Avoid these 5 common spelling errors

Whether you’re writing content for your website, a resume, a press release, or you’re typing a chapter for your latest book, being aware of these 5 common spelling errors could mean the difference between looking professional or not.

Below are the spelling errors that I see the most when I’m editing content for a client.

alright versus all right

The correct spelling uses two words—all right. Maybe you’re familiar with words such as altogether or already. For correct editing of written documents, the word is correctly written as all right.

loser versus looser

A loser is someone who has failed at an activity, such as, “He was such a loser at marriage.” Loser can also refer to something that’s of poor quality or performance, such as, “That penquin film was such a loser.”

Looser, however, means that something is unbound, the opposite of tight and restrictive, such as, “His pants look looser today since he lost so much weight.” Or, “Her curly hair looks looser today.”

An easy way to think of the difference between these two spelling errors is that loser (with one “o”) refers to a person.  Looser refers to a condition, such as loose pants, dogs on the loose.

receive versus recieve

Receive is the correct spelling and it goes back to the rule you learned in grade school: i before e except after c. Thus, whenever you try to spell a word that has ie or ei in it, remember that if the word has a c, then ei will follow.

Here are a few more examples:

believe (no c in the word, so the correct spelling is ie)

niece (no c in the word, so the correct spelling is niece, not neice

principal versus principle

For me, once I learned the following rule, I never had to look in the dictionary to spell these two words.

Prinicipal ends with the letters “pal.” A pal is a person, so principal is a noun in this instance. (Even though going to the principal’s office might mean that he’s not your pal at the moment.) However, principal also refers to something of importance, such as, “His principal investment made him millions.” Again, principal defines something of significance.

The word principle defines more of an action, conduct, or truth, such as, “Their merchandising efforts are based on fair-pricing principles.”

Last on the list of our spelling errors is:

It’s and Its 

These are common errors that even your spell checker can miss. The simple version for using the correct spelling is that It’s is a contraction (simplified version) of two combined words: It is. Whereas Its is used to show that it’s a possessive word. Let’s look at two examples to help you better understand.

It’s time for the dog to go outside before dinner. But you probably don’t want to separate him from its favorite rawhide bone.

 What spelling errors are you frustrated with in your writing?

Tagged with: editing • spelling errors

Filed under: Editing

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