Spelling Test Questions and Answers

Answer: B

It is autonomous.

From the Greek autos and nomos, self and law. The ending of a Latin -ous adjective is never -ouse or -us.

Answer: A

It is kettleful.

The suffix -ful takes one l when it means as much as will fill: spoonful, handful, kettleful. Full itself has two.

Answer: B

It is scriptorium.

The room in a monastery where manuscripts were copied, from the Latin scribere, to write. The i belongs to script, as in scripture and description.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Foreign

The correct spelling is foreign - e before i, and a silent g before the n. It is one of the standard exceptions to the rule i before e except after c. The full set of common exceptions is worth learning: foreign, neighbour, weight, height, their, seize, weird, leisure, either, neither, protein and caffeine. The silent g is an intrusion. The word came from the Old French forain and had no g; scribes added one in the sixteenth century by mistaken analogy with reign and sovereign - the last of which acquired its g the same way. The related forms keep it: foreigner, foreignness.

Answer: B

It is surveillance.

From the French surveiller, to watch over - the eill is French and the ending is -ance.

Answer: D

It is incessantly.

Two s's, from the Latin in and cessare, to cease - not ceasing.

Answer: A

It is bibliography.

From the Greek biblion, a book - the same root as Bible. Three i's in the first three syllables.

Answer: A

It is secretarial.

Built on secretary, from the Latin secretarius, one entrusted with secrets. The a before the -ial is what is usually lost.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Sergeant

The correct spelling is sergeant - ser- at the start, though it is pronounced sar-. The mismatch is historical. The word came from the Old French sergent, from the Latin servientem, one who serves - the same root as serve, servant and service. Holding serve in mind fixes the first syllable against the ear. The er pronounced as ar is a regular feature of older English, and it survives in clerk, pronounced clark in British usage, and in the surname Derby. The middle gea is the second trap: the sequence gives a soft j sound, as it does in pigeon, dungeon, surgeon, bludgeon and gorgeous. Note the corresponding rank lieutenant, which is equally unphonetic and equally often misspelt.

Answer: A

It is brethren.

The old plural of brother, kept for members of a religious or fraternal body. It is one of the few English plurals formed by a vowel change and an -en ending, like children.