37 Common English Spelling Errors To Avoid in Your Writing

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A spelling error is like a stain on a white shirt. Many times, the most common English spelling errors are made in simple words. 

Learning a language is all about literacy and fluency. It is the ability to convey meaning. Therefore mastering spelling and grammar is the highest form of art. 

But bad spelling can put a dent in your reputation whether you are a student or professional.

Some writing courses may be useful in such cases. Avoiding common English spelling errors makes writing seem more intelligent and reliable. Furthermore, it is also an essential part of learning to convey ideas effectively.

Why is spelling so important?

Correct spelling is important for three main reasons: 

• Communication: Spelling is an important component of communication. 
• Literacy: Spelling and reading are closely related skills. Hence, they help develop overall literacy. 
• Employment: Certainly, spelling quality has a great impact on employment opportunities. According to a study, 43% of recruiters automatically discard a candidate’s resume if it has spelling errors. 

Needless to say, spellings are as important as grammar. If you wish to be good at the English language, then you must avoid these common English spelling errors. 

Here we have compiled a list of some of the most common English spelling errors:

1. Accommodate

Correct	Incorrect
Accommodate	Acomodate, Acommodate

Misspelt by many, the word accommodate means to provide lodging or meet the needs of someone. Many forget that there is a double c and a double m in the word. 

2. Except

Correct	Incorrect
Except	Expect, Accept

One of the most common English spelling errors made is with the word ‘except’. Except means to not include or other than. However, it is often confused with the word accept which means to undertake. It could be because the two words sound alike. Also, it is often confused with expect which means to await or anticipate. Therefore, it is always wise to double check this word.

3. Compliment

Correct	Incorrect
Compliment	Complement

Who doesn’t like getting compliments? Giving out compliments is the number one way to make people like you! But did you know that the word compliment is very different from the word complement? Although there is the difference of just one letter. Compliment means to praise someone. On the other hand, complement means to complete or improve something.

4. A lot

Correct	Incorrect
A lot	Alot, Allot

When people tend to mean ‘a large quantity’ they use the word a lot. In essence, they are two words. However, people write it as just one word, such as alot. While others confuse it with the word ‘allot’ which means ‘give or assign to someone’. So, be careful with this spelling. 

5. Occasion

Correct	Incorrect
Occasion	Occassion, Ocassion

One of the most common English spelling errors happens with the word ‘occasion’. It is more likely to be spelled with a double s instead of the single s. Therefore, always remember the word occasion has a double c and a single s. 

6. Grammar

Correct	Incorrect
Grammar	Grammer

Amazingly, even those good at English make this mistake. The word grammar is spelt with an a and not an e at the end. Indeed, a good way to remember this is that the word has two a’s, two m’s and two r’s! 

7. Principal

Correct	Incorrect
Principal	Principle, Principel

The word ‘principal’ means ‘main’ or ‘important’. However, if you misspell it as ‘principle’ the meaning of the word changes. It begins to mean a fundamental truth, a belief or a rule. Therefore, it is always wise to double check this spelling. 

8. Personal

Correct	Incorrect
Personal	Personel, Personnel.

While the word ‘personal’ means belonging to someone; it can often be confused with the word personnel. Personnel refers to the people employed in an organisation or service. So, be careful with this spelling. 

9. Receipt

Correct	Incorrect
Receipt	Receet, Recipt, Receit

The confusion arises because of the difference in spelling and pronunciation. While ‘receipt’ is spelled with a p, the letter is silent. So, most people omit it while writing. Another common English spelling error with this word happens with the placement of c,e and i. Therefore, it is always good to remember the rule i before e, except after c.

10. Lieutenant

Correct	Incorrect
Lieutenant	Leftenant, Luetanant

The word ‘Lieutenant’ which is a rank in the army, is one of the most common misspelt words in English. Again, the error may result from the difference in pronunciation and the spelling. While the word is pronounced as ‘left-tenant’ in British English, it is spelt in a completely different way. Therefore, remember that the word has two t’s, two e’s and two n’s.

