2.10: Often Misspelled Vocabulary

Often Misspelled Spelling Vocabulary

1.  academically:  I want my sons to do well academically in school.  Most underprepared students have problems academically in school.

2.  accelerator:  The gas pedal on a car is actually called the accelerator pedal.  When a driver steps on the accelerator, a car goes faster.

3.  accessible:  Buildings in America must be handicapped accessible.  ESL classes are accessible for all of you in Seattle.

4.  ache:  I often have back aches.  Aches and pains are common when people get old.

5.  to acknowledge:  I have acknowledged to my students that I have problems with spelling.  We all need to acknowledge our mistakes and shortcomings in life.

6.  acquaintance:  We all have many acquaintances in life but only a few true friends.  I met my friend’s nephew yesterday.  He is a new acquaintance of mine.

7.  across:  The man across the street works for a book company.  China is across the Pacific Ocean from America.  (Across is a preposition, so it is followed by some form of a noun; to cross is a verb.  They both have the same meaning, but they are different parts of speech.)

8.   to analyze:  Doctors need to analyze medical tests to determine what a patient’s problem is.  I analyze your grammar problems in order to help you correct your writing.

9.  athlete:  Most boys wish they were professional athletes.  Athletes usually have nice bodies.

10.  audience:  The audience clapped loudly for the singer.  There were fifty thousand people in the audience for the concert.

11.  awkward:  Teenagers are often awkward because they are growing fast.  Students feel awkward when they stand in front of a group of people and have to speak English.

12.  bachelor:  I had a lot of fun when I was a bachelor.  My wife always wants to fix up our bachelor friends with her unwed women friends.

13.  bankruptcy:   I always warn my boys not to borrow money because if they can’t pay it back and have to file for bankruptcy, it will be a big problem for them later on in life.  Many people have had to file for bankruptcy because they borrowed money on houses and now can’t afford to pay their mortgages.

14.  behavior:  It is necessary for children to have good behavior in school.  Some children have bad behavior, and it reflects badly on their parents.

15.  to believe:  Most people in the world believe in God.  People who don’t believe in God are called atheists.

16.  beneficial:  Getting an education will prove beneficial in life because an education makes a person more intelligent.  It is beneficial to a person’s health to eat nutritious food.

17.  business:  My wife owns her own book publishing business.  When business is bad in a company, sometimes the company fails and goes out of business.

18.  calendar:  I have a calendar in my office.  Actually, I have three calendars in my office.  I mark important information on my calendar.

19.  catastrophe:  The earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear explosions in Japan was a catastrophe for the Japanese people and Japanese business.  My friend’s house burned down.  It was a catastrophe for his family.

20.  cemetery:  Whenever I go home, I always visit the cemetery where my father and brother are buried.  Many people are afraid to go to cemeteries at night because they are afraid of ghosts.

21.  changeable:  The weather in Seattle is very changeable because of the mountains to the west and to the east of the city.  Some young girls have very changeable moods: one minute they are happy and the next minute they are angry.

22.  characteristics:  The physical characteristics of monkeys and people are similar. My emotional characteristics are very similar to how my father’s were.

23.  committee:  I have to attend many committee meetings every week.  I am on a lot of committees at SCC.

24.  conceivable:  It is conceivable that there is life on other planets, but we haven’t found any yet.  It is easily conceivable that many of you will graduate from college.

25.  conscience:  Sometimes when people do something bad, they have a guilty conscience which bothers them when they try to sleep.  A conscience is what separates people from animals.

26.  conscious:  When we are asleep, we are not conscious of what is happening around us.  I made a conscious decision when I decided to marry my wife.

27.  criticism:  Some people don’t like criticism nor do they take criticism very well.  They get angry when people criticize them.  Too much criticism can hurt a child.

28.  deceitful:  Many politicians are deceitful when they make promises to their constituents.  Deceitful people are never trustworthy because they often tell lies.

29.  descendant:  I am a descendant of both my father and mother.  My sons are my descendants.

30.  desirable:  It is desirable that you come to class on time, study hard, and do your homework.  Sunny weather is more desirable in Seattle than rainy weather because we don’t have much sunny weather here.

31.  detrimental:  Smoking is detrimental to people’s health.  Having a criminal history is detrimental to a person’s employment possibilities.

32.  devastation:  The devastation to some villages and towns after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan was unbelievable. The devastation from wars is seen both in people and in property.

