance |
-ard |
one who does |
wizard,
drunkard |
-ate |
rank, office |
delegate,
primate |
-ation |
action, state,
result |
occupation,
starvation, humiliation |
-cy
|
state,
condition |
secrecy,
accuracy |
-er
|
performer,
dealer in, result |
baker, diner,
rejoinder |
-ess |
feminine |
actress,
poetess, waitress |
-ion |
action,
result, state |
union, fission |
-ism |
act, manner,
doctrine |
barbarism,
socialism, feminism |
-ist |
performer,
believer |
socialist,
feminist |
-ition |
action, state,
result |
sedition,
expedition, monition |
-ity
|
state,
quality, condition |
civility,
acidity |
-ment |
means, result,
action |
government,
refreshment, enjoyment |
-or
|
performer,
office, action |
juror,
elevator, governor |
-tude |
state,
quality, result |
pulchritude,
magnitude, fortitude |
-ty
|
quality,
state |
activity,
enmity, animosity |
-en
|
made of, like |
wooden, ashen |
-ful
|
full of,
marked by |
thankful,
cheerful |
-ish |
suggesting,
like |
childish,
squeamish |
-less |
lacking,
without |
childless,
hopeless, countless |
-like |
similar, like |
childlike,
dreamlike |
-ly
|
of the nature
of, like |
friendly,
bubbly |
-some |
apt to,
showing |
winsome,
tiresome, lonesome |
-ward |
in the
direction of |
backward,
northward, homeward |
◄►
-able |
able, likely |
capable,
tolerable |
-ate |
having,
showing |
separate,
desolate |
-esque |
like, in the
style of |
grotesque,
picturesque,
Capra-esque |
-ible |
able, likely,
fit |
edible,
possible |
-ous |
marked by,
given to |
grievous,
religious |
-en |
cause to be,
become |
deepen,
strengthen, enlighten |
◄►
-ate |
become, form,
treat |
animate,
sublimate, delineate |
-esce |
become, grow,
continue |
acquiesce,
convalesce |
-fy
|
make, cause,
cause to have |
glorify,
magnify, fortify |
-ish |
do, make,
perform |
punish, finish |
-ize |
make, cause to
be, treat with |
sanitize,
criticize, sterilize |
-
homophones
-
missing words
-
proper nouns
-
technical jargon
-
misspelled word is actually
another word
-
you have used the wrong
word
-
you have used apostrophes
incorrectly
|