Spelling
Ben Stavis
May 2003
Spell checker is one of the great inventions of this era, but it is
not perfect. Its obvious problem is that it can not tell when a properly
spelled word is used incorrectly. This happens very often when students
mix up words that sound the same but that mean different things and are
spelled differently. This error is made in confusing plurals and possessives
and in mixing up homonyms. There are many other challenges and oddities
in English spelling.
| Plural
Possessive |
Close Calls | Homonyms | Irregularlities | Oddities |
SINGULAR PLURAL
noun book books
possessive book's books'
The books about sports are on the second floor.
The book's cover is tearing.
The books' prices are falling.
noun country countries
possessive country's countries'
The countries joined the UN.
The country's capital is Paris.
The countries' flags are on display at the UN.
noun child children
possessive child's
children's
Watch out; possessive pronouns do not have the apostrophe because the apostrophe is reserved for contractions:
its is singular possessive
their is the plural possessive. " its' "
DOES NOT EXIST
it's is a contraction for
"it is"
It's a real problem. Its problem is that the apostrophe makes
you think it's possessive, when it isn't.
advice-advise
I advise you not to listen to his advice.
affect-effect
His actions affected me a lot because they effected
a big change in the environment. One effect was loss of confidence.
He was emotionally disturbed and had no sense of affect. He
affected a British accent. The effect of this behavior was to leave
him further isolated.
secession-succession
Yugoslavia has seen a succession of secession movements.
tests-testes
"Doctor, how are my mother's tests?" "Nothing to worry
about, all her testes are fine." (Someone actually made this "typographical
error," and spell checker did not save her.)
a part-apart
After I took apart my watch, I couldn't find a part.
ail-ale
I really love that Danish ale, but when I drink
too much I get an ale ail.
aid-aide
The general's aide gave him a lot of aid in dealing
with foreign cultures.
air-heir
He was the son of the inventor of a special furnace.
He was a hot air heir.
aisle-isle
If you have an aisle seat, you can't see the pretty
isle on the right.
all-awl
The shoemaker makes all thread holes with an awl.
allowed-aloud
Quiet, you are not allowed to speak aloud in the
library.
ate-eight
He ate eight donuts.
auger-augur
That auger has a diamond tip; it augurs well for
drilling through hard rock.
bail-bale
After a wild night ashore, the sailor needed a bale
of money to pay the bail. Finally, to return the the ship, he had
to bail out his rowboat.
band-banned
The "Raunchy Band" was so raunchy that it was banned
in city after city. It changed its name to the "Banned Band."
be-bee
To be a bee or not to be a bee, this is the question
for a caterpillar.
beach-beech
The lake on the side of the mountain had beech trees
right up to the beach. It had a beech beach.
bear-bare
I hope they put clothes on that teddy bear, because I
can't bear to see a bare bear.
beat-beet
To make red dye, first you beat the
color out a beet.
bin-been
The mouse has been hiding in the potato bin.
beer-bier
He was such a drunkard, we had to put a bottle of
beer on his bier.
berth-birth
We were a hundred miles offshore, when she went
into labor. We put her in the starboard berth, and she gave birth
to a health girl. After that, we always referred to that bunk as
the birth berth.
bite-bight
He didn't like to bite a bullet because of the lead.
So he took a loop of rope and bit the bight. It was his bight bite.
bloc-block
The Soviet Bloc tried to block imperialism.
boar-bore
I think that hunting wild boar is a real bore.
I shot one and bore the boar on my back all the way back to the parking
lot. I would rather bore holes in wood.
board-bored
The Board of Directors is tired of this question.
It is a bored board.
boarder-border
As soon as he crossed the border, he found a kind
woman who took him in as a boarder.
braise-brays
While the donkey brays in the background, I'll braise
some meat for dinner.
brake-break
I hope the brake on the car doesn't break.
breach-breech
The breech of the rifle nestled in his shoulder;
he shot and made a hole in his former friend's breeches. The
shooting led to the final breach of a long friendship.
bred-bread
Well bred people eat cake, not bread.
bridal-bridle
Let's go to the wedding now. I'll bridle up
the horses; you get the box with the bridal gown.
by-buy
I want to buy a house that is by the park.
Cain-cane
Cain got old and needed a walking cane. It
was a Cain cane.
capitol-capital
A lot of foreign capital is invested in the capital
city.
