Although there are some words, such as necessary and rhythm, where you just have to learn the spelling, many other words follow special rules. Here are ten easy-to-remember tips to help you to brush up your spelling.

You'll find more detailed advice and extra spelling rules in the dictionary's centre section, or you can read our lists of common spelling errors or commonly confused words.

You could also test yourself with this quick quiz.

1. Changing endings of nouns to make plurals

Although most nouns form their plurals by simply adding -s to the end (room, rooms), some form their plurals by changing their endings.

TIP: the main nouns that change their endings to form their plurals are:

2. Plurals of nouns ending in -o

Most nouns that end in -o just add -s to make the plural: solo, solos; embryo, embryos; zero, zeros; avocado, avocados.

TIP: some nouns that end in -o always add -es to make the plural. The main ones are as follows:

3. -ie- or -ei-?

TIP: the general rule is 'i before e except after c'. Here are some of the main -ie- words:

Here are some of the main -ei- words:

There are a few exceptions to this rule (such as seize and weird) where the -ei- spelling doesn't follow a 'c': you just need to learn the spellings for these.

4. affect or effect?

The words affect and effect are often confused: they are one of the pairs of English words that look or sound alike but have different meanings (called confusables).

TIP: an easy way to know which spelling to use is to understand the difference between the two words - then you can choose the right one for the particular situation.

Affect is a verb meaning 'to change or make a difference to someone or something':

The changes will affect everyone.
No other products are affected by the ban.

Effect is mainly a noun meaning 'a result':

Wildlife populations are feeling the effects of climate change.
What effect would this law have?

and it can also be a verb meaning 'to bring about a result':

Oliver Cromwell effected a temporary union between England and Scotland.

5. their, there, or they're?

The words their, there, and they're are often confused when written down because they sound alike.

TIP: make sure you know what each word means and what it does in a sentence - then you can choose the right one.

Their is a possessive determiner meaning 'belonging to them':

She had three sons, all lawyers like their father.
If their needs are not met, people will move away from the mainstream.

There is mainly an adverb meaning 'in, at, or to that place':

He never went there again.
The opportunity is right there in front of you.

They're is short for 'they are':

Maybe they're all coming to see me.

6. Doubling consonants

There's usually no need to make any changes to the infinitive of a verb when adding -ing and -ed endings to make the present participle and the past tense:

There are some cases where spelling changes do occur, such as doubling consonants (there's more information about other changes in the dictionary's centre section).

TIP: when adding -ed and -ing endings to verbs that end with a single vowel plus a consonant, do not double the final consonant if the stress doesn't fall at the end of the word:

When adding -ed and -ing endings to verbs that end with a single vowel plus a consonant, double the final consonant if the stress falls at the end of the word:

7. Adding endings to words that end in -our

TIP: When adding the endings -ous, -ious, -ary, -ation, -ific, -ize, and -ise to a word which ends in -our, change the -our to -or before adding the ending:

But such words are spelled -our when other endings are added:

8. Adding endings to words that end in -ce or -ge

TIP: when adding the endings -able and -ous to words that end with a soft -ce or -ge sound, keep the final -e:

9. Words ending with -ful

TIP: the ending -ful is always spelled with one -l:

The related ending -fully is always spelled with a double -l:

10. Adding endings to words that end with a double -l

TIP: drop the final -l from words that end with a double -l before adding endings which begin with a consonant (such as -ment, -ful, and -ly):

The ending -ness is an exception to this rule: