Common problems with spelling English words for native speakers and people learning English include:
- One set of double letters or two sets: (accommodate, broccoli, occasion)
- a, e or i in the middle of a word: separate, relevant, definitely
- -ely or –ly endings: friendly, completely
- -ance or –ence word endings: experience, perseverance, reference, guidance
- -ant or –ent word endings: apparent, relevant
- i before e except after c: receipt, but also: weird, height, neither, foreign
- British and American endings: colour/color, fulfill/fulfil, judgement/judgment, aluminium/aluminum, centre/center, licence/license etc.
- Silent first letters: pneumonia, knight, gnat, aisle
- Compound nouns with shared last and first letters – pastime, withhold, misspell
- Many words with Greek, Latin or other origins retain their spellings – asthma, pneumonia, croissant
accessory (not accesory)
accommodate (not acommodate, accomodate)
acknowledgment (US) (UK: acknowledgement)
aisle (not isle)
apparent (not apparant)
asthma (not asma, astma)
broccoli (not brocolli, broccolli)
calendar (not calender)
colleague (not collegue)
completely (not completly)
conscientious (not consciencious)
definitely (not definately, defenitely)
embarrass (not embarass, embarras)
entrepreneur (not entreprenur)
grateful (not greatful, gratefull)
indict (not indite, indight)
indispensable (not indespensible)
island (not Ireland, Iceland)
judgment (US spelling) (UK: judgement)
laid off (not layed off)
liaison (not liasion)
necessary (not neccessary, neccesary)
occasionally (not occassionally, ocassionally)
occur/occurred (not occured) //refer/referred (not refered)
pastime (not pasttime)
pneumonia (not neumonia)
publicly (not publically) (other words ending in –ic add –ally)
receive (not recieve)
relevant (not relevent)
rhythm/rhyme (not rythm/ryme)
separate (not seperate)
successful (not succesful, sucessful, successfull)
until (not untill)
withhold (not withold)