Online English adjectives correct spelling. (In)explicable spelling of English words: why is English spelling so confusing? How to remember the spelling of English words

How to remember the spelling of English words

Many English learners have a serious problem - not knowing how to spell words. And you don't have to go far to understand that this problem haunts Internet users not only in foreign, but even in their native language. You have probably heard about "Albanian". This problem is familiar not only to non-native English speakers, but also to native speakers. Therefore, Spelling bee is regularly held over the hill. This is a competition that aims to test the literacy of people. The host calls the word, and the person needs to spell it.

Today we share tips to help you learn the spelling of words and not make mistakes in writing. After all, this is important not only when writing business letters, but also in the process of regular communication with native speakers.

How to simplify the process of memorizing the spelling of English words

1. Why you need to know the rules of reading

First of all, you need to understand and learn the basic rules of reading in English. After all, you perfectly understand that the principle "as I hear, so I write" does not always work in both English and Russian. For example, the t sound is often pronounced like the d in city, but in interesting and interview the letter is not pronounced at all. Therefore, it is not surprising that some people may miss these letters in the letter. There are also certain rules for english consonants and vowels. For example, if we pronounce the sound k in words such as stick, pick, black, then the combination ck should be written in writing. It is equally important to learn the rules for using letters that are not pronounced when reading. Most often, this problem is faced not only by beginners, but also by continuing ones who are not engaged in the development of writing skills. You don't need to look far for examples: know, island, bomber, wrinkle, should. Other troubles happen with unpronounceable letters. For example, many learners, as well as a large percentage of native English speakers, will write writting instead of writing, forgetting that the word write ends with e, which means double t cannot be used.

2. Spelling skills development aids

Finding textbooks that are not aimed at developing vocabulary, grammar or writing is not an easy task. However, there are tutorials to help you improve your spelling. These include: "Practical Spelling" (textbook published by Learning Express, New York) and "Spelling Steps" from Saddleback Educational Publishing. With their help, you will not only learn a lot of spelling rules, but also significantly improve your spelling skills in English.

Tip: if you need to teach your child how to spell, then we suggest paying attention to a series of authentic English materials - Kumon Writing.

Can I use English spell checker

This question causes a lot of discussion among teachers. Some believe that this is a direct path to written degradation (and this is practically a direct quote), while others believe that it helps not to be considered an illiterate person. It seems to us that the answer depends only on how you will use this toolkit. Of course, if you mindlessly correct those words that are underlined in red, then do not expect any benefit from such an activity. But if, after the program underlines the word, you look up its spelling in a paper or electronic dictionary, or find a suitable reading rule for example, then using the program will certainly help you. Also, many of these tools emphasize the absence of commas between words or the use of the initial form of the verb instead of the gerund. We consider Grammarly an invaluable assistant. He not only highlights spelling and a large number of grammatical errors, but also gives small comments with explanations for each case. There is also an extension for browsers, so you can use the functionality even while writing a message on a social network. In addition, there is an add-on for Word.

We can also recommend LanguageTool. In the window you need to enter the text and if the words are spelled incorrectly, the program will highlight the errors and tell you how to write this or that word correctly.

Don't forget to use dictionaries

When writing messages or posts in English, do not hesitate to look in the dictionary for their correct spelling. And if you use not only bilingual, but also monolingual dictionaries, the result will be even better. After all, you can read the dictionary entry and understand the word as it is understood by native English speakers. And this is one of the steps towards a non-translating method of learning English.

Differences between American and British English spelling

It happens that you are sure that the spelling of a word is correct, however, the program underlines it as incorrect. To do this, you should know some of the differences between the spelling of words. For example, the American version of color and the British color, or airfoil and aerofoil, respectively. This is one of the reasons why you should decide which version of English you are learning. Apart from spelling and pronunciation, there are some differences in grammar and vocabulary.

Reading is the mother of learning

Surely you have heard from Russian-speaking people that they do not remember the rules from school textbooks, but nevertheless they write words correctly. You can, of course, think that this is due to developed intuition, but in fact reading is “fault” for everything. Here's your answer on how to improve your spelling. You need to read as much as possible in English. And it can be not only fiction books adapted by readers, but also articles in online magazines, scripts for your favorite films. Why scripts? The fact is that subtitles sometimes contain very childish errors. While reading, visual memory is activated. But it has long been known that more than 80% of information we remember just through visual images and perception.

