Commonly Misspelled Words

Their, They’re, There Their –Belongs to a them (The teacher stole their M&M’s.) They’re - They are (They’re the world’s best candies.) There – In that place; as an introductory adverb. (There they are! There can never be enough M&M’s.)

Two, Too, To Two -The number (Two or three packages of M&M’s provide a nutritious after-school snack.) Too -Also or more than enough (He, too, eats too many M&M’s.) To - Preposition meaning “toward” or used with infinitive of a verb (I’m going to M&M heaven, where I’m going to eat many M&M’s.)

Your, You’re Your -Belongs to a you (Your M&M’s are my M&M’s.) You’re -You are (You’re in my power; hand over your M&M’s.)

Its, It’s Its - Belongs to an it (The dog ate its M&M’s and wanted mine.) It’s - It is (It’s that kind of day when I crave M&M’s.)

Who’s, Whose Who’s Who's is short for who is or who has. (This is a 100% rule - it has no other uses.) If you can replace the word with who is or who has, use who's. If not, use whose. (Who’s eating my M&M’s? Who’s been eating my M&M’s?) Whose is the possessive form of who. (Whose M&M’s are these?) Test: Who is M&M’s are these?

A lot, allot A lot THERE IS NO SUCH WORD AS ALOT! Trust me. It is a two word expression for a large quantity. It is also not a rich sensory word. I can eat a lot of M&M’s. allot is a verb which means to give out, divide, or distribute. (allots, allotted, allotting) All blue M&M’s will be allotted to me.

Supposively, Supposedly Supposively, again—not a word. Spell check does not like it. Supposedly-- allegedly, at a guess, by all accounts, hypothetically, presumably, purportedly, theoretically (Supposedly, someone wants to take away my M&M’s.)

Could of, Could have Could of, does not exist in proper English. It is often misused, because when we use the contraction— Could’ve, it is slurred and audibly sounds as if we’re saying (orally) could-of. However, when we write could have—there is no “of”. Could have/could’ve (I could have shared my M & M’s, but I’m too selfish.)

Top 10 Misspelled (By 6 th graders) Words 1.mansion 2.language 3.restaurant 4.beginning 5.soldier 6.definitely 7.probably 8.instead 9.doesn’t 10.necessary