33.  to devise:  Sometimes we have to devise ways of doing something if we really don’t know what we are doing.  I devise ways of teaching my students English.

34.  dilemma:  My son has a dilemma in his life.  He has a good job which pays OK, but he would prefer to have a different job in which he could write a different kind of music.  Many of you had a major dilemma in your lives before you came to America:  Should you leave your country or stay in your country?

35.  dissatisfaction:  We all have had many dissatisfactions in our lives when we have not had exactly what we wanted.  I could see the dissatisfaction on the faces of my students when I handed back the examination papers which most of the students had failed.

36.  to embarrass:  It is easy to embarrass children when we say how cute they are or how pretty they look.  The student was embarrassed when the teacher heard her say bad things about him.

37.  enthusiasm:  When the parents told their children that they were going to Disneyland for a vacation, it was easy to see the enthusiasm on the children’s faces.  I enjoy teaching foreign students because of their enthusiasm for learning English.

38.  extremely:  It is extremely dangerous to play with knives, guns, and matches.  Some people in the world are extremely wealthy; however, many more people are extremely poor.

39.  to forfeit:  When people are sent to prison, they often forfeit their right to vote in elections forever.  If a person who is not a citizen commits a major crime, he might forfeit his right to stay in America.  Many times non-citizens are deported for criminal convictions.

40.  fortunate:  My sons are fortunate that their father is an English teacher because I have always been able to help them in their writing.  My friend was in a very big car accident.  He was fortunate that he didn’t get seriously injured.

41.  forty:  I have forty dollars in my wallet.  Forty people came to the birthday party.

42.  fundamental:  Understanding the grammar of a language is fundamental to really knowing how to write well in a language.  The family is the most fundamental group in any society.

43.  genuine:  Many products made in China are not genuine products: They are knockoffs.  My wife has a set of genuine pearls that her mother gave to her many years ago.

44.  grammar:  Students have misspelled the word grammar thousands of times in my classes in the last 46 years.  Grammar is spelled with an ar at the end and not with an er at the end.

45.  harassment:  There are many kinds of harassment in America and in the rest of the world, for that matter.  Sexual harassment is saying or doing something that relates to unwanted attention based on a person’s sex.

46.  height:  My height is five feet, seven inches tall.  I used to be 5”8”.  The height of some trees can be hundreds of feet high.  (Note:  Children go to high school, not height school.)

47.  hindrance:  English grammar is a hindrance to your entering college right away because it hamstrings your ability to write correctly.  Sometimes traffic is a hindrance to getting someplace quickly.

48.  hygiene:  Personal hygiene is important for good health.  Homeless people often have poor hygiene because they don’t have a place to clean themselves or wash their clothing.

49.  hypocrisy:  The hypocrisy of politicians makes me sick to my stomach: They will often criticize people for bad behavior that they themselves are guilty of.  The hypocrisy of some religious people amazes me:  They criticize other people for bad behavior that they themselves are guilty of.

50.  incidentally:  Incidentally, you will have an exam on these words in a week or two.  Incidentally, did you know that summer quarter will be very short this year due to budget cuts?

51.  irrelevant:  When I am teaching grammar, it would be irrelevant to tell you what my sister cooked for dinner last night because it doesn’t relate to grammar.  Whether you are married or not is irrelevant to me.

52.  judgment:  A lot of teenagers get into trouble because their judgment is not fully developed, especially for boys.  In my judgment, stealing is a very bad characteristic to have.

53.  kindergarten:  My sons went to kindergarten in Broadview-Thompson Elementary School.  Children learn a lot about school life when they are in kindergarten.

54.  leisure:  In my leisure time, I either work in my garden or my basement workshop, or I read.  When people are retired, they have a lot of leisure time.

55.  license:  I have a driver’s license.  If you have a business, you need to get a business license.

56.  livelihood.  I earned my livelihood by teaching English as a second language.  We all need some kind of work to earn our livelihood.

57.  maintenance:  When you own anything, it is necessary to do preventive maintenance on it to make sure that it is in good working condition.  Between quarters at this college, the maintenance people do maintenance such as washing the floors and fixing stuff in the classrooms.

58.  marriage:  My marriage has lasted for 36 years so far.  Marriage is a hard job.

59.  martyr:  Every religion has its martyrs who died for their beliefs.  The one major requirement of a religion to become a martyr is to die for your religious beliefs.

