Category Archives: spelling

To and Too

Question: When do I use “to” or “too”? Example: “too difficult” or “to stay”
Answer…

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adviser or advisor

Someone asked today in a comment whether “documentor” or “documenter” is correct. The corect word is “documenter.” The question got me wondering, though, about another spelling dilemma: “adviser” or “advisor”…

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dis- versus dys-

Someone wrote in asking what the rule is for changing dis- to dys-…

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Definitely

Definitely is a word that I saw misspelled a lot when I was teaching high school. Many students wanted to put an “a” after the “n” and spell it definately. The funny thing is that sometimes my students’ word processors … Continue reading 

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I Before E Except After C

Here’s the classic spelling rule that all native English speakers learn in the first years of school. If you’re unsure whether to spell a word with an ie or an ei, use ie unless the two letters are preceded by … Continue reading 

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Spelling Grammar

Some words sound as if they have er at the end of them, even though they don’t. Here are a few examples: doctor calendar grammar horror Many people come to this website through Google or some other search engine as … Continue reading 

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