Tips and tricks to help with spelling/grammar etc

[emanymton]

Thought I would start a thread to share any useful tips or tricks to help with spelling grammar and so on.

I'll start of with one little thing I noticed once, that really helped me a lot.

I could never remember the difference between here and hear. Then I noticed that hear actually contains the word 'ear'. So now I always know that hear is the one to use when you hear a sound and here is for a location.

But it gets better. I then noticed that where and there both contains here. Since I at least have a basic grasp of apostrophes this allowed me to get where, were, we're and there, their, the're all sorted as well.

I don't know if this will help anyone else, most people probably just find it easier to remember the right bloody word. But for me it was a revelation and I use this every day to check I am using the right word.

 

[BandWagon]

i before e except after c.

(Don't bother to mention exceptions)

 

[Epona]

I am usually pretty good with spelling, but one of my bugbears has always been the word "necessary". I have a mental block about the arrangement and frequency of the letters c and s in the word.

Then I heard a good mnemonic for it, which is "Never Eat Cake, Eat Salad Sandwiches", thanks to which I get it right every time now

 

[emanymton]

I am usually pretty good with spelling, but one of my bugbears has always been the word "necessary". I have a mental block about the arrangement and frequency of the letters c and s in the word.

Then I heard a good mnemonic for it, which is "Never Eat Cake, Eat Salad Sandwiches", thanks to which I get it right every time now

But why would you want salad sandwiches instead of cake?

 

[Epona]

But why would you want salad sandwiches instead of cake?

I don't have a sweet tooth at all But even someone who would prefer cake may find it easier to remember that mnemonic because of the horror they feel about salad sandwiches instead of cake

 

[Greebo]

There's "a rat" in separate.

diarrhoea - Dashing In A Rush, Running Hard, Or Else Accident

Advise (verb) - advice (noun); the same goes for practise (verb) - practice (noun).

Rhythm makes your two hips move

 

[BandWagon]

 

[Hocus Eye.]

One collar two sleeves, This helps with "necessary".

 

[Hocus Eye.]

.

Sadly if they are dyslexic a dictionary is of little use to them. You have to be able to spell to use one.

 

[emanymton]

Sadly if they are dyslexic a dictionary is of little use to them. You have to be able to spell to use one.

Not always convenient either. These days I find just using Google works well. It's pretty good at working out what you are trying say, especially if you type a whole sentence to give some context.

 

[spanglechick]

necessary only has one c, as that's all that's needed, whereas success has two, because it is so successful.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

.

 

[Sirena]

'Stationary' (immobile) or 'Stationery' (books and paper)'?

Just remember two words: Car (because we normally use stationary in terms of vehicles) and Letter (because it's stationery). And the last two letters are your mnemonic...

 

[Voley]

Rhythm Has Your Two Hips Moving.

 

[EastEnder]

i before e except after c.

(Don't bother to mention exceptions)

According to Q.I. there are more exceptions in the English language than there are conformers to this "rule".

iciest
racier
ancient
diciest
fancied
glacier
juicier
saucier
science
society
species
spicier
agencies
ancients
bouncier
fanciest
idiocies
legacies
piracies
policies
sauciest
concierge
deficient
efficient
fallacies
financier
prescient
conscience
deficiency

...and so on.

 

[KeeperofDragons]

My bugbear is vowels where there are 2 more in a row & I can never get I & e right, in this case the spell checker is my friend

 

[maomao]

But why would you want salad sandwiches instead of cake?

Never eat carrots, eat sugary snacks.

 

[maomao]

Advise (verb) - advice (noun); the same goes for practise (verb) - practice (noun).

'Cause you can't 'see' a verb.

 

[maomao]

'Stationary' (immobile) or 'Stationery' (books and paper)'?

Just remember two words: Car (because we normally use stationary in terms of vehicles) and Letter (because it's stationery). And the last two letters are your mnemonic...

I always remember stationery's got an 'e' for envelope in it. I once worked somewhere that had a 'stationary' cupboard (as in that's what was written on it) with wheels on it.

 

[8115]

Never separate a para from his parachute.

 

[xenon]

i before e except after c.

(Don't bother to mention exceptions)

I have to email my colleague called Keith. And always have to check the spelling.

 

[xenon]

When Siri understands what I'm dictating, I use it to hide my more egregious spelling errors.

 

[spanglechick]

Never separate a para from his parachute.

How else would you spell that?

 

[8115]

How else would you spell that?

Seperate.

 

[spanglechick]

Seperate.

Oh. I thought it was a mnemonic for the para bit of parachute!

 

[Maharani]

I always misspell stationery and now remember it thanks to my late, brilliant boss who would shout 'e is for envelope' if it was ever misspelled in minutes of meetings.

 

[Mogden]

Pen is how I remember stationery.

Separate I remember paring or parting.

Arithmetic is A Red Indian Thought He Might Eat Toffee In Class

 

[Orang Utan]

A lot of these things sound harder to remember than the actual thing!

 

[Mogden]

I was taught the mnemonics when I was a nipper so they've stuck but if I try now it doesn't often go in.

 

[toggle]

Thought I would start a thread to share any useful tips or tricks to help with spelling grammar and so on.

i rely on a spellchecker.

for sentence structure, read stuff out loud. it's easier to tell if stuff makes sense that way.