60.  mediocre:  I was a very mediocre baseball player when I was a teenager.  I was OK, not bad, not good, just mediocre.  I was also a mediocre student in math classes.  I always passed, but my grades weren’t good or bad, just mediocre.

61.  miscellaneous:  I have a draw in my file cabinet that has miscellaneous items in it such as napkins, old pay contracts, a tie, old student records, etc.  In the coffee shop, there are miscellaneous students and teachers having something to eat and drink.

62.  mischievous:  Sometimes children can be mischievous and get into trouble when they are in a group and bored.  Kittens and puppies can be mischievous animals because they always like to play and are interested in everything.

63.  misdemeanor:  Getting into a fist fight in public is a misdemeanor crime.  Breaking someone’s windows on purpose is a misdemeanor crime.

64.  mortgage:  I had a mortgage on my house of over $100,000.  If people default on their mortgage, the bank will seize their house.

65.  municipal:  The main municipal building in a city is called the city hall.  A jail is an example of a municipal building.

66.  necessary:  It is necessary to learn English before you can go to college in America.  Food and water are necessary for life.

67.  ninth:  April 19^th was the ninth day of Spring Quarter.  Ninth Street NW is between Eighth Street NW and Tenth Street NW.

68.  noticeable:  Stains on white clothing are very noticeable.  If I cut off my beard, it would be very noticeable.

69.  obedience:  Parents and teachers require obedience from young children so that the children will do what they want them to do.  Obedience to the law will keep people out of jail.  (Obey is the verb form.)

70.  occasion:  The birth of a child is a special occasion to parents.  I will attend the occasion of my grandniece’s high school graduation in June.

71.  to occur:  My birthday occurs on August 24^th every year.  I don’t know when my death will occur.  (Occurrence is the noun form.  Notice the double r’s.)

72.  to omit:  When people spell my name, they often omit one of the n’s.  A lot of people omit the s at the end of verbs in the third person singular.  (Omitting and omitted are the present participle and the past participle.  Notice the double t’s.)

73.  opportunities:  There are many opportunities for education and work in the United States if a person has a college education.  There are many educational opportunities in vocational as well as academic programs at South Seattle College.

74.  original:  The 13 original states of the United States are along the East Coast of America.  A man found an original copy of the Declaration of Independence behind a painting he bought for $10.00.  He then sold it for over a million dollars.

75.  pamphlet:  There are many pamphlets on bulletin boards all over the campus.  I sometimes receive pamphlets in the mail for various community meetings or businesses.

76.  parallel:  Railroad tracks are parallel to each other.  Streets run parallel to each other, and avenues also run parallel to each other.

77.  paralysis:  Some diseases cause paralysis in people’s limbs.  My brother-in-law has paralysis in his legs. (Paralyze is the verb form.)

78.  pastime:  My favorite pastime is taking care of my garden.  My second favorite pastime is building things made out of wood.

79.  permanent:  My wife has a permanent residence card, also known as a green card.  I have had a permanent loss of hair for many years.

80.  permissible:  It is permissible for my students to sit anywhere they want to in my classroom.  If you have a driver’s license, it is permissible for you to drive a car everywhere in the United States and Canada.

81.  persistent:  If I don’t do a task that my wife wants me to do, she is persistent in asking me to do it until I do it.  Sometimes children are persistent in asking their parents to buy them candy in a market.

82.  physician:  My doctor has been a physician for many years.  My wife wanted my sons to become physicians, but neither of them did.

83.  possession:  My car is a possession of mine.  Most of my possessions are in my house.

84.  to precede:  A trial precedes sending someone to jail for a long time.  Filling out a registration form precedes entering college.

85.  privilege:  I consider it to be a privilege to be a teacher because teaching is one of the most important jobs in every society.  Voting is a privilege that not everyone in the world has.

86.  procedure:  When a person has a surgical procedure, they will have an operation on their body.  There are many steps in the procedure to becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States.

87.  quite:  There are quite a few Asian people in Seattle.  It rains quite often in Seattle.

88.  questionnaire:  At the end of this quarter, I will give you a questionnaire which will ask you many questions about me, this English course, and South Seattle College.  In 2010 every household in America received a questionnaire from the U. S. Census Bureau.

89.  receipt:  After you buy something from a store, they give you a receipt.  Receipts are necessary if you want to return a purchase to most stores.

90.  to recommend:  I write many letters for students when I recommend them for a scholarship or a job.  There is a Chinese restaurant in North Seattle that my wife recommends, the Chinese Noodle House.