A very interesting way of setting the spelling technique of English words is offered by the author of this video. He recommends writing several thousand lexical items from dictation. Then put circles next to those words that you wrote incorrectly, and then write them out again. Thus, according to the author of the video, you can get rid of 90-100% of spelling errors.

Not a day without using English

If you want to learn how to write correctly - write. It would seem that everything is so simple. But what to write? Of course, one of the best ways to improve your spelling skills is to chat with foreign friends. Especially if you are exchanging large messages. Regularly using many words in writing, you simply cannot help but remember their spelling. What to do if you don't have English-speaking friends yet? A very effective method for improving spelling and some other aspects (eg grammar) is to rewrite books or articles you like by hand. Choose your favorite work and copy 1-2 pages of text into your notebook every day. At the same time, keep in mind: what you rewrite must be of interest to you. If you like movies or books - rewrite reviews from serious sites, love nature - rewrite subtitles for National Geographic or BBC programs (for example, the film Planet Earth). Why do we recommend writing by hand? It has been proven that when writing a text by hand, mechanical memory is involved, which significantly speeds up the process of memorizing the spelling of words.

1. When you study English, for example, do exercises from grammar books, be sure to write down the entire sentence, and not just the word or combination that you need to choose. Do the same when completing assignments, where you can simply circle the correct option.

2. After looking at the spelling of the word in the dictionary, be sure to type it yourself, and do not copy.

Nobody argues that English spelling is still a task for any unprepared person. Even native speakers themselves are not always sure of the correct spelling of words (spelling). They, like us, often have to check the spelling in the dictionary. Not surprisingly, English schools often hold "spelling contests" - competitions in which the winner is the one who correctly spells a compound word.

We, who study English in our homeland, simply have to memorize the correct spelling of words. Luckily, there are a few tricks to help make our lives just a little bit easier.

✓ Write "i" before "e"(fr ie nd, dr ie d, f ie ry)
This rule works in almost all cases. But there are two exceptions:
If your phrase i+e comes after the letter "c", then here it is necessary to write the opposite, that is, e + i (rec ei ve).
If the syllable sounds like “” (for example, as in the word n ei gbor). Examples: w ei gh, h ei r)

✓ letter “q” almost always followed by a letter "u" (qu ick, qu een, qu ack)
Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule, and "q" sometimes manages to hide. But you are unlikely to ever come across these words. Then these are most often either abbreviations (QA = quality assurance - technical control department), or proper names (Qaanaaq - Qaanaak - a village in the north-west of Greenland), or rarely used borrowings from other languages ​​​​(qorma - Indian cuisine dish based on sour cream) .

✓ Letter "s" never follows a letter "x"

✓ Don't be afraid to "drop" "e", if the word ends with this letter, and you need to add an ending that begins with a vowel (hope - hoping, use - using). But if you want to attach a suffix to a word that begins with a consonant, then you really need a silent “e” (use - useful, hope - hopeful).

✓ If you want to add an ending to a word that ends in “y” and there is a consonant before “y”, then feel free to change “y” to “i” (beauty - beautiful, hurry - hurried)

✓ Want to add an ending –ing? Double the consonant if the word ends in a consonant preceded by one vowel! For example: swim - swimming, begin - beginning. This rule, by the way, applies if you want to add other endings (-er, - ed) - swimmer, beginner.

✓ If you write the word “all” by itself, then it is worth remembering the two letters “l”. Well, if “all” is attached to another word, then we write one letter “l” (almost, always). By the way, if the word ends with “ful”, then such “ful” is always written with one “l” (useful, helpful)

✓ When changing from singular to plural, pay attention to words ending in "y". If there is a consonant before the “y”, then discard the “y” and write “i” instead, adding the desired ending (lady - ladies). And if there is a vowel before “y”, then leave everything as it is and just add your ending (toy - toys).

