How to Learn English Spelling
Learning to spell in English can be simple and frustrating at the same time. There are certain rules in the English language that dictate how most words should be spelled. The problem is that not all words follow the rules. Also, the rules vary according to the type of English being used --- American English or "Commonwealth" English (the type used in England and most of the former English colonies, such as India). Learning to spell English words requires one to know both the standard spelling rules as well as the most common exceptions. Always, a good dictionary can be invaluable when learning how to spell (and use) English words.
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Instructions
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For words that use the diphthongs "ie" or "ei," remember "I" before "E" except after "C." That is one of the more commonly known rules of the English spelling, and is demonstrated by words such as "achieve," "siege," "believe," "receive," and "receipt." The word "seize" is an exception to the rule.
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Learn which words have silent letters. Words with a silent "e" at the end of the word are easier to figure out. Words such "fine," "home" or "lame" are easy to recognize, as the silent "e" at the end indicates that the first vowel is pronounced with its long sound. More difficult are words that have silent letters in other places in the word. For example, words such as "psychology" (silent "p") or align (silent "g") both have letters that are not vocalized when the words are spoken.
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Memorize the order of consonants when they are grouped together. Sometimes it can be easy to put consonants that are in a cluster in the wrong order. For example, the letter "n" goes before the letter "m" in words such as "enmity" and "environment."
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To make nouns plural, the regular rule is to add "s" to the end ("cats," "cars," "buildings"). For nouns that end in "y," add "ies" -- for example, the word "baby" becomes "babies" and the word "family" becomes "families" when made plural. Some Latin words that are fairly common in English can be made plural according to Latin rules or English rules, depending on preference -- for example, "medium" is almost always made plural with the Latin form "media," but "forum" is often made plural with the English "forums" (rather than the Latin "fora").
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Remember that there are many words that sound alike but are not spelled the same. Those words are called homonyms. For example, the word "right" sounds just like the word "write," although the meanings and spellings are different. Likewise, the word "dear" sounds like the word "deer," although they are spelled differently as well. Many people confuse the spelling of the similar sounding words "to," "two," and "too."
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Be careful when writing colloquialisms and contractions that are common in spoken English. For example, somebody might say "I should've checked the dictionary," but be quoted as saying "I should of checked the dictionary" (the "of" being used instead of the contraction for "have," "'ve"). Also, some two-word phrases take on different meanings depending on whether the words are connected or separated: For example, "round up" is a verb, while "roundup" is a noun.
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Tips & Warnings
Use the dictionary function of word-processing software to double-check the usage of words that are identified as misspelled by spell-checking software. If you don't have a good printed dictionary, consult a reputable online dictionary to verify the spelling and usage of English words.
A spellchecker can only do so much. In the case of words that sound like other words, the spellchecker will not show that the word is misspelled. For example, if the word "loan" is spelled "lone," the spellchecker will not recognize this as an error because both of the spellings are correct, even though the meanings differ.