The Capitol building is located in our nation's
capital, Washington, D.C.
cast-caste
The cast of characters in Indian politics includes
people from different castes.
ceiling-sealing
I am sealing the ceiling to stop the leaks.
cede-seed
After the Germans ceded the land to the French,
the French seeded it with flower seeds.
cell-sell
I want to sell my cell phone.
censor-sensor
A censor must be a very perspective sensor of cultural
values.
cents-sense-scents
He really has a nose for business. He can
sense the scents of a few cents.
chased-chaste
He was peculiar; he always chased chaste women.
check-Czech
My Czech friend went hunting and found a bear
family. He shot the female bear, but the male bear caught
him and ate him. The Czech is in the male. I'll pay his funeral
expenses. The check is in the mail.
cereal-serial
For his last meal before execution, the serial killer
asked for ten bowls of cereal. He went to his death, known as the
serial cereal eater.
clause-claws
The book on cat care has a section on how to cut
off the claws. It can be considered the claws clause.
clew-clue
I don't have a clue which corner of the sail is
called the clew.
complement-compliment
I received a compliment about my fine complement
of rare photographs. This collection complements my old camera collection.
core-corps
Peace Corps volunteers returned and got jobs in
the agency. They have matured and been promoted, and now constitute
the core of the corps.
coarse-course
The first course of his dinner was a very coarse
blend of cereals. It was the coarse course.
crews-cruise
We had three crews for the trans-Pacific cruise.
crude-crewed
The crude boat was crudely crewed by a crude crew.
cue-queue
When the bus driver started the engine, people joined
the line. It was the queue cue.
curd-Kurd
Kurds in northern Iran add special spices to their
yogurt. It is Kurd curd.
cypress-Cyprus
Are there any cypress trees in Cyprus?
days-daze
I can't recall many details of the time of my "youthful
indiscretions." These were my daze days.
decent-descent
Despite the ravages of cancer, he retained his spirits
and humor. It was a decent descent.
descent-dissent
The descent from the summit was very dangerous, and within
the climbing group there was some dissent about the wisdom of not using
safety ropes.
desert-dessert
Because you did not desert me in the desert,
an ice cream dessert is your just desert..
die-dye
In the Chinese film Jou Dou, I was surprised
to see the old man die by falling into the dye vat.
due-do-dew
Dew has settled on my brain, so I can't do the paper
that is due today.
eye-I
I have a scratch in my eye.
fair-fare
The bus ticket to the fair does not cost much.
The fair fare is fair, said the fair haired girl.
feet-feat-fete
Let's fete him for the incredible feat of high jumping
8 feet.
finish-Finnish
My Finnish wife will never finish taking a sauna.
fir-fur
It is not true that fur coats are made from a fir
tree bark.
flare-flair
His has a real flair for shooting off flares.
flea-flee
He ran away to escape the fleas-- the classic flea
flee. He couldn't escape them.
flour-flower
You make flour from the seeds, not the flower of
the wheat plant.
foul-fowl
I forgot to put the chicken in the refrigerator.
It quickly became very foul fowl.
for-fore-four
The duffer warned, "Fore! Watch out for the ball,
I've hit four people already today!"
forth-fourth
He brought forth his fourth idea.
freeze-frieze
I know the frieze of the building is supposed to
be spectacular, but it's so cold now I'd freeze if I went outside to look
It is a frozen frieze..
Gail-gale
Gail is an experienced sailor. She experienced
a whole gale going to Bermuda.
gaze-gays
I gaze at the gays in the Gay Pride Parade.
gorilla-guerilla
The United States sometimes acts like a thousand
pound gorilla, and can not react to lightly armed guerilla movement.
grate-great
The sewage processing plant has a great grate to
separate solids from liquids.
I have a small cheese grater, but the Kraft cheese
company has a much greater grater.
grays-graze
I retired to a ranch. As my hair grays, I
watch the cattle graze.
hail-hale
She gave a loud hail, to warn him of the hail.
He was very hale, and didn't worry.
hare-hair
Waiter, I asked for hare, not hair!
heal-heel
When the boat was at a sharp angle of heel, I slipped
and hurt my heel. It soon will heal.
hear-here
When I am over here, I can't hear the doorbell.
herd-heard
I heard the herd of elephants miles away.
hoarse-horse
The horse whinnied all night, and by morning
was a hoarse horse.
hole-whole
He dug the whole hole by himself.
They found a bible buried in the earth. Worms
got to it.. It was a wholly holey holy book.
hymn-him
When the minister retired, we all sang a special
hymn to him.
incite-insight
If you publish your insight about corruption, it
will incite angry protests.
its-it's
It's hard to tell its color.
Its problem is that it's too old.
key-quay
The gate to the quay was locked, and I don't have
the key. Who has the quay key?
knew-new
I knew that the new edition of the book was needed.
knight-night
One's a knight forever, but once a night's enough.
knot-not
A granny knot is not a good knot. A
slip knot is almost a not knot.
know-no
It's very hard to know when to say no.
