I'm beginning to wonder if anyone can still spell, these days. I
see awful spelling everywhere, including from high school students (in
their work, not just the awful abbreviations used in SMSs),
and they don't even seem to be aware that it's wrong. They're
nearly all basic words, too; the sort of words that I learnt how to write
correctly part way through primary school. And they're the kind of
things that you really need to get right when writing job
applications.
Using the correct words in the right places
- It's not going to work. (Abbreviation of “it
is.”)
- The computer destroyed its data. (Something that
belongs to “it.”)
- Don't lose the keys.
- They are losing the game.
- This shirt is too loose.
- There are too many people.
- We went to the party, too.
- We are going to go shopping.
- There are two apples.
- They're going out tonight.
- They didn't notice that their dog had fleas.
- There is nobody over there.
- You wait in a queue (a line, handled in order).
- An actor takes their cue (readiness).
- A DJ cues up their next disc (readiness).
- A DJ has a queue of discs to play (a collection of things to be done, in order).
- The weather has been really nice, lately.
- I don't know whether I'll need an umbrella.
- We walked past the house.
- We passed the information along.
- A viola is a musical instrument (like a violin), it's also
a type of flower.
- Voilà is a French exclamatory remark to draw your
attention to something (there's supposed to be a grave accent above the
a, but it's frequently omitted). It may be pronounced somewhat
like “vwah-lah,” but it's certainly not spelt anything like it.
- You insure something against theft.
- You ensure that something does, or doesn't, happen.
- Don't waste food.
- A belt goes around your waist.
- You wait for a bus.
- You can measure your weight with set of scales.
- You buy milk from the shops.
- You say bye to someone who's leaving.
- The broom is by the back step.
- The prefix bi means two (e.g. bilingual,
biped, bi-monthly etc.).
- A location is a site (building site, website, and so
on).
- Sight is what you see with.
- By modern convention, there's eight bits in most bytes.
- The Great Australian Bight is a part of the South
Australian coastline.
- You bite into an apple.
- The dog bit the postman.
- You have veins in your arm.
- Don't be so vain (self obsessed).
- They tried to repair the computer, in vain (without
success).
- Turn the light on.
- The meal is light.
- That box isn't heavy, it's light.
- Most people go to bed at night.
- The knights of The Round Table.
- The appliance came with a warranty offering repair or
replacement should it fail.
- The person the warranty applies to (the owner) is the
warrantee.
- The computer came with no guarantee that it would
work.
Using the word “lite” to do with illumination or
weight is incorrect, and there's no such word as
“nite”. They're deliberate spelling errors used in advertising.
I before E, except after C
It's a general rule that works in most cases where “ie”
sounds like “ee.” Here's a few examples:
- belief
- believe
- ceiling
- deceitful
- friend
- receive
- relief
But there's numerous exceptions to the over-simplified rule.
Above, friend doesn't have an “ee” sound. And there's other
examples, below, where it does. You end up having to learn a lot of
them by rote, as there's plenty that don't match a simple set of
rules.
Various exceptions (E before I, and without caring
about C)
Often, but not always, where it sounds like “ay” or “eye”.
Again, here's a few examples:
“ay” sounding words using “ei”
- eight
- neighbour
- vein
- weight
“ee” sounding words using “ei”
“eye” sounding words using “ei”
- Albert Einstein
- either
- neither
- science
- Tim Seifert
- Jerry Seinfeld
- a sleight-of-hand trick
Yes, there's some deliberate duplications, above.
Some of them are pronounced either way.
Apostrophes
Apostrophes denote abbreviations and are used in ownership (only with
names). They're not used with plurals, except in
some cases (with single letters and numbers, or where
multiple-ownership is involved).
Abbreviations
- There's (there is) a right way to do it.
- It's (it is) time to go to lunch.
- Don't (do not) do that.
- Tim's (Tim is) cooking dinner.
Ownership
- Tim's shoes are black.
- Its handle fell off. (Not a name, so no
apostrophe.)
- The trophy was theirs. (Not a name, so no
apostrophe.)
- The dog's ears were droopy.
- The computer's hard drive was full.
- The enquiry was conducted according to the organisation's
rules. (Rules owned by a single organisation.)
- The zookeepers drugged the lions' food before entering the
cage. (Food belonging to several lions.)
The apostrophe goes after the “s,” where “s” hasn't been
added to indicate ownership—such as words already ending in “s”, or where
the “s” indicates plurals.
Plurals
- All the teams competed in the final event.
- Apples for $2 a kilo.
- The 1980s had, generally, horrible pop music.
- The airline had twenty 707s.
- There are four 7's (sevens) in a deck of playing
cards.
- There are three e's in the word “remember.”