Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
May 1, 2025
Spelt and spelled are two ways of spelling the past tense of the verb “spell,” which means “forming words with the letters in the correct order.” The spelling depends on the type of English you use.
In British English, “spelled” and “spelt” are both used, but “spelt” is a bit more common.
In American English, “spelled” is standard.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
Examples: Spelt or spelled in a sentenceEoghan carefully spelt/spelled his name to avoid any mistakes.
Abdullah spelt/spelled “synecdoche” with ease during the spelling bee competition.
Kimberley accidentally spelt/spelled the author’s name wrong in her essay.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
March 13, 2025
“Use to” and “used to” are related phrases that share a meaning. However, they are not used in the same way.
Use to is a verb that indicates a past action, state, or habit. It is always preceded by “did,” “didn’t,” or “did not.”
Used to is also a verb that indicates a past action, state, or habit, but it is not used with “did,” “didn’t,” or “did not.” It is also used as an adjective to mean “accustomed to.”
These phrases are often confused because the final “d” in “used” and the “t” in “to” seem to blend together in pronunciation, causing them to sound like homonyms. However, it’s important to use them correctly, especially in academic writing or professional communication.
Examples: Used to in a sentence
Examples: Use to in a sentence
Terrance has three dogs, so he’s used to training them.
Didn’t you use to play the piano?
I used to babysit during college.
She didn’t use to eat vegetables, but now she loves them.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
November 21, 2024
“Alright” and “all right” are two spellings of the same word, which means “okay” or “good enough,” depending on the context. It can be used as an adjective, adverb, or interjection.
Alright is a more informal version of “all right.” It’s considered correct in everyday speech, but not all dictionaries or other language authorities accept this spelling.
All right is the more commonly accepted spelling, but it’s still not considered an appropriate term for academic writing or professional communication.
Examples: Alright or all right in a sentenceThe food in the restaurant was all right. Alright, alright, I’ll tell you everything!
I hope she’s feeling all right after getting injured during the hike.
Allright (with double “l” and no space”) is a common misspelling of the word and is never considered correct.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
March 21, 2025
Theirs is a third-person plural possessive pronoun. It’s also used as a gender-neutral singular possessive pronoun. It’s sometimes written as “their’s”—with an apostrophe—but this spelling is incorrect.
Possession is typically indicated by adding ’s to a word, but possessive pronouns are an exception to this rule. This means that “their’s” is always incorrect. This is also true for other possessive pronouns, such as ours and theirs. The QuillBot Grammar Checker will fix this and other common mistakes automatically.
Examples: Theirs and their’s in a sentence
I don’t know if you can borrow this iPad. It’s their’s, not mine.
I don’t know if you can borrow this iPad. It’s theirs, not mine.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
May 1, 2025
Humor and humour are two ways of spelling the noun meaning “the characteristic of being amusing” or “mood.” The word can also be used as a verb to mean “indulge.” The spelling depends on the type of English you use.
In American English, “humor” is correct.
In British English, “humour” is standard.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
Examples: Humor or humour in a sentenceHis humor/humour always lightens the mood at work meetings.
After a good night’s sleep, her humor/humour improved drastically.
The principal decided to humor/humour the student’s imaginative story even though it was quite far-fetched.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
May 1, 2025
Honor and honour are two ways of spelling the same noun, which means “great respect” or “privilege.” It can also be used as a verb to mean “keep an agreement” or “regard with great respect.” The spelling depends on the type of English you use.
In American English, “honor” is correct.
In British English, “honour” is standard.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
Examples: Honor or honour in a sentenceIn academic settings, plagiarism is viewed as a breach of honor/honourbecause it involves academic dishonesty.
Meghan decided to honor/honourher grandfather’s legacy by continuing his philanthropic work.
The organization plans to honor/honourits employees with a special recognition ceremony.
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
March 21, 2025
Whoa is an interjection used to express shock or surprise. It was traditionally used to command a horse or person to stop or slow down. Like other interjections, whoa should be avoided in professional communication and academic writing.
The use of the variant spelling woah is more common in UK English than US English, but in both cases, it’s not considered standard. Many dictionaries and other language authorities do not accept this spelling at all.
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
March 21, 2025
Gist is a noun that typically means “most important idea” or “essence,” but it can also be used to refer to the grounds of a legal action. It’s almost always preceded by the definite article “the” (and can’t be used with the indefinite article “a”).
Jist is a misspelling of the word gist and should not be used. The QuillBot Grammar Checker catches and automatically corrects common mistakes like this.
Examples: Jist or gist in a sentence
I read the summary to get the jistof the novel’s plot
I read the summary to get the gist of the novel’s plot.
Can you give me the jistof the presentation in a few sentences?
Can you give me the gist of the presentation in a few sentences?
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA
Revised on
March 12, 2025
The noun label describes a piece of material that identifies the object it’s attached to. It can also be used as a verb to describe the act of affixing a label to an object or assigning a label to a person to put them in a specific category.
“Lable” is a common misspelling and should be avoided. The QuillBot Grammar Checker will fix this and other common mistakes automatically.
Examples: Lable or label in a sentence
Don’t try to lableme!
Don’t try to label me!
Do your parents still lableyour clothes?
Do your parents still label your clothes?
Label is the standard spelling in both US and UK English, but other verb forms are different for US and UK English (e.g., labeled vs labelled).
