Can You Pick Out the Misspelled Word in Each Sentence?

Don't laugh at this one: One of the first things schoolchildren need to learn about good spelling is how to make a transition from singular to plural. That is, "difficulty" becomes "difficulties," while "beach" becomes "beaches." It's enough to make you wish we all used a language that didn't differentiate between singular and plural, except by context (Japanese, for example).

"Ofense" is properly spelled "offense." Also, would we stoop so low as so misspell the word "spelling" on a quiz about spelling? Probably not. Too on-the-nose.

This is an example of a common error: Failing to drop a final vowel when shifting from a simple present-tense verb to a present participle or gerund, the verb forms that end in "-ing." Fun fact: None other than Ernest Hemingway had trouble with this one.

This one's tricky, we admit. The double "m's" are supposed to be there, but not the double "t's." The root word is "commit," and the suffix "-ment" is added onto the word, as is.

Sometimes, being a good speller is learning to recognize that certain words, which just look strange, are in fact correctly spelled. Here, that word is "abscess." Doesn't it look as though either the first "s" or the "c" isn't necessary? However, that's really how the word is spelled.

Yes, it's slang. But "snark" has been officially added to many dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster. Even before that, like many slang terms, it had a codified spelling, which doesn't contain a "c."

"Friend": It's such a beloved concept, but such a potentially risky word! Not only is there the accidental switch-up of the "i" and "e" — the problem above, and a very frequent mistake — but you might also drop the "r," referring to your "fiend." Oooh, awkward.

The word "icicles" is based in the word "ice," hence its spelling. However, you can't count on this kind of consistency; it's not unheard of for letters to change when a word's form changes. This happens sometimes in geography. For example, the city is "Glasgow," but its residents are "Glaswegians."

French words give everyone a bit of trouble. Here, the right spelling is "casserole," with two "s's" but only one "r." So which came first, the baking dish or the type of recipe? According to Merriam-Webster's site, the word "casserole" meant the baking dish first. The related French word "casse" means "ladle."

"Mortgage," a word meaning a long-term loan on a form of real estate, has a silent "t." Sometimes, writers drop the "t' or replace it, erroneously, with a "d."

Of course, the correct spelling is "freewheeling." The image is of a wheel (possibly on a bicycle) turning on its own, without being pushed by the power train or hampered by the brake.

"Through" and "thorough" are a perpetual source of confusion for writers in the English language. Though it might seem like we've muddied the waters further by using the adverb form, we've actually made it simpler: Because "through" is an adverb in itself, it would never need an "-ly" suffix.

Think this error — "scohol" for "school" — is too farfetched to ever be real? Think again! When a road-painting crew marked a "scohol" zone for motorists to be aware of, the photo went viral. It's since been fixed by the private contractor who did the original roadwork.

The correct spelling here is "eliminate." It's easy to double the "m," or the "l," but that's not necessary. The root of this word is the Latin "limin," meaning "threshold." Something pushed "beyond the threshold" is eliminated.

An instrument that measures levels of something, like pressure, is a "gauge." You might have been confused by the fact that as a man's name, the spelling is usually "Gage." Or by our inclusion of the word "weather," but a "weather eye" is a real thing, we swear! It means a wary or watchful eye — the kind you might keep on weather on the horizon.

Once again, we're defending the concept that slang terms can and do have agreed-upon spellings. The word "nerd" has long been recognized as meaning "smart, uncool person," and the adjective form is "nerdy."

Okay, "bereaved" might look a bit vowel-heavy, but that's actually the correct spelling. "Sympathy," is also right: It uses a "y" to represent the sound that we're more used to seeing as an "i."

Silent letters strike again! In this example, "diaphragm" is the correct spelling. The diaphragm is also the body part at fault when you get a case of the hiccups. It's just troublesome in a lot of ways.

Just as words change form slightly going from singular to plural, they do so going from present-tense to present-participle as well (as we've mentioned elsewhere in this quiz). The correct spelling is "having." And "cammera" should be "camera."

The correct spelling is "approaching." While you're here, take a good look at "consensus." World Book Dictionary cites it as a "common misspelling" — probably as "concensus," which might look right because it contains the word "census," which we know means "a count of people or citizens."

This is another "i-before-e" issue — or is it? The old mnemonic goes, "I before E, except after C, and when pronounced "ay," like "neighbor" and "weigh." Except none of that applies here, making the word "weird" even, well, weirder.

The first word should be spelled with two "c's," "accident." The second word should be "brakes." You'll see this error from time to time, and it's another one that spellcheck won't catch, since there is such a thing as "breaks."

This might have been correct about 300 years ago, if it's like "magickal." About "plateau": It's another French-derived word, and that pileup of vowels at the end really is the right way to spell it.

Yup, that's really the way "rhetorical" is spelled, with an "h." Why is this odd statement included in our quiz? We're sharing it because it's our favorite response to annoying sales-pitch lead-ins, like "What if I told you that your family could own a vacation timeshare for the cost of only a few nights out at the movies?" (Try it; it's surprisingly fun).

We doubt this one was hard. "Critisism" just doesn't look right at all; in fact, it looks wronger than any misspelled word preceding it. Wait, now "wronger" looks wrongest! Oh man, we're just making things worse!

The proper spellings are "might" and "umbrella." "Mite" is a word the spellchecker wouldn't catch, as it's a real word in its own right, referring to a small arachnid. FYI: "Approaching" can be a tricky one as well, but we dealt with that elsewhere in this quiz.

"Reticence" means "shyness" or "quietness." The adjective form, "reticent" is often erroneously used for "reluctant." While they're not worlds apart in meaning, you'll know "reticent" is being misused if the speaker adds the helper verb "to." That is, you're "reticent" overall, but you're only "reluctant to" do something.

Silent letters: They move among us nearly invisible, wreaking havoc on good spelling! Here, a "p" is missing: The correct spelling is "contempt." When confused, remember the more common word "attempt," which also has a silent "p."

Here, at least, you can't blame a silent letter. Pronounce "Arctic" properly, and you'll hear the "c" we left out of the spelling above. The same holds true of "Antarctica" and "Antarctic."

It really seems as though "e" is the right vowel in that position, doesn't it? But the correct spelling is "exhilarated." Also, don't @ us about using "combatants." We've watched rugby games, and it doesn't just have "players," it has "combatants."

If you got this one wrong, you might be thinking of a cat's "purr," spelled with two "r's" at the end. Alternatively, someone might misspell this tricky word as "murrmur." Perhaps it would help if we hyphenated it: "mur-mur."

If anything tripped you up here, we imagine it was the word "possession." But it's true: All those "s's" belong in there! It's the same with the root verb, "to possess."

"Wednesday" is probably the hardest day of the week to learn to spell, and with good reason. We can think of few other words in which the consonant sounds are "flipped" in comparison to the spelling. Listen closely and you'll clearly hear "Wends-" not "Wed-ness" in the pronunciation. But here, it's the humble pronoun "whom" which is misspelled.

Welcome to today's edition of Things Everyone's Parents Used to Say! The misspelling above is "irrellevant," which should be written "irrelevant." In rarer cases, you'll see the "v" and "l" switched up: "irrevalant."

Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. That's right, we misspelled "misspelled," leaving out one of the "s's." So, we hope we've lived up to the challenge of providing you an interesting, tricky quiz!