11. Camouflage

Correct	Incorrect
Camouflage	Camoflash

Again, this is one confusing word when it comes to spelling it. Because of the spelling and pronunciation difference, it is misspelt as camoflash or camoflaj. Therefore, it is better to make note of the correct spelling. 

12. Acquire

Correct	Incorrect
Acquire	Accquire, Inquire

One of the common English spelling errors made with the word ‘acquire’. It is wrongly spelt with two c’s. And while the word acquire means to learn, develop or obtain it can be confused with inquire. Even a spell checker may not be able to correct such errors. 

13. Calendar

Correct	Incorrect
Calendar	Calender

This is again one of the most common English spelling errors made. Many times the word ‘calendar’ is spelled with an e instead of an a. Therefore, the best way to remember the correct spelling is to know that the word has two a’s. Thus, the second and the second last letter is a!

14. Experience

Correct	Incorrect
Experience	Expirence, Expereince

Such a common word, but so commonly misspelt! Therefore, a good way to get the spelling correct is to remember that the word has four e’s. Also, keep in mind the rule of i before e, except after c.

15. Licence

Correct	Incorrect
Licence	Lisense

The word ‘licence’ is even more confusing due to it having different spellings in British English and American English. However, one has to be very careful. The correct spelling is either ‘license’ or ‘licence’ and not ‘lisense’. 

16. Maintenance

Correct	Incorrect
Maintenance	Maintainence

This is one of the most common English spelling errors made. The word

maintenance is spelled as main-tenance and not as maintain-nance. Therefore, one has to be extra careful while writing this word.  

17. Necessary

Correct	Incorrect
Necessary	Neccesary, Naccesary

The word necessary means something needed to be done or compulsory. However, may people make the mistake of spelling it with an extra c or an extra a. So, you should always remember that necessary has two successive e’s and two consecutive s’s.

18. Privilege

Correct	Incorrect
Privilege	Prevelige, Previlage

Privilege is one of the words that is often spelled wrong. The word means a special honour or right. It is spelled with two i’s before the L and two e’s after the L.

19. Receive

Correct	Incorrect
Receive	Recieve, Receve

Again, this is one of the most common English spelling errors made. The word ‘receive’ means to get or be presented with something. But many people misspell it. Therefore, the thumb rule to remember here is the i before e except after c. And here the c pushes the i after e. 

20. Referred 

Correct	Incorrect
Referred	Reffered

The word refer is easy to spell. But the problem arises with the word referred. Many people spell this word with two f’s instead of the two r’s. So, it is crucial to remember that ‘referred’ has three r’s and three e’s in total!

21. Separate

Correct	Incorrect
Separate	Saparate, Seperate

Separate means not joined, different or distinct. The easiest way to remember this spelling is by making a mental note about the a’s and the e’s. The word has two a’s in before and after the r in the middle. And the e’s at the beginning and the end. 

22. Withhold

Correct	Incorrect
Withhold	Withold

This error is so easy to make that many people do not even notice the mistake. The word ‘withhold’ is spelled with two h’s. Therefore, the correct spelling is with+hold. Certainly not with+old. Hence, make a note of that!

23. Pastime

Correct	Incorrect
Pastime	Pastime

While the word withhold has a double h in it, the word pastime has a single s. Many people make the spelling error of writing it with a double s. Therefore, it is important to remember that it is ‘pastime’ and not ‘passtime’. Even though the word pastime means an activity done to pass the time. 

24. Until 

Correct	Incorrect
Until	Untill

This is again one of the common English spelling errors made. The word ‘until’ is written as ‘untill’ by many. This is certainly the wrong spelling. While the word means ‘up to a point or event in time’ it has to be remembered that it is spelt with only one l at the end. 

25. Achieve

Correct	Incorrect
Achieve	Acheive

This is again one of the words that is constantly misspelt. This is another example of the words that follow the i before e, except after c rule. Therefore, it is important to remember that the presence of the h after the c makes the i appear before the e. 

26. Acceptable

Correct	Incorrect
Acceptable	Acceptible

While there is very little difference in the pronunciation of the two spellings, the correct one is acceptable. Many people misspell it as acceptible. However, remembering that the word has two a’s, two c’s and two c’s helps in spelling it correctly. 

