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Common Spelling Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Common spelling mistakes occur due to similar spellings or meanings. Here are some of the words that are often confused. 


1.To/Too/Two

To: preposition (e.g., I'm going to the store)

Too: adverb (also, e.g., I'm going too)

Two: number (e.g., I have two apples)


2.Accept/Except

Accept: verb (I accept your gift)

Except: preposition (I’m expecting your arrival)


3.Affect/Effect

Affect: verb (The weather affected her)

Effect: noun (The effect of the rain was devastating.)


4.Its/It’s

Its: possessive pronoun (The cat chases its tail)

It’s: contraction (It’s raining outside)


5.Your/You’re

Your: possessive adjective (I love your scarf)

You’re: contraction (You’re my hero)


6.Then/Than

Then: adverb (We’ll meet then)

Than: conjunction (He looks better than before)


7.Loose/Lose

Loose: adjective ( The screw is loose)

Lose: verb (Don’t lose your bag)


8.Discreet/Discrete

Discreet: adjective (Be discreet when sharing secrets)

Discrete: adjective (The math problems are discrete)


9.Council/Counsel

Council: noun (The city council)

Counsel: verb (I counsel you to reconsider)


10.Their/There/They’re

Their: possessive adjective (It’s their car)

There: adverb (I saw the book there on the table)

They’re: contraction (They’re coming today)


Spelling mistakes to Watch out for in Academic Writing


  • Typographical Errors

These are mistakes made while typing.

  •  Missing or extra letters

  Accomodate instead of accommodate

  • Transposed letters

  Receieve instead of receive

  • Double letter mistakes

  Committment instead of commitment

  • Wrong verb endings

 Seperate instead of separate

  • Incorrect suffixes

  Independant instead of independent


Homophone Mistakes

These are words that sound the same but have different meanings.


1. Flower/Flour

Flower: noun (plant, e.g., "The rose is a beautiful flower")

Flour: noun (powder, e.g., "Use flour to bake bread")


2. Bare/Bear

Bare: adjective (without clothes, e.g., "The tree was bare")

Bear: noun (animal, e.g., "The bear is in the forest")


3. Fair/Fare

Fair: adjective (just, e.g., "The judge was fair")

Fare: noun (price, e.g., "The fare for the taxi")


4. Four/For

Four: number (e.g., "I have four apples")

For: preposition (e.g., "I'm going to the store for milk")


5. Knight/Night

Knight: noun (title, e.g., "He was a knight")

Night: noun (time, e.g., "The party is tonight")


6. Sea/See

Sea: noun (body of water, e.g., "The Mediterranean Sea")

See: verb (perceive, e.g., "I see the sunset")


7. Deer/Dear

Deer: noun (animal, e.g., "The deer is in the forest")

Dear: adjective (beloved, e.g., "You are dear to me")


8. Hear/Here

Hear: verb (perceive sound, e.g., "I hear the music")

Here: adverb (location, e.g., "Come here")


9. Plain/Plane

Plain: adjective (simple, e.g., "The plain landscape")

Plane: noun (aircraft, e.g., "The plane is flying")


10. By/Bye

By: preposition (near, e.g., "The park is by the river")

Bye: interjection (farewell, e.g., "Bye, see you later")


Best Tools For Spelling Correction:

Make use of the tools that are available. Some of them are listen below:

  • Grammarly
  • SpellCheckPlus
  • Ginger
  • Reverso
  • SpellUp

FAQ's

A) loose

B) lose

C) lost

D) loss

Answer: C) lost

A) affect

B) effect

C) impact

D) influence

Answer: B) effect

A) here

B) hear

C) there

D) their

Answer: C) there

A) loose

B) lose

C) lost

D) loss

Answer: B) lose

A) they're

B) their

C) there

D) theirs

Answer: B) their

Common Spelling Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Senthil 30 October 2024
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