Self-tutoring about spelling: the tutor had his doubts in one case…. I read the word “sceptical” with surprise. One of the word processing programs I use doesn’t like it either. Yet, Webster’s Dictionary and Oxford Canadian Dictionary agree: sceptic is …
Tutoring English, suffixes are interesting. The tutor mentions a word ending with -ible. In a post from December 30, 2012, I mention some -ibles – for example, credible. By an -ible I mean a word that ends in -ible but …
Self-tutoring about English: the tutor mentions a discovery. Typing an article, I keyed relatable, but the checker doesn’t like it. Am I wrong? I found relatable in the dictionary. Curious, eh? Source: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, Merriam-Webster, 2004.
Tutoring English, a specific question arises: the tutor investigates if hilarity can pluralize to hilarities. In my Feb 14 post I use the word hilarities, which the spell-checker doesn’t like, though it’s happy with hilarity. So, is the word hilarities …
Tutoring English, you never run out of material. The tutor shares an observation – will it be relatable? relatable (adj): 1. sensibly connected to some other event or state; 2. understandable by others. The word relatable is listed by a …
Tutoring English, some hilarities just present themselves. Numbskull can also be spelled numskull, according to two dictionaries I’ve checked. Who knew? Source: Mish, Frederick C (editor). The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 2004. Gilmour, Lorna (editor). Collins Essential Canadian English Dictionary …
Tutoring English, spelling is always interesting. The tutor mentions the spelling of the word tambourine. tambourine (noun): a hand-held drum with metallic noisemakers attached. The Brits and the Yanks both spell tambourine this way. Source: Gilmour, Lorna (editor). Collins Essential …
Tutoring English, spelling can hold surprises. The tutor mentions one he got from spelling “disfunctional.” This editor is unhappy with the spelling “disfunctional”, yet Merriam-Webster does allow for it. Given that Merriam-Webster is American, and so I’m sure is this …
English: spelling: is “disfunctional” dysfunctional? Read more »
Food research leads to self-tutoring: the tutor follows a query about spelling. When I type fibre, the screen cautions me I might have it wrong. Really? fibre: Merriam-Webster: British of fiber Oxford Canadian: dietary fibre Oxford Canadian doesn’t list fiber. …
The tutor mentions another British spelling we might seldom see, though it’s legal. Although I’ve seen connexion, I can’t remember the last time. However, I looked it up today. Webster’s says it’s a Brit. variant of connection. Collins Essential Canadian …
English: spelling variants: connexion vs connection Read more »