No, the new knot I know is not the knot he knew.
led-lead
The lead fisherman used a lead sinker, which led
the bait to the bottom.
let's-lets
The farmer lets us into his garden, so let's gather
some lettuce.
lie-lye
He told a lie about using lye to get his dog to
lie down.
load-lode
In that old mine, there still was a big load of
valuable lode.
made-maid
The maid made the bed.
mail-male
I'll mail a letter to a male friend of mine.
main-Maine-mane
The horse from Maine is the main source of rural energy, and
has a very full mane.
maize-maze
Maize is the international word for what we call
corn. In Iowa, one farmer cuts complex paths in his field and then
charges people to explore his maize maze.
martial-marshall
The marshall marshalled many people to marshal the
martial arts show.
meet-meat
Let's meet at the vegetarian restaurant for lunch,
because I don't eat meat.
might-mite
The mite might leave its host.
mince-mints
I mince mints and sprinkle them on ice cream.
missed-mist
We woke up so late, it was no longer misty.
We missed the mist.
moose-mousse
The wild game restaurant has a very unusual moose
mousse as a side dish. When they show their pet mooses at the Alaska
Pet Show, they fix their tails with a special moose mousse.
muscle-mussel
A mussel muscle is very strong and tasty.
oar-or-ore
You can use an oar or a paddle to reach the ore
region
one-won
We won one game.
palate-palette-pallet
At my factory that makes palettes for artists, they
stack them up on pallets. When I think of the profits from selling
them, my palate waters at the sight of a palette pallet.
pale-pail
First his face turned pale; then he threw up into
the pail.
pair-pare-pear
I will use a knife to pare the pair of pears.
pain-pane
I was in great pain when I was cut by the broken
window pane.
passed-past
Smith passed for five touchdowns in the past three
games.
patience-patients
The doctor was always running slow. His patients
needed a lot of patience.
pea-pee
He had a job in a company that made restaurant menus,
but he was fired when he distributed a menu that listed "pee soup" instead
of "pea soup."
peace-piece
Piece-by-piece, peace will come to the mid-east.
That is the piece peace strategy. The mediator wrote a proposed settlement;
it is the peace piece.
peak-peek
Every time I cross that road, I glance at the manificent
mountain peak. I take a peak peek.
plain-plane
The plain was so flat, it looked like a carpenter
had used a plane.
The air plane had no trouble landing on the
plain.
It was a very plain plane, with no decorations or
other amenities.
pole-poll
I took a poll of people who fish with a pole or
a net.
poor-pore-pour
I watched the sweat pour out of every pore of the
poor man.
pray-prey
I pray I won't become someone else's prey.
prays-praise
He prays to the Lord and gives praise to Him.
prince-prints
The prints of the prince were overexposed and out
of focus.
profit-prophet
Can a prophet earn a profit?
principle-principal
The principal was a man of principle.
rain-rein-reign
Rain reigns. Even God can't rein in the rain clouds.
raise-rays-raze
We will raze the old building and raise a
new building a little differently so that sun rays reach the park.
rap-wrap
Can you please gift wrap that rap CD?
read-reed
I'm looking for a book to read about reed baskets.
It should be good reed read.
In ancient Egypt, when books were made of papyrus,
everything was a reed read.
real-reel
My child has a toy fishing reel, but I have a real
reel.
red-read
My Chinese friends have all read Chairman Mao's
little red book.
reflects-reflex
His quick reflex reflects years of practice and
training.
right-rite-write-wright
In his forthcoming book, Sam Wright will write the
right rite for a pet funeral. My cousin is a playwright. He
keeps the copyright of all his works.
road-rode-rowed
We rowed our boat down the river, very close to
the road on the side. A man rode his horse along the road, while
we rowed.
roll-role
I can just roll out of bed in the morning, eat a
roll, and immediately play the role of a professor.
roots-routes
A travel agent takes people on tours to villages
in Europe from where their ancestors migrated. Her company is called
"Routes to Roots."
sail-sale
I want to buy a new sail for my boat when it is
on sale.
say-se
He argued pro se. Per se, it was a good idea.
But he didn't know what to say.
sea-see
He can see the sea from his new house on the point.
seam-seem
The boat is sinking. It seems she is leaking
at her seams.
seaman-semen
The seaman had no semen; he was sterile.
sects-sex
Some strange religious sects practice group sex.
Seoul-sole-soul
The sole reason to go to Seoul was to inspect the
shoe sole factory. I enjoyed eating spicy sole, and was impressed
by the Christian church, where many souls were trying to save my soul.
sew-so-sow
I will sew a seed bag, so then I can sow the field.
shear-sheer
It is sometimes difficult to shear sheer silk.
Shearing sheep is sheer agony.