✓ Many words that end in “-f” or “-fe” like to change their plural tails to “-ves” (calf – calves, half – halves)

✓ Don't forget to add "-es" when changing singular to plural in words ending in -s, -ss, -z -ch -sh –x. This rule was invented many years ago, so as not to fasten a lot of consonants in a row and not accidentally break the language (business → businesses, watch → watches)

These are the basic rules of English spelling. Unfortunately, many words do not fall under the general schemes. So these words will just have to be crammed. Well, to make it not so boring, try to read more. So you can visually remember the correct spelling of words. We also recommend that you download various word games to your phone. For example, scrabble (scrabble, something like our "erudite"). In such an entertaining manner, you will soon remember how to spell these difficult English words.

Shutikova Anna

You already know that any language, like any other discipline, has its own characteristics, laws and rules. In order to master a foreign language, a beginner must know the basic mechanisms and means by which this or that subject of study operates. Without knowing what specifically lies in such basic concepts as grammar, phonetics, spelling, syntax, it is impossible to master a foreign language.

That is why today we will consider the basic rules that are inherent in the English language from various positions:

• Grammar
• Reading

In my opinion, this is the basis of every language, the core of speech, around which the interaction of all other linguistic and lexical units is built. Of course, the main goal for a beginner to learn English is to master spoken language.

But simply knowing the translation of a few hundred or a thousand words will not bring you one step closer to communicating in a foreign language. It is necessary to learn how to read correctly, learn how to build phrases from these words, and sentences from phrases, putting them in order grammatically and changing the endings. Otherwise, a native speaker will never understand you. For this, it is necessary to learn the grammar, spelling and rules of reading English.

grammar rules

Spelling rules

Spelling is a set of laws and rules that govern the spelling of words. English spelling is one of the most difficult, since the pronunciation of words does not coincide with its spelling at all. Words in English are formed not according to phonetic principles (we both hear and write), but according to morphological laws, most often in a morphemic way - by adding a suffix and / or prefix to the root.

Consider the basic basics of English spelling:

• When adding the suffix "-ful" to a word with final "-ll", one consonant is omitted: Will + ful = willful
• By adding a suffix that begins with a vowel (-ed, -ing, -er, etc.) to a word with an unreadable "e" at the end, that letter also disappears: Love + ed = loved
• If a suffix starting with a consonant (-ment, -ful, -ly, -ness, etc.) is added to a word with an unreadable “e” at the end, then “e” is preserved: Engage + ment = engagement. Exceptions: awful, wholly, duly, truly
• A one-syllable word doubles the final consonant if it ends in a vowel+consonant, and the added suf. starts with a vowel: Cut + ing = cutting, Rob + er = robber
• A one-syllable word does NOT double the last letter if the same suffixes are added and the word ends in two consonants or vowels: Wish + ed = wished
• Preserve "e" when adding "-ous" and "-able" to a word beginning with "-ge" or "-ce": Courage + ous = courageous, Change + able = changeable
• By adding suffixes, the "-ee" words don't lose anything: Agree + ment = agreement, See + ing = seeing
• Units, with the ending "y" when joining a suf., starting with acc. Replaced with "i": Carry + ed = carried, Beauty + ful = beautiful
• Conversely, adding "-ing" changes the final "-ie" to "y": Lie + ing = lying, Die + ing = dying
• Words with a final consonant and "y" retain "y" by adding "-ing": Marry + ing = marrying

In the process of doing practical exercises, all these rules are learned much better and faster. Therefore, armed with the acquired theoretical knowledge, immediately begin to practice. Only in this way can you turn knowledge into skills and abilities. Several exercises you can download right now.

English spelling presents a lot of difficulties not only for language learners, but also for native speakers. For many historical reasons between the spelling of English words and pronunciation, it is sometimes difficult to find a relationship. As a result, the spelling of this language sometimes seems completely illogical. However, this is no reason to make mistakes!

Let's look at the rules that will help you figure out the mysteries of English spelling. But do not forget, even in strict rules there are exceptions.