27. Pronunciation

Correct	Incorrect
Pronunciation	Pronounciation

This is one of those common English spelling errors that should not be so common! It is easier to spell this word because the pronunciation of the word is just as it is spelled. The word pronoun is read as ‘Pro-noun’. On the other hand, the word pronunciation is read as ‘Pro-nun-ciation’. Hence it should be easy to spell. 

28. Phenomenon

Correct	Incorrect
Phenomenon	Phenomenun

Many people have difficulty in the pronunciation as well as the spelling of this word. While the Ph has an F sound to it, the spelling ends with a -non.  

29. Tomorrow

Correct	Incorrect
Tomorrow	Tommorow

This word finds a place in the list of the most common English spelling errors. While being a very widely used word, it is often wrongly written. Therefore, it is important to remember that tomorrow has two r’s but not two m’s. 

30. Definitely

Correct	Incorrect
Definitely	Defenately

Definitely can be misspelt in many ways. The word has two e’s and two i’s. But still many people write various spellings of the same word. Therefore, always double-check this word. Also, there is definitely no a in the word!

31. Embarrassed

Correct	Incorrect
Embarrassed	Embbarrassed

There are many ways this word is misspelt. Many people spell it with double b or single r or a single s. However, the correct spelling is ‘embarrassed’. Thus, it has two r’s and two s’s but only one b. 

32. Stationery

Correct	Incorrect
Stationery	Stationary

It is amazing how a single letter can change the entire meaning of a word. Like, the word ‘stationery’ means writing and other office materials. But, the word ‘stationary’ means fixed or not moving. An easy trick to remember the spelling is by relating the e in ‘stationery’ to the e in ‘pens’ and ‘pencils’ which are writing materials. 

33. Inconvenience

Correct	Incorrect
Inconvenience	Inconvinience

Again, a minor spelling error can cause wrong impressions. The word inconvenience is spelt by following the i before e rule. In addition, there is an e after the v.

34. Colleague

Correct	Incorrect
Colleague	Coleague

The word means ‘a person with whom one works’. Many people often misspell this word. Therefore, one should always remember that the word ‘colleague’ is written as Col-League.

35. Lose

Correct	Incorrect
Lose	Loose

One of the most common English spelling errors made with this word. However, an extra o in the spelling changes the entire meaning. The word ‘lose’ means ‘to fail’. On the other hand, the word ‘loose’ means ‘not firm or tight’. Hence, it is very important to recheck the spelling. 

36. Dilemma

Correct	Incorrect
Dilemma	Delimma

Many times people are in a dilemma regarding the spelling of the word ‘dilemma’! Most people get confused and spell the word with a single m. Furthermore, some people write e in place of i and vice versa. However, the correct spelling consists of a double m and i first and e later. 

37. Committed

Correct	Incorrect
Committed	Commited

A lot of people write this word with the wrong spelling. The word committed has two m’s, and two t’s. An easy way to remember is that the word is committed to the m’s and the t’s! 

Four spelling rules you should know:

1. I Before E, Except After C

The rule goes like this:

I before E, Except after C. This simply means that in most spellings ‘i’ comes before the letter e but in the presence of a c, ‘i’ comes next to the letter e. Although there are many exceptions to this rule, it does help in getting many spellings correct!

An ‘i’ before ‘e’ examples: piece, believe, field, etc.

Except after C’ examples: received, ceiling, deceit, etc.

2. Adding suffixes to words that finish with a y

When you add a suffix such as -ed, -er, or -est to a word that finishes with a y, the y changes to an i. Some examples are mentioned below:

• Cry – cried – crier
• Dry – dried – drier
• Lay – laid 
• Baby – babies
• Family – families
  

3. The silent e

Furthermore, if an e appears after a consonant at the end of a word, it is silent. However, it does affect the way the vowel that comes before the consonant is pronounced. The e makes the vowel sound long. Therefore, the vowel sound of i is longer in the word ‘kite’. Whereas it is shorter in the word ‘kitten’. This is because of the presence or absence of the silent e at the end. 

