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In terms of written communication, spelling poses a problem for a surprisingly large number of people. An Oxford University Press survey found that up to 50% of those questioned were confused over the spelling of common words and phrases. This individual exercise allows you to test your own spelling ability.
Task
- Read through each of the sentences and consider which of the three choices is correct.
- Circle the correct answer under each statement.
- Check your answers with those given in the 'Answers' section. Correct answers are show in bold and underlined.
1. John was a real stickler for the rules. He could always be reliedon to … (a) tow the line(b) toe the line(c) too the line2. Eager to ensure the contract was legitimate, Jessica spent all day (a) pawing over the legal documents(b) pouring over the legal documents(c) poring over the legal documents3. James could do what he wanted. His boss had given him a … (a) free rein(b) free reign(c) free rain4. Jack and Jill considered themselves to be ‘creative geniuses’; and decided to concentrate on …
(a) pedaling their ideas (b) pedaling their ideas (c) peddling their ideas 5. Peter was worried that bitter relations among his team were spiraling out of control. He decided to quickly … (a) defuse the situation (b) diffuse the situation (c) diffuze the situation 6. Sophie liked what she heard. The professor’s theory really … (a) struck a cord (b) struck accord (c) struck a chord 7. People had often described David as a maverick. Others were not so kind and used the term … (a) loose canon (b) loose cannon (c) lose canon 8. Though Tessa knew of the risks involved in bungee jumping, she wasn’t … (a) fazed (b) phased (c) phazed 9. Mr Holmes was demanding of his pupils, and those displaying disregard for the rules would receive his … (a) censure (b) censor (c) censsor 10.Some say that increases in crime rates are a … (a) cymbol of a breakdown in society (b) symbal of a breakdown in society (c) symbol of a breakdown in society 11. The hospital where Rebecca was born was no longer standing. It had been … (a) razed to the ground years ago (b) raized to the ground years ago (c) raised to the ground years ago 12. Laura didn’t know exactly why her spelling was so bad. She figured her past mistakes had simply been … (a) wayved through by disinterested teachers (b) waived through by disinterested teachers (c) waved through by disinterested teachers 13. Jennifer’s career had hit a rough patch. She didn’t feel as though she was going anywhere. You could say her career had become somewhat … (a) stationary (b) stationery (c) stationrey 14. Danny knew he could get that promotion. He just had to … (a) practice for the presentation (b) practisse for the presentation (c) practice for the presentation 15. Claudia and her employers had reached an agreement. Her boss had consented to her requirements in … (a) principle (b) principel (c) principal
Correct Answers The correct answer for each question is shown in bold and underlined. 1. John was a real stickler for the rules. He could always be relied on to … (a) tow the line (b) toe the line (c) too the line 2. Eager to ensure the contract was legitimate, Jessica spent all day … (a) pawing over the legal documents (b) pouring over the legal documents (c) poring over the legal documents 3. James could do what he wanted. His boss had given him a … (a) free rein (b) free reign (c) free rain 4. Jack and Jill considered themselves to be ‘creative geniuses’; and decided to concentrate on … (a) pedaling their ideas (b) pedaling their ideas (c) peddling their ideas 5. Peter was worried that bitter relations amongst his team were spiraling out of control. He decided to quickly … (a) defuse the situation (b) diffuse the situation (c) diffuze the situation 6. Sophie liked what she heard. The professor’s theory really … (a) struck a cord (b) struck accord (c) struck a chord 7. People had often described David as a maverick. Others were not so kind and used the term … (a) loose canon (b) loose cannon (c) lose canon 8. Though Tessa knew of the risks involved in bungee jumping, she wasn’t … (a) fazed (b) phased (c) phazed 9. Mr Holmes was demanding of his pupils, and those displaying disregard for the rules would receive his … (a) censure (b) censor (c) censsor 10. Some say that increases in rates of crime are a … (a) cymbol of a breakdown in society (b) symbal of a breakdown in society (c) symbol of a breakdown in society 11. The hospital where Rebecca was born was no longer standing. It had been … (a) razed to the ground years ago (b) raized to the ground years ago (c) raised to the ground years ago 12. Laura didn’t know exactly why her spelling was so bad. She figured her past mistakes had simply been … (a) wayved through by disinterested teachers (b) waived through by disinterested teachers (c) waved through by disinterested teachers 13. Jennifer’s career had hit a rough patch. She didn’t feel as though she was going anywhere. You could say her career had become somewhat … (a) stationary (b) stationery (c) stationrey 14. Danny knew he could get that promotion. He just had to … (a) practice for the presentation (b) practisse for the presentation (c) practice for the presentation 15. Claudia and her employers had reached an agreement. Her boss had consented to her requirements in … (a) principle (b) principel (c) principal
