Spelling mnemonics

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Yellow Fang

Yellow Fang

Legendary Member
Location
Reading
What are your personal aide-memoirs for spelling, punctuation and grammar?

I've always had a problem with desert and dessert. I solved that by remembering that dessert is like pudding.

Likewise, I couldn't work out what the difference between licence and license, or whether there was a difference. In American there isn't, but in British licence is a noun and license is a verb. I get around that by remembering a licence is a card, but to license someone is to sanction them to do something.

One of my old line mangers told me a way of remembering the spelling of supersede. He said the word was derived from two Latin words: super meaning over, and sedere meaning sit.

Another colleague once explained the difference between dependent (adjective) and dependant (person). Unfortunately, this doesn't always work, e.g. correspondent.

There's an American acronymn for remembering which conjuctions can separate two independent clauses with a comma (and not a semicolan), which I think is FANBOYS - i.e. 'for', 'and', 'nor', 'but', 'or', 'yet' and 'so'. In British, I think only 'and', 'nor', 'but', 'or' and 'yet' are allowed to get away with commas. The American method seems more sensible to me, so on this occasion, I'll go with them.
 
Arch

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Necessary. One c, first, because it comes first in the alphabet, 2 ss second because s comes second in the alphabet.
 
Fnaar

Fnaar

Smutmaster General
Location
Thumberland
One potato, two potato, three potato four, five potato, six potato, seven potato more...

that spells chips.
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Davidc

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
I just memorise them.

Still occasionally make mistakes though, and a few words my brain refuses to store properly.

The important thing is to know when you don't know, so that you can look it up.
 
OP
OP
Yellow Fang

Yellow Fang

Legendary Member
Location
Reading
Parallel has parallel tracks running through it.

Wufdog - weil, über, für, durch, oder, can't remember what g was for. German mnemonic for remembering prepositions taking the accusative, or was it the dative?

:blush: it's ohne and gegen.
 
Cubist

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
Yellow Fang said:
What are your personal aide-memoirs for spelling, punctuation and grammar?

I've always had a problem with desert and dessert. I solved that by remembering that dessert is like pudding.

Easy, simply banish all thoughts of the word dessert from your vocabulary....it's proper name is pudding.

Likewise, I couldn't work out what the difference between licence and license, or whether there was a difference. In American there isn't, but in British licence is a noun and license is a verb. I get around that by remembering a licence is a card, but to license someone is to sanction them to do something.

You get the second bit right but not the first. License is the verb, licence is the noun, hence the phrase, "The owner of the licensed premises renewed his licence. "


Another colleague once explained the difference between dependent (adjective) and dependant (person). Unfortunately, this doesn't always work, e.g. correspondent.
Yep, good old English grammar. As soon as you learn the rule you come across an irregular.

There's an American acronymn for remembering which conjuctions can separate two independent clauses with a comma (and not a semicolan), which I think is FANBOYS - i.e. for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so. In British, I think only and, nor, but, or and yet are allowed to get away with commas. The American method seems more sensible to me, so on this occasion, I'll go with them.
No, don't. Americans think they have the monopoly on correct grammar, and end up tying themselves in knots with bullshit phrases such as "It is he."
Were we to adhere to hard and fast rules we would end up with one example I remember helping a German student out with as she was doing her homework (long story!) . It was all about adjectives and adverbs derived from or including gerunds or participles. All the examples matched the rules and expectations, except the last one which was "A boy that behaves well." All the rules point to the answer being " A badly behaving boy". Only Antje got full marks for her homework that week!
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Cubist

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
Yellow Fang said:
Parallel has parallel tracks running through it.

Wufdog - weil, über, für, durch, oder, can't remember what g was for. German mnemonic for remembering prepositions taking the accusative, or was it the dative?

:blush: it's ohne and gegen.
Click to expand...
We learnt it as DOGWUF

Accusative, and the w stands for wider (contrary to )
It also unhappily misses out bis pro (although arguably a latin derivative it nevertheless takes the accusative) and um.
bisuntilproperdurchthroughohnewithoutfürforumaround; at (with time)gegenagainstwideragainst
 
Haitch

Haitch

Flim Flormally
Location
Netherlands
Sticking with German prepositions. The datives -- mit, nach, von, zu, aus, bei, zeit, entgegen, gegenüber -- can be sung to the tune of Good King Wenceslas!
 
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