Basic Spelling Home
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Homonyms are words that are spelled and said the same way but mean entirely different things. These words are considered to have the same "name" and can be easily confused (Dutwin 44).
Unfortunately, there are no easy tricks for remembering words that are homonyms. The best way to identify them is to memorize the ones used the most frequently and to look up any word with which you are unfamiliar. Of course, it's also possible to tell which definition is being used, because the sentence will often only make sense with one of the definitions.
Below is a list of some common homonyms and some simple definitions:
There are lots of homonyms, and you probably know many of them without realizing it. Remember, these words are typically said and spelled the same way!
Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings (Dutwin 244). These words are easily confused and can be difficult for many students.
Unfortunately, like Homonyms, there aren't many tricks to remembering which homophone is the one you are looking for. There are memory tricks, like knowing that a principal (the man who leads a school) is your "pal", while a principle (a belief or ethical rule) is not a person, but there are no simple rules or tricks.
Below is a list of a few very common homonyms:
There are many more homophones! Spellcheckers may not catch these mistakes, because without appropriate context, the words are correctly spelled. Always double check, and if in doubt, look it up!
There are some basic spelling rules that can be used as guidelines for how to properly spell a variety of words. Below are the rules with some examples.
Change try to tried to make it past tense. Since "try" ends with a "y" and has the consonant "r" immediately before the "y", it is changed to help it keep the same sound. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include easy to easier, dry to dries, happy to happiness, and fly to flies.
Add "s" to stay to make stays or stayed. Since "stay" ends with a "y" and has the vowel "a" immediately before "y", to maintain the sound, there does not need to be anything added. Instead, simply add the ending. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include play to played, day to days, and monkey to monkeys.
To make the verb create into an adjective to describe something, add the ending "ive" to make creative.
Because "-ive" starts with the vowel, "i", the "e" is dropped, leaving a word that doesn't have two vowels together. This is often the rule, but not always. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include nerve to nervous, care to caring, and believe to believable.
To change the verb excite into a noun, add the ending "-ment" to make excitement. Because "-ment" starts with the consonant "m", the "e" is kept to make the word sound the same. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include hope to hopeful, care to careful, and bare to barely.
In many cases, you can make a noun out of a verb by adding the ending "-er" to a word; for example, take the word run and add "-er" to make runner, or a person who runs.
Double consonants are applied here because all three tests were passed: "run" is a single syllable; "u" is a vowel that is directly in front of the final consonant "n"; and the ending, "-er", begins with a vowel. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include shop to shopping, submit to submitted, and big to biggest.
I believe that going to school can be very useful in order to get a career.
The word "believe" is spelled the standard way--with "i" then "e". Other examples of words that follow the same rule include niece, achieve, and fierce.
Do you hope to receive a diploma, a degree, or a certificate when you graduate from GNTC?
The word "receive" follows the exception. By having a "c" in front, the "e" comes first, followed by the "i". Other examples of words that follow the same exception include deceive, conceive, ceiling, and receipt.
The doctor needed to weigh his patient as part of the annual exam.
The "ei" in "weigh" sounds like an "a," so the "e" must come before the "i" or it would receive a different sound. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include eight, sleigh, and freight.
I have one dog and they have three dogs.
The word "dog" ends with the consonant "g", so it gets "-s" added to it. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include car to cars, girl to girls, and plant to plants.
I returned one video, and then decided to check out a few other videos.
The word "video" ends with "o" and has the vowel "e" before the "o", so "-s" is added. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include radio to radios, rodeo to rodeos, and zoo to zoos.
She forgot to write down her return address when she was putting the addresses on the envelopes.
The word "address" ends with an "s", so rather than have three "s" in a row, the "es" breaks them up. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include tax to taxes, church to churches, and ash to ashes.
The farmer picked only one tomato from the basket full of tomatoes.
The word "tomato" ends with an "o", but it has the consonant "t" in front of it, so the "-es" plural is necessary. Other examples of words that follow the same rule include potato to potatoes, hero to heroes, zero to zeroes.
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