FROM 'Mississippi' to 'accommodation', almost everyone has at least one word that try as they might, they can never remember how to spell.

It can be frustrating, and at times it can make us feel stupid – but it's extremely common and there are many words we use on a daily basis that we get wrong without even realising.

Thankfully, there are clever tips and tricks to help remember a lot of the tricky spellings easily.

Former teacher and GoStudent tutoring company English expertDanielle Lyon, 38, says: "With spell check and autocorrect on our phones and computers it’s no surprise that adults today are struggling with spelling!

"Although we learn a lot of spelling and grammar rules at school, spelling in English can be very tricky.

"Many children are made to feel bad at school because they struggle with spelling.

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"This negative association carries on into adulthood, with many people feeling ashamed to admit they struggle with misspelling very common words.

"But even if you had negative experiences with spelling in the past there is no time like the present to tackle it.

"Some of the most common spelling errors can be easily avoided with some helpful tips and mnemonics."

Here, Danielle shares the common mistakes she sees all the time, and the clever tricks to help remember the correct spelling…

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Which witch is which?

A surprisingly common error, because, when spoken aloud, both words sound almost exactly the same.

In order to get them right when written down, it helps to imagine the letter ‘T’ as a broomstick.

If there is a broomstick involved, you’re writing about a witch!

Pronunciation

Ironically pronunciation is among the most commonly mispronounced words.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is the same as ‘pronounce.’

The second ‘O’ is actually dropped from the word in both the spelling and pronunciation.

Bought vs Brought

A great way to remember which word to use is to remember this phrase: I brought home some chocolate I bought at the shop.

Bought is the past tense of buy and neither of these have an ‘R’ in them.

Similarly, brought is the past tense of bring, which does.

Specific and Pacific

Although you’re less likely to mix the two up when written down, this is quite a common spoken error due to the words sounding so similar.

When saying ‘specific’, we often brush over the ‘S’ at the beginning, and put emphasis on the ‘P’.

Difficulty

Difficulty is ironically a difficult word to spell because we don’t pronounce it exactly as it is spelt.

Wondering how to remember the spelling in future?

Remember that scene in Matilda – 'Mrs D, Mrs I, Mrs F-F-I, Mrs C, Mrs U, Mrs L-T-Y…'

The rhyme is surprisingly catchy!

Necessary

The big question – how many C’s and how many S’s?

A clever trick to help you remember the spelling of necessary is to think of having one coffee and two sugars!

One C and two S’s. Not only will this help you remember how many letters to include, but it also helps you know what comes first.

C and S sounds are challenging for many because when spoken aloud they often sound the same.

Receive

Receive or recieve? This is one of the most common errors made by both adults and children.

To nail this once and for all, think back to your time at school and you’ll probably remember the rule ‘I before E except after C’ which will help with this!

But be aware that there are several exceptions to this rule – such as species, science, and sufficient.

Argument

Argument or arguement?

This one can be challenging because we can easily forget to drop the ‘E’ from ‘argue’ when spelling this word.

A great way to remember the correct spelling is to imagine that you lost an ‘E’ in the argument.

Stationery or Stationary?

In this instance, both words are spelt correctly, and they both sound exactly the same, but they have two very different meanings.

Often, a spell checker won’t detect a mistake like this because the spelling is technically correct.

So, we need to come up with a clever way to remember which is which. I do this through word association: stationery as in pens and pencils contains 'er' and so does paper.

Stationary (not moving) contains 'ar' as does car.

Take time to elongate your ‘S’ and you’ll be fine!

Penguin

Try searching ‘Benedict Cumberbatch can't say penguins’ and you’ll see just how easy it is to mispronounce this word!

For me, I find it easy to remember if I break it down into two sounds when speaking aloud and say ‘pen-gwin’.

When spelling penguin, the ‘U’ is often replaced with a ‘W’, because we write it as it sounds.

As you write this word, picture the childhood cartoon Pingu, as his name ends with a U.

Rhythm

Rhythm is often misspelt as 'rythm’.

A fun way to remember that there are two H’s is that rhythm gets your two hips moving!

Mosquito

Mosquitos are pretty pesky…

This tiny insect is almost as annoying as trying to spell the word.

Just remember the phrase “that mosquito better QUIT biting me” and you’ll never have to fear this in a spelling again.

Apart from using simple mnemonics like these you can also gamify your spelling and vocabulary learning.

Using board games such as scrabble, or word searches like the ones
found on The Sun’s website, are a fun way to improve your spelling without it feeling like a chore.

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If you are exposed to words and their spellings more often, they will eventually stick the more you see them written down.

Remember, it is never too late to learn, and positive reinforcement and making it fun is the key to making.

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