Spelling Test Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The correctly spelt word is Venerable.

Venerable, meaning worthy of great respect because of age or character, comes from the Latin venerari, to revere, and is spelt v-e-n-e-r-a-b-l-e, like the verb venerate.

Venirable changes the second vowel to i. Venerabel reverses the ending to -bel, which English does not use for this suffix. Venarable changes the second e to a. Remembering venerate fixes the first part, and the usual -able fixes the ending.

Answer: C

The correctly spelt word is Millennium.

Millennium, a period of a thousand years, comes from Latin mille (thousand) and annus (year). It therefore has a double l from mille and a double n from annus: mi-ll-e-nn-ium.

Milennium drops one l, Millenium drops one n (the most common misspelling), and Millenniam changes the ending -ium to -iam.

Answer: A

The correctly spelt word is Harangue.

A harangue is a long, loud, aggressive speech, and to harangue is to address someone in that way. Like tongue and league, the word ends in a silent -ue after the g, which keeps the g hard.

Harangu drops the final e, Harangeu reverses the last two letters, and Herangue changes the first vowel. None of these is an English word.

Answer: A

The study of the pronunciation of words is called Orthoepy.

Orthoepy, from the Greek for "correct speech", is the study of the correct or accepted pronunciation of the words of a language, the kind of guidance a pronouncing dictionary gives.

Phonetics is the wider science of speech sounds in general, how they are produced and perceived, not the pronunciation of particular words. Voice and speech are general terms, not names of a field of study.

Answer: B

It is bibliophile.

A lover of books, from biblion and philos. The ending is -phile, not -phil or -philae.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Necessary

The correct spelling is necessary - one c, two ses, and the ending -ary. The standard mnemonic is a shirt: one collar and two sleeves. Another is the sentence never eat cake, eat salmon sandwiches and remain young, whose initials spell the word. It comes from the Latin necessarius, and the single c followed by double s is preserved from it. The ending -ary rather than -ery is a further trap and has no rule behind it, though it may help that the related noun is necessity. Compare stationary meaning motionless with stationery meaning writing materials - a pair distinguished only by that vowel. The adverb keeps everything: necessarily. The negative is unnecessary, which adds a double n at the front and so becomes harder still.

Answer: A

It is maleficent.

From the Latin male facere, to do harm - the opposite of beneficent. The vowel after mal- is an e, matching bene-.

Answer: D

It is vermilion.

One l. The pigment is named from the Latin vermiculus, a little worm - the kermes insect from which the red dye was made.

Answer: A

It is quadrennial.

Two n's, from the Latin annus - happening every four years. The a of annus is swallowed, but its doubled n remains, as in biennial and centennial.

Answer: C

It is jussive.

Two s's. The jussive is the grammatical mood expressing a command, from the Latin jubere, jussus, to order.