91.  to relieve:  Medicine can relieve pain.  Sometimes a good night’s sleep can relieve stress in a person’s life.

92.  reminiscence:  When old friends get together after a long time not seeing each other, they always have a reminiscence about when they were younger.  My sister and I like to have reminiscence about when we lived with our parents.

93.  responsible:  Parents are responsible for their children until the children are 18 years old.  I am responsible for teaching these words to you.

94.  to rhyme:  Poems and songs often rhyme words.  The words slime, time, and climb rhyme with each other.

95.  rhythm:  Music and languages all have a rhythm which makes them easy to recognize for me.  I like Latin music because it has a nice rhythm.

96.  schedule (to schedule):  In my schedule, I will teach this class from 8:00 to 10:45 from Monday to Friday this quarter.  I need to schedule an appointment with my doctor for an annual physical exam.

97.  scissors:  Parents always tell their children not to run with scissors in their hand.  I cut articles out of the newspaper with scissors.

98.  to seize:  The police will seize a gun from a person if they arrest him.  Police try to seize criminals as soon as possible.

99.  separate (to separate):  My sons wanted separate bedrooms when they became teenagers.  It is necessary to separate children if they are fighting.

100.  sergeant:  I became a sergeant in the U. S. Army in 1968.  A police sergeant took my statement when I reported that someone stole my car.

101.  sincerely:  I usually write “Sincerely yours” at the end of a letter.  I sincerely love my children very much, even when they do things I don’t like.

102.  souvenir:  People buy souvenirs when they go on vacations to places they have never been before.  I have many souvenirs from around the world.

103:  sponsor (to sponsor):  I have sponsored children for school events, promising to pay money for many activities that the children do to raise money at school.  Many relatives sponsor other relatives to come to America.

104.  to succeed:  I succeeded in getting my master’s degree while I had a full time job.  To succeed in a job, a person must be serious and work hard.

105.  successor:  When I retire, I wonder who will be my successor to my teaching position.  Barak Obama was the successor to George W. Bush as president of the United States.

106.  superintendent:  Seattle Public Schools has a new superintendent of schools.  The superintendent of Seattle parks and recreation is in charge of all of the public parks and playgrounds in Seattle.  Apartment buildings have a superintendent who is in charge of fixing things and taking care of the building.

107.  synonymous:  The word “start” is synonymous with the word “begin.”  The word “outlaw” is synonymous with the word “criminal.”

108.  tariff:  A tariff is a tax on imported goods from foreign countries.  When countries make trade agreements, those agreements include amounts of tariffs on certain goods.

109.  temporary:  Your stay in ESL classes is only temporary; someday you will be finished with taking ESL classes.  Many people in Japan are still in temporary housing due to the earthquake, the tsunami, and the nuclear accident.

110.  theory:  There is a theory of evolution which says that people evolved from apes.  The Big Bang Theory says that at the beginning of time the whole world was one big land mass that exploded and resulted in the continents and islands in the world.

111.  tragedy:  Many people suffered the tragedy of losing loved ones and all of their possessions in Japan in March.  War results in many tragedies for people involved in them.

112.  transparent:  Windows are transparent if they are clean.  Some people are transparent when they lie because other people can tell by the way they look that they are lying.

113.  twelfth.  December is the twelfth month of the year.  My friend’s birthday is on August twelfth.  My Aunt Grace was my grandmother’s twelfth baby.

114.  undoubtedly:  You will undoubtedly have a very big spelling test in two weeks.  It will undoubtedly rain soon because this is Seattle and it always rains soon in Seattle.

115.  unfortunately:  My friend was caught speeding by the police and unfortunately had to pay a fine of $240.  I bought a lottery ticket, but I didn’t win, unfortunately.

116.  vacancy:  There is a vacancy in two apartments near my house.  We have a vacancy for a full-time teaching position for an ESL teacher in my college division.

117.  vaccine:  Vaccines have saved millions of lives in the last one hundred years.  I wish there were a vaccine against TB (tuberculosis).

118.  vehicle:  Another name for a car or a truck is a motor vehicle.  An airplane is a vehicle used for flying from one place to another.

119.  villain:  Many of the bankers and Wall Street executives are villains in my opinion because they caused many people to lose all of their money and other possessions.  Criminals are called villains, but I think many politicians are bigger villains.

120.  to whistle:  Both my son André and I like to whistle.  Some people whistle for their dog or horse to come to them.