Suffixes -er/-est

The suffixes -er or -est are used to form the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives. In most cases, endings are simply added to the end of the word:

long - longer - the longest

clean-cleaner-the cleanest

full - fuller - the fullest

consonant + -y, then -y is replaced by -i:

funny - funnier - the funniest

If the adjective ends in consonant + -e, then -e is discarded:

large - larger - the largest

If the adjective ends in , the last consonant is doubled:

thin - thinner - the thinnest

big - bigger - the biggest

Endings -ing/-ed

endings -ing and -ed are used to form verb forms:

work - working - worked

stay - staying - stayed

open - opening - opened

If the verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant and a stressed syllable, the last consonant is doubled:

drop - dropping - dropped

begin-beginning

If the verb ends in consonant + -e, then -e is discarded:

move-moving-moved

dance - dancing - danced

When the verb ends in -ie, then -ie is replaced by -y if it ends with -ing:

and does not change after the end -ed:

Suffix -ly

sharp-sharply

quiet - quietly

beautiful - beautifully

senselessly - senselessly

intelligent—intelligently

If the adjective ends in -ll, then only -y is added to it:

If the adjective ends in consonant + -le, the trailing -e is dropped and -y is added:

possible - possibly

If the adjective ends in -y(except for monosyllabic adjectives), then -y is replaced by -i and -ly is added:

happy - happily

There are two single-syllable exceptions:

Ending -s

Ending -s used in two cases:

To form the plural of nouns (book - books) ()

To form a 3rd person singular verb in Present Simple (I work - he works)

When a word ends in -ch, -s, -sh, -x, then the ending -es is added:

church—churches

class - classes

If the word ends with -f / -fe, then -f is replaced by -v and -es is added:

shelf - shelves

This is not a strict rule. Examples of exceptions: beliefs, cliffs, chiefs, gulfs, proofs, roofs.

If the word ends with consonant + -y, then -y is replaced by -i and the ending -es is added:

Most words ending in -o, also use the ending -es:

potatoes

tomato - tomatoes

volcanoes

However, in many modern words the ending -s:

photo - photos

piano-pianos

tango-tangos

studio-studios

Suffixes -ible / -able

Many English adjectives end in -ible and -able.

The suffix -ible is used for words of Latin origin. There are about 180 of them in total. New words are not formed with this suffix. Here are the most common examples:

Suffix -able is used for:

• some Latin words, for example: dependable
• non-Latin words, for example: affordable, renewable, washable
• modern words, for example: networkable, windsurfable

There is a rule that will help you determine the correct spelling of the adjective suffix. It works in most cases (but not all!). Remember, if you're not sure, it's best to use a dictionary. The rule is:

If you take away from the adjective -able, the full word (countable - count) will remain.

If you take away -ible, the full word won't work (note that accessible, contemptible, digestible, flexible, and suggestible are exceptions to this rule).

-ie- or -ei- at ​​the root

Sometimes it is difficult to remember, a word is written through -ie- or -ei-. There is a very simple rule for this:

I before E but not after C

It works if the vowels ie / ei give a long sound [i:]. Consider:

I before E: chief, retrieve, brief, field, pierce, thief, believe, mischievous

but not after C: perceive, receipt, ceiling, deceit, conceit, conceive, deceive, receive

If the sound in the middle of the word is pronounced like, then it is written through -ei-:

There are a few common exceptions to this rule:

British and American spelling

There are several fundamental differences between British and American spelling.

final -l doubles in verbs in stressed and unstressed syllables in British, but only in stressed syllables in American:

BrE:re Bel—re bell ed; tra vel- tra well-veled

AmE:re Bel—re bell ed; tra vel- tra veled

Many words ending in -re in British, end in -er in American:

BrE: centre, theater, fibers

AmE: center, theater, fiber

-ogue in British, written with -og in American:

BrE: analogue, catalog

AmE: analog, catalog

Words that end in -our in British, in American they are written with -or:

BrE: colour, labor

AmE: color, labor

Some British verbs may end in -ise or -ize, but only on -ize in American:

BrE: realize, realize; harmonize, harmonize

AmE: realize; harmonize

Some words end in -ce in British and -se in American:

BrE: defense, license (n.), pretence

AmE: defense, license (n.), pretense

At the very beginning of the 16th century, a large amount of borrowed vocabulary appeared in the English language due to some foreign policy factors. Gradually, new words took root and are now considered “native English”. Before moving on, let's remember what the word consists of. In its simplest sense, a word includes meaning, form, and pronunciation. So, with new words came new forms of their designation in writing, and a little spelling confusion began, which still confuses both the English themselves and foreigners who study English.