Her sharp logic sheared his arguement and exposed
his sheer folly.
should of-should've
" Should of" should've been spelled out, "should
have."
sick-seek-Sikh
When I got sick in India, I tried to seek out a
Sikh doctor.
side-sighed
The big truck passed her safely on the left side,
and she sighed with relief.
sign-sine
In math books, sine is abbreviated sin. So,
sin is the sine sign.
site-sight-cite
I lost sight of the building's site, but I found
its web site and I'll cite it in my paper.
slay-sleigh
When we hunt in the winter, we slay animals and
load them onto the sleigh to get them back.
soar-sore
When I soar on my hang glider, my shoulder gets
sore. It is a soar sore.
son-sun
My son was out in the sun and got burned.
stake-steak
That steak was so rare, you needed to but a stake
through it to keep it from running off the plate.
stationary-stationery
There was a big traffic jam down town. All
the vehicles were stationary, right in front of the stationery store.
steel-steal
Who would steal a pile of steel?
strait-straight
The Strait of Gibraltar lets boats go straight from
the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
suite-sweet
The candy company receives buyers in a room filled
with chocolates. It is called the sweet suite.
tale-tail
Did you ever hear the tale about how the monkey
lost its tail? Monica's autobiography is rumored to be entitled
Tail's Tales.
taught-taut
The old sailor taught me how to tie the taut line
hitch.
teas-tease
You should not tease him, just because he likes
special green teas.
team-teem
My daughter's 5 year old soccer team swarms toward
the ball. It is a teem team.
Thai-tie
On my last trip to Asia, I bought this silk Thai
tie.
tide-tied
I tied up the boat, forgetting it was high tide.
The ropes broke when the tide went out.
time-thyme
Cooking with spices is tricky, especially with thyme.
You have to know when to add it. It's the thyme time.
their-there-they're
They're out there looking for their bicycles.
threw-through
He threw the ball through the window.
throes-throws
I've been through the throes of a deep depression,
and now the economy throws me for a loop.
thrown-throne
The king was thrown off his throne by angry rebelling
peasants.
to-too-two
Seven people are two too many to fit in my car.
told-tolled
The bell tolled ten times. It told everyone
it was time to sleep.
toe-tow
In Bermuda they used to punish people by towing
them across the harbour by their toes. It was called the Bermuda
toe tow.
vale-veil
The vale was obscured by a veil-like mist.
vain-vane-vein
The sailor was so vain, he didn't check the wind
vane and hoisted the sail in vain.
The miner, working in a vein of coal, suffered a
severe cut in his vein.
wail-whale
The whale beached himself. I was very upset
when I heard the whale wail.
waist-waste
With her new diet, her waist wasted away.
I got fat, my waist expanded, and I threw my old belt into the waste basket.
waive-wave
I get sea sick, so if I go sailing with you can
I waive the wave? I don't like to wave at people. Can I get
a waver waiver?
ware-wear-where
You can't wear stoneware. Where can I find something
nice to wear? The shaft shows a lot of wear where it goes through
the bushing.
way-weigh-whey
The dairy farmer gets a special price for watery
part of milk, but it is difficult to measure this. He is looking
for a way to weigh the whey.
weak-week
I have felt weak all week.
weal-wheel
Weal and woe revolve like a wheel.
weather-whether
I don't know whether tomorrow will bring better
weather.
which-witch
Which witch wore which watch?
whine-wine
She gave a romantic wine whine, and I quickly
re-filled her glass.
whose-who's
I'm confused. Who's going to whose house?
wood-would
Wood would be a good material for this.
write-right
I want my students to write in the right way.
yoke-yolk
For a circus act they put a yolk on the hen to get
her to pull a wagon. She was so upset that her eggs had no yoke.
your-you're
You're looking at your friends.
yule-you'll
You'll enjoy the yule time spirit.
If you got to the end, you win the special prize of sharing a poem by a student of mine:
I have a spelling chequer..
It came with my PC.
It plane lea marx four my revue,
Miss steaks eye ken knot sea.
I've run this poem threw it,
And Yule bee pleased two no,
Its let her prefect in its weigh,
My chequer tolled me sew.
Gwyneth Congdon (polsci 92,
1999)
If you thought this was fun, check out Al Cooper's monster
homonym list.
Common
Mistakes in English
Fun With Words
Word
Court and Ms. Grammar
We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;
but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;
yet the plural of House is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
but though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.
Some reasons to be grateful if you grew up speaking
English.
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present,
he thought it was time to present the present.
8) At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a
bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to
sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got
number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
22) I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
How about this:
If you have a rough cough, climbing can be tough when
going through the bough on a tree!
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither
apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't
invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats
are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are
meat
We take English for granted. But if we explore its
paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing
rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea
nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but
fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't
ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one
amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of
all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian
eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking
English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally
insane.
In what language do people recite at a play and play at a
recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses
that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a
wise man and a wiseguy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in
which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you
fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes
off by going on.
Return to Ben Stavis' home page
Email reply to Ben Stavis