4. Plural suffixes

Lastly, many people get confused with writing plurals. Do you add s or an add an -es to make a plural? The rule is simple. If a word finishes with -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z, you add -es to make it plural. For all other endings, add -s.

How to avoid making common English spelling errors?

The first line of defence against common English spelling errors is using a software spellchecker. Therefore, one needs to have a good spell-checker app or plugin. 

Even though there are a lot of spell checkers available in the market, here are the three best-rated ones:

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is one of the best spell checkers. It assists your writing not only by correcting spellings but also grammar. It can be added as an extension to the browser. Furthermore, one can download the desktop application or use it as a keyboard on your mobile. Therefore, it is compatible with all platforms. So, it helps you avoid common English spelling errors. 

Check out Grammarly. 

2. Language Tool

This proofreading and grammar checker not only fixes spelling mistakes but also grammatical errors. Moreover, it does so in more than 20 languages. Therefore, it helps you avoid common English spelling errors. 

Check out the Language tool.

3. WhiteSmoke

This app lets you check not only spellings and punctuation but also grammar and style. Indeed, it is one of the best spelling checkers out there! However, there is no free or trial period available. But, it helps you avoid common English spelling errors. 

Get WhiteSmoke.

But even a spell checker doesn’t catch every mistake. It points out mistakes but it won’t spot a spelling mistake of a word that would be correct in a different context. This often happens with homophones that are words with a similar pronunciation such as quiet and quite.

So, what else can you do?

Keep a checklist of commonly misspelt words

If you want to avoid making common English spelling errors,  keep a checklist of commonly misspelt words. SInce you can not entirely rely on a spell checker tool, this is one of the best ways to avoid mistakes. 

Check out this list of some of the most common English spelling errors: 

If along with good spellings you wish to learn more about content writing, then consider the content writing course offered by Henry Harvin.

Henry Harvin stands as one of the leading providers of training and advisory services. With a strong team of 400 and more employees and 650 plus consultants, it has offices in more than 11 cities in the world. 

Needless to say, it certainly offers an amazingly curated course for those who wish to learn content writing. In total it provides 40 hours of training. 15 hours of lectures, 15 hours of assignments and 15 hours of hands-on tools. In addition, it provides free access to content writing tools. Also, a Certified Digital Content Writer Certificate is awarded at the completion of the course. It opens up numerous freelance opportunities as well. 

Learning Benefits of the course:

• Learn fluent, confident, and flawless English.
• Also, learn to write 30+ types of content.
• Offers 3 months of paid internship.
• The internship is optional and with flexible hours.
• Communication and understanding ideas, concepts, and topics become easy.
• Also, teaches advanced English grammar.
• Moreover, publish your first e-book, blog and press release. 
• Unlimited live batches are available at no extra cost.
• Helps you become a fluent writer of the global language.
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• Moreover, a comprehensive curriculum allows candidates to gain confidence and fluency.
• 1 year of Gold Membership gives access to recorded videos, masterclasses, and live projects.
• Regular Bootcamp sessions are conducted.
• In addition, provides regular career guidance and weekly job support. 
• Also, mock interview sessions help improve communication skills.
• Provides training, certification, internship, membership and much more in the 9-in-1 course.

Conclusion:

Indeed spellings are important. There is no denying that. Avoiding common English spelling errors makes your writing better and more believable. On the other hand, it gives you a good reputation. Moreover, correct spelling facilitates effective communication. However, many people pay little attention to spelling. This may be because of the wide use of text speak. The SMS language has become too common even outside its proper environment. But using good spelling isn’t simply about sticking to old rules. Correct spelling helps in easy communication and comprehension. Furthermore, it averts confusion, and distraction and helps make a good impression.  

If this article helped you, you may also like reading some other similar blogs:

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• Why is Editing Important in Writing? 5 Reasons Not to Skip it
• Why is Grammar Important? Learn These 4 Essential Rules

• Top 25 Richest Writers: Learn From Their Success
• 65 Palindrome Words, Sentences, And Phrases To Check Out

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