Spelling

Toward and towards are two ways of spelling the same preposition, which means “in contribution to,” “in the direction of,” or “in relation to.” The words are often used interchangeably, but there’s a difference in preference depending on whether you use British or American English.  * In American English, “toward”

You’re expressing your love for someone on Valentine’s Day and want to ensure it’s perfect. That starts with getting the spelling right. Below, we’ll cover the nuances of “Valentine,” “Valentines,” and “Valentine’s” to help you flawlessly craft your message for this special day of love.

Are you here because you’ve just realized you’ve been incorrectly saying “mute point” instead of “moot point?” If it’s any relief, it’s a common mistake. Below, we’ll explain what “moot point” means, provide synonyms, and show you a quirky but effective way to remember the correct spelling.

Get the champagne ready because it’s almost time to celebrate the end of one year and the start of the next! We’ll help you ring in the new year with proper spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

You’ve written the sweetest message to send to your loved one before they go to bed. But right before you hit “send,” doubt lurks over you. Is the correct spelling “good night” or “goodnight”? We’ll review everything you need to know about how to use these expressions correctly.

Consider this your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the word nowadays, including how to spell it, what it means, and other words you can use instead. By the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll be a nowadays pro.

“Intra” and “inter” are pronounced almost identically, so surely they have the same meanings, right? Well, no, they don’t. Below, you’ll find a simple breakdown of the differences between these two prefixes, plus examples of words that include them.

You’re not alone in your search for the right way to say this popular phrase. We’re going to teach you the original (and correct) version of it, explain how the confusion came about, and provide you with synonyms you can use instead.

In the world of email communication, “CC” stands for “carbon copy.” Still not sure what that means, how to use it, or why it’s so frequently used in emails? Don’t worry—this blog post will teach you everything you need to know about how to utilize “CC” correctly.

If you’ve come across the term “vice versa,” you may have a few questions such as what does it mean, where did it originate, and how do you use it in a sentence? We’ll answer all these questions and more, so you can use this phrase correctly.

Are you a fanatic of long words? Then you’re going to love this list we’ve compiled for you. The shortest word on it has 15 letters and the longest has 189,918 letters (we’re not kidding).

Forming plural nouns in English can be a confusing task, with many rules and exceptions to consider. We’ll help you understand the complexities of plural nouns, as we clarify whether “lifes” or “lives” is correct.

The present participle of the verb “to die” can be confusing, and for good reason—it’s not as straightforward as one might think. But don’t worry because we’re here to clarify whether the correct spelling is “dieing” or “dying.”

There’s no denying that English is full of words that are hard to pronounce. We’ll review 33 of these words to show you how to say and use them in a sentence correctly.

When it comes to “per se” or “per say,” you aren’t alone in your confusion. We’ll get to the bottom of how to spell this phrase correctly and use it properly in a sentence.

Want to learn about the English alphabet? We go over how many letters there are, where the alphabet originated from, and explain what vowels and consonants are.

Knowing whether the correct spelling is “bear with me” or “bare with me” requires knowledge of “bear” vs. “bare.” We’ll review proper spelling, definitions, and more.

“Maintenance” is one of those English words that many people find difficult to spell. We’ll show you how to always write “maintenance” correctly.

“Niece” can be a challenging word for some people to spell. We’ll go over its spelling and meaning, and show you how to make sure you always spell this word correctly.

“Let’s” and “lets” are homophones, meaning they’re pronounced the same but have different meanings. We’ll explore what these words mean and provide example sentences.

Using “dialogue” or “dialog” depends on which English dialect you’re writing in. And in American English, sometimes it even depends on what you’re referring to. Below we’ll discuss when to use “dialog” vs. “dialogue.”

In English, some words are spelled differently depending on the dialect. That’s the case with “defense” and “defence.” We’ll explain which word you should use and provide example sentences.

This blog post will go over what “etcetera” means, how to spell it, and also how to pronounce it. But it’ll also go over what is the correct abbreviation and why there’s confusion surrounding it.

You may already know what “yea” and “nay” mean. But how can you remember the difference between “yea” and “yay”? We’ll cover this and more.

“Desperate” is more commonly used when compared to “disparate.” But it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with both words to avoid typos or spelling mistakes.

There’s an easy way to remember the difference between “aisle” and “isle.” We’ll teach you this, plus go over the definitions and provide examples of these two homophones.

“Wander” and “wonder” are two commonly confused words. We’ll go over their differences and give you a tip that’ll help you remember how to use them correctly.

Is it “gist” or “jist”? There’s only one correct spelling. We’ll go over what this word means and how to spell it correctly.

These words differ by only one letter, so many people use them incorrectly. We’ll go over their definitions, parts of speech, and also provide example sentences.

The answer depends on the message you want to convey. We’ll go over what these words mean and how to use them correctly.

“Elusive” and “illusive” are homophones, but recognizing when to use them is easy once you thoroughly understand their definitions.

“Trial and error”: Do you know what it means and how to use it? We’ll teach you all this, plus show you a way to avoid trial and error when learning to become a better writer.

