How to see it
Some words do not spell the way they sound. Government hides an n you hardly say. Necessary hides how many c's and s's it has. So learn them. Split the word into parts, and say each part as it is spelt: gov, ern, ment. Or use a memory trick: one collar and two sleeves, so one c and two s's. Learn it in parts. Give it a trick.
A worked example
Back to separate. Split it into parts: sep, a, rate. Then the trick: there is a rat in separate. Find the rat, and you have the a after the p. Separate.
The common mistake: spelling a word the way it sounds
The trap is spelling a word the way it sounds. Said quickly, separate sounds like sep, er, ate. So seperate feels right, and it is wrong. Check it letter by letter.
Try one
One line, four groups. Find the spelling mistake, or choose N for no mistake.
- AThe new choir
- Bkept a steady
- Crythm through
- Dthe whole song.
- Nno mistake
Show the answerHide the answer
Right: C, rythm through
Rhythm has two h's: r, h, y, t, h, m. A trick for it: rhythm helps your two hips move.