Unit 19: I'm really sorry...
Adverb positions
Select a unit
- 1Pop-ups
- 2Hidden talents
- 3Can't buy me love
- 4Travellers' tales
- 5The colleague from hell
- 6Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
- 7Career changes
- 8Art
- 9Project management
- 10The dog ate my homework!
- 11The diary of a double agent
- 12Fashion forward
- 13Flat pack skyscrapers
- 14Extreme sports
- 15Food fads
- 16Me, my selfie and I
- 17Endangered animals
- 18A nip and a tuck: cosmetic surgery
- 19I'm really sorry...
- 20Telling stories
- 21Fakes and phrasals
- 22Looking to the future
- 23Becoming familiar with things
- 24From rags to riches
- 25Against the odds
- 26Our future on Mars?
- 27Where is it illegal to get a fish drunk?
- 28Dodgy dating
- 29Annoying advice
- 30I'll have been studying English for thirty weeks
Session 1
Theatre or theater? In this session we look at words with more than one spelling
Wayitii marii qabxii 1
0 / 14
- 0 / 0Activity 1
- 0 / 8Activity 2
- 0 / 6Activity 3
Activity 3
So many spellings
Disc or disk?
Do you listen to music on CDs? Back in the year 2000, 2.5 billion music albums were sold on CD around the world. The number has fallen since then, but the compact disc is still used widely in the music industry.
Another way to store information is on a hard disk. Your computer has one inside, and you can also buy an external hard disk if you need extra space.
Just as technology changes over time, so does language. As you probably noticed we used two different spellings there - disc and disk.
Barreeffama kana dubbisii shakala kana xumuri
Disk is generally used to talk about computing, and disc is used for CDs and when talking about machine parts. As we heard in 6 Minute Vocabulary, disk is more common in American English, but many people use either spelling in British English.
The important thing to remember is that you will see both spellings! And whenever you learn a new word, check to see if it has more than one spelling.
In the meantime, here are a few more for you: inquire / enquire, aging / ageing, and yoghurt / yogurt.
To do
So, you think you know your spelling? Time to test yourself! In this quiz each question has three options: two are acceptable spellings, and one is an incorrect spelling. You have to find the incorrect one. Good luck!
One of these isn't right...
6 Questions
In each question there are three options. Two are acceptable spellings, one is wrong. You have to choose the wrong spelling.
Gargaarsa
Activity
In each question there are three options. Two are acceptable spellings, one is wrong. You have to choose the wrong spelling.
karaarra buusu
Check the verb endingsQuestion 1 of 6
Gargaarsa
Activity
In each question there are three options. Two are acceptable spellings, one is wrong. You have to choose the wrong spelling.
karaarra buusu
The infinitive of the verb is 'to spoil'.Question 2 of 6
Gargaarsa
Activity
In each question there are three options. Two are acceptable spellings, one is wrong. You have to choose the wrong spelling.
karaarra buusu
Usually spellings become simpler over time. Don't choose the simplest spelling.Question 3 of 6
Gargaarsa
Activity
In each question there are three options. Two are acceptable spellings, one is wrong. You have to choose the wrong spelling.
karaarra buusu
There is a 'g' sound in English.Question 4 of 6
Gargaarsa
Activity
In each question there are three options. Two are acceptable spellings, one is wrong. You have to choose the wrong spelling.
karaarra buusu
One of the correct spellings is related to an abbreviation for this kind of meal: a BBQ.Question 5 of 6
Gargaarsa
Activity
In each question there are three options. Two are acceptable spellings, one is wrong. You have to choose the wrong spelling.
karaarra buusu
Spellings usually become simpler over time. Don't choose a simple spelling.Question 6 of 6
Excellent!Great job!Carraa badaa!Qabxii argatte:
End of Session 1
We hope you're now more confident at analysing / analyzing how words are spelt / spelled! Join us in the next session when we look at this unit's grammar: adverb position in sentences. In 6 Minute Grammar, Catherine's wearing a hat which is quite brightly coloured...
Session Vocabulary
Some words have two possible spellings in British English, for example analogue, disc, enquire. Sometimes the second spelling comes from American English.
Disc can be spelt d-i-s-c or d-i-s-k for computing terms.
Some words ending in -ise or -yse are spelt -ize and -yze in American English. That spelling is generally accepted in British English too.
apologise (BrE) / apologize (AmE/BrE)
The past form of some verbs can be spelt in two ways in British English. But the -ed ending is preferred in American English.
spelled / spelt (BrE) / spelled (AmE/BrE)
Other words have two spellings, not from any American influence.
all right / alright, barbecue / barbeque, racket / raquet
Some American English spellings are not accepted as correct in British English. Two common examples are words with ou in them and words ending in -re.
colour (BrE) / color (AmE), centre (BrE) / center (AmE)