“Advise” and “advice”: Both have to do with suggestions, recommendations, or further information, but one is always a verb, and the other always a noun. Continue reading if you want to learn more about “advise” vs. “advice.”

Are you struggling with using the words “access” and “excess” correctly? We’ll help you by going over the definitions. We’ll also provide a few tips to help you remember how to use these words.

“Alter” and “altar” sound similar, but they have different functions and meanings. We’ll teach you what these words mean and a trick to always use these words correctly.

“Accept” only ever functions as a verb, whereas “except” can be either a preposition, conjunction, and also a verb. We’ll dive into what these words mean and provide example sentences.

“Principal” and “principle” are homophones that frequently get used incorrectly. We’ll teach you what they mean and a foolproof way to always use them properly.

English spelling can be tricky, especially when homophones are involved. Below, we’ll show you how to correctly use “dual” and “duel.”

You’ve probably come across two spelling variations of the past tense of cancel: “canceled” and “cancelled.” Which one is correct? Find out below.

We’re going to explain the difference between “breath” and “breathe” and show you a way to remember how to always use these words correctly.

We’ll be discussing 15 English words that are hard to spell, and also show you a fool-proof way to never spell these words (or any other) incorrectly ever again.

The “g” is silent in some words. We’ll be going over these words and an important exception to keep in mind.

Silent letters can be unpredictable, and the silent “L” is no different. Below, we’ll go over some instances where you can expect to find a silent “L.”

Well, it depends on what you’re referring to. Continue reading to learn when you should use “Colombia” and when you should use “Columbia.”

Wondering why some words have a silent “b”? Continue reading to find out.

From “corps” to “pterodactyl,” this blog post will go over words with a silent “P” and provide examples.

“Receipt” follows the spelling rule “i before e, except after c.”

The unusual spelling of these words has to do with their origin. Learn about the etymology of “Lieutenant” as well as “Colonel.”

We’ll give you a review on the word “hands-free.”

We’ll review how to spell “down payment” and what it means.

Don’t continue your day “without” reading this blog post. We'll go over how to spell “without” and provide examples.

We’ll go over the correct spelling of “worldwide” (or is it “world wide”, or “world-wide”?), provide example sentences, and list synonyms you could use instead.

“Due to the fact” is often misspelled as “do to the fact.” It’s also a wordy phrase that should be avoided. We’ll show you alternatives you could use instead.

Some English capitalization rules are rigid, but others are a matter of style. We’ll go over the most common “capitalization” guidelines.

How do you spell the color “gray”? Well, it depends on who you ask. We’ll explore the two different spellings of this color and where you can expect to find one spelling over the other.

We’ll cover how to spell “congratulations” correctly, as well as synonyms and expressions you could use instead.

Is it “tomorrow” or “tommorrow”? We’ll teach you how to spell this word correctly and show you a few idioms with this word.

“Dessert” and “desert” sound similar but have two very different meanings. We’ll teach you to always use the correct one.

Here’s how to remember when to use “patience” and “patients” correctly.

“Appreciate” is mostly used as a verb that means “to be grateful for.” We explain its difficult spelling by giving examples.

“Definitely” is an adverb that means “in a definite manner,” but it can also be used to express enthusiastic agreement or disagreement.

We go over all things beautiful, including its correct spelling, synonyms, antonyms, and even tips that’ll help you remember how to spell “beautiful.”

We’ll explain why certain variances exist —such as “Kyiv” and“Kiev” or “Zelenskyy” and “Zelensky”—and which ones are correct.

Restaurant, restaurante, ristorante, restrant—Which one is correct? We'll explain the spelling and origins of your favorite eating place.

In this article, we cover camel case—its history, what it is, and examples of casing in general.

Knowing when an “h” is silent and when it’s not can be hard. We’re going to explain where a silent “h” is usually found and provide examples.

The silent “e” has several roles. Read on to learn more about why the English language includes this silent letter in many of its words.

One of the most confusing aspects of the English language is silent letters. Read on to learn where they came from and what role they play.

English spelling is challenging. Here are three of the most common spelling rules and a few of their exceptions.

British English uses “centre”, and American English prefers “center”. But is this always true? What about doubled consonants?

American English spelling omits letters compared to British English: “-or” instead of “-our”, dropping silent “e’s,” and replacing “ae” or “oe” with “e.”

Are you familiar with Oxford spelling? It’s similar to British spelling, but there’s one major distinction you should know about: the use of “–ize” vs. “–ise.” We’ll elaborate below.

Regarding indefinite articles, this basic rule applies: “a” before a consonant, and “an” before a vowel. But is this always true?

Diseases, theories, and objects are sometimes named after their discoverers. But do we capitalize the resulting compounds?

How do I spell languages, places, and nationalities correctly? Why should I be sensitive about where to put a hyphen?

The rules of using a hyphen are quite puzzling. We shed a light on where to put an obligatory hyphen, and when to avoid the punctuation mark.