It is sometimes said that half of the English words are not spelled correctly. It is not true. The number of words in English that are not spelled the way they are heard is about 10% ( C. Taggart, J.A. wines. My Grammar and I. 2011. P. 14). But this is still a very large number of exceptions and deviations from the rules.

Interestingly, in English there is a tendency not to pronounce some letters in words, for example, we miss the letter g when pronouncing words. weight and daughter, the letter b - in the pronunciation of words subtle, and the letter p in pneumonia.

There is another problem with English spelling. Many words with different meanings sound the same but are spelled differently. These are couples like aloud(dry)/ allowed(let), beach(Beach)/ beech(beech), fair (fair)/fare (cost), knot(node)/ not(not), pale(pale) / pail(bucket), plane(airplane)/ plain(evident). By the way, such words are called homophones.

The spelling of many other words in the English language also causes difficulties. Here are just a few of the English words most commonly misspelled:

accidentally

accommodate

association

broccoli

business

cemetery

definite

diarrhoea

embarrass

millennium

necessary

privilege

separate

Sincerely

If the words above are just to be memorized, then there are tricks for some of the words. So very often they confuse the spelling of single-root verbs and nouns in English (confused letters c and s ), but you just need to remember that usually the letter c used at the end of English nouns, and the letter s at the end of English verbs.

"i" before "e" except after "c"

In addition, there is a wonderful spelling rule in English that is very easy to remember. In English it sounds like this: "i" before "e" except after "c". The fact is that in English the long sound /i:/ can be expressed as a combination ie, and the combination ei. Combination ie, as the rule above tells us, is used in most cases, and the combination ei in cases where it is preceded by a consonant c. But this rule only works when the combinations ie and ei pronounced as a long /i:/, and does not work in words ancient, foreign, neither, proteins, science, seize, species, wine and many others. As you can see, even the most famous rule of English spelling has deviations. Moral: check each new word in the dictionary

One word or two?

Merged and separated spelling is also an interesting aspect of English spelling. Let's look at a few common examples.

a lot / a lot

For some reason, the combined spelling of the combination a lot- a very common mistake, although the words alot and English is not. Correct option a lot.

alright / all right

In dictionary Chamber Dictionary we find information that the preferred option is all right, although the option right is admissible.

altogether / all together

Consider two examples:

Altogether, it's sixty pounds.

Together (for everything) 60 pounds.

All together now!

Now all together!

always / all ways

I always get lost in Rome.

I always get lost in Rome.

All ways lead to Rome.

All roads lead to Rome.

cannot/cannot

Both options are valid, but the cannot option is more common.

everyday / every day

His everyday life is so boring!

His daily life is so boring!

Every day I dream of her!

Every day I dream about her!

It should be remembered that a merged and separate description performs in such cases a descriptive function.

Where to start a word? (English prefixes)

The most common prefixes in English include the following:

Rule: adding a prefix in English does not affect the spelling of the body of the word, and almost never affects the spelling of the prefix itself. The prefix retains its graphical form even when its final letter and the initial letter of the root part of the word are the same, for example, disservice, dissimilar, unnecessary.

All's well that ends well: all and well

Rule: English words all and well"lose" one -l, when used as prefixes: altogether, welfare. This rule does not apply to words with a hyphen: all-embracing, well-adjusted, well-bred.

Not what I meant: English prefixes with a negative meaning

Prefixes help to give the word the opposite meaning. dis-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, mis- and un-. Prefixes il-, ir- and im- are variations of the prefix in-. Pay attention to the examples: disobey, illogical, impossible, inapplicable, irresponsible, misunderstood, unattainable.

Happy Endings: English suffixes

Here are typical English suffixes:

Unlike adding English prefixes, suffixes affect the spelling of the entire word. For example, if a word ends in -y preceded by a consonant, then when adding a suffix -y usually changes to - i-: happy-happiness; beauty-beautiful. But if before - y there is a vowel, then the spelling does not change when adding a suffix: enjoy — enjoyment. If the word ends in - e, then when you add a suffix, this letter usually disappears: love - lovable; sense - sensible. There are, of course, some inexplicable words. Yes, both words aging and aging are true. It's the same with words. likable and likeable. If someone can explain this with a rule - write comments!

Capitalization: when to use capital letters in English

Cases of using a capital letter in English:

Capital letters in English should not be used in the following cases.