accommodate

Double c and double m: ac-com-mo-date. It has room to accommodate two of each.

“The hotel can accommodate fifty guests.”

accompany

Ac + company, with a double c.

“Will you accompany me to the shop?”

according

Ac + cord + ing, with a double c.

“According to the forecast, it will rain.”

achieve

It's i before e here: a-chie-ve.

“You can achieve a lot with a little practice every day.”

aggressive

Double g and double s: ag-gres-sive.

“The swan became aggressive when we got too close.”

amateur

It comes from French and ends eur: am-a-teur.

“My uncle is an amateur photographer.”

ancient

The “sh” sound is spelt ci: an-cient.

“We visited an ancient stone circle.”

apparent

Double p, and it ends ent: ap-par-ent.

“It soon became apparent that we were lost.”

appreciate

Double p, and the “sh” sound is spelt ci: ap-pre-ci-ate.

“I really appreciate your help.”

attached

Double t, then ch with no t before it: at-tach-ed.

“A label was attached to the parcel.”

available

A + vail + able. The middle is spelt ai.

“Tickets are available from the school office.”

average

Av-er-age. Don't miss the e in the middle.

“The average of 4, 5 and 6 is 5.”

awkward

There are two w's: awk-ward.

“There was an awkward silence.”

bargain

It ends ain: bar-gain.

“The coat was a bargain in the sale.”

bruise

The “oo” sound is spelt ui, like fruit: br-ui-se.

“I've got a bruise on my knee.”

category

Cat-e-gor-y. The letter after cat is e.

“Which category does a whale belong to?”

cemetery

Three e's and no a: cem-e-ter-y.

“The old church has a cemetery.”

committee

Three doubles: m, t and e. Com-mit-tee.

“The school council is a kind of committee.”

communicate

Double m: com-mu-ni-cate.

“Dolphins communicate using clicks and whistles.”

community

Double m, like communicate: com-mu-ni-ty.

“Our community held a litter pick.”

competition

Com-pe-ti-tion. The vowel after comp is e.

“Our class won the poetry competition.”

conscience

It's con + science, so the c in science stays.

“Her conscience told her to own up.”

conscious

Con + sci + ous. Here the sc says “sh”.

“Be conscious of other people on the path.”

controversy

Con-tro-ver-sy. The vowel after contr is o.

“The new car park caused a lot of controversy.”

convenience

Con-ven-i-ence. It ends ence.

“The corner shop stays open late for our convenience.”

correspond

Double r: cor-re-spond.

“Pen pals correspond by letter.”

criticise

Critic + ise. Keep the c of critic, and use the British ise ending.

“Try not to criticise your friends' drawings.”

curiosity

Curious drops its u: curi-os-i-ty.

“Curiosity made the cat look inside the box.”

definite

There's finite in definite: de-fin-ite.

“We need a definite answer by Friday.”

desperate

Des-per-ate. The middle vowel is e, even though you hardly hear it.

“The thirsty dog was desperate for water.”

determined

De-ter-mine + d.

“Zara was determined to finish the race.”

develop

No e on the end: de-vel-op.

“Tadpoles develop into frogs.”

dictionary

Dic-tion-ar-y.

“Look the word up in a dictionary.”

disastrous

Disaster drops its e: disastr + ous. There's no e before the r.

“The picnic was disastrous because of the wasps.”

embarrass

One m, double r, double s: em-bar-rass.

“Please don't embarrass me in front of my friends.”

environment

En-vi-ron-ment. Don't miss the n before ment.

“We must look after the environment.”

equip

One p in equip and equipment, but two in equipped.

“The club will equip each player with a new bib.”

especially

Es + special + ly. Special ends in l and ly adds another, so there are two l's.

“I love fruit, especially strawberries.”

exaggerate

Double g: ex-ag-ger-ate.

“Don't exaggerate: it was only a small spider.”

excellent

An x then a c, and a double l: ex-cel-lent.

“That was an excellent piece of writing.”

existence

Exist + ence. It ends ence.

“Do you believe in the existence of the Loch Ness Monster?”

explanation

Explain loses its i: ex-pla-na-tion.

“Write an explanation of how a rainbow forms.”

familiar

It's related to family, which is why the first vowel is a: fam-il-i-ar.

“The song sounded familiar.”

foreign

There's a silent g: for-eig-n.

“Learning a foreign language is fun.”

forty

Four has a u, but forty doesn't: f-or-ty.

“There are forty children in the choir.”

frequently

Fre-quent-ly. The “kw” sound is qu.

“Buses run frequently into town.”

government

Govern + ment. Keep the n.

“The government announced a new law.”

guarantee

A silent u after the g, and it ends ee: guar-an-tee.

“The toaster comes with a two-year guarantee.”

harass

One r, double s: har-ass.

“Please don't harass the ducks.”

hindrance

Hinder drops its e: hindr + ance.

“A heavy bag is a hindrance on a long walk.”

identity

I-den-ti-ty. The vowel after id is e.

“The spy kept her identity a secret.”

immediate

Double m: im-me-di-ate. Immediately adds ly.

“We need an immediate answer.”

individual

In-di-vid-u-al.

“Each individual gets a certificate.”

interfere

Inter + fere. It ends ere.

“Don't interfere with the experiment.”

interrupt

Inter + rupt. The two r's meet in the middle.

“Please don't interrupt while I'm speaking.”

language

Lan-gu-age. The u comes before the a.

“Welsh is a language spoken in Wales.”

leisure

This one is ei, not ie: lei-sure.

“The leisure centre has a new pool.”

lightning

No e: light + ning. Lightning is the flash in the sky. Lightening means making something lighter.

“Thunder and lightning kept us awake.”

marvellous

The British spelling doubles the l: mar-vel-lous.

“We had a marvellous day at the seaside.”

mischievous

Mis-chie-vous. It has three syllables, not four: there's no i after the v.

“The mischievous kitten hid my sock.”

muscle

There's a silent c: mus-cle.

“Your heart is a muscle.”

necessary

One collar and two sleeves: one c and two s's.

“Is it necessary to bring a packed lunch?”

neighbour

The “ay” sound is eigh, and it has the British our ending: neigh-bour.

“Our neighbour feeds the cat when we're away.”

nuisance

Nui + sance. The vowels are ui.

“The wasp was a real nuisance.”

occupy

Double c: oc-cu-py.

“Jigsaws occupy my little sister for hours.”

occur

Double c and one r: oc-cur. Occurred and occurring double the r.

“Solar eclipses don't occur very often.”

opportunity

Double p: op-por-tu-ni-ty.

“This is a great opportunity to learn.”

parliament

Parl + ia + ment. You don't hear the i, but it's there.

“The new law was debated in Parliament.”

persuade

Per-suade. The u comes before the a.

“Can you persuade Dad to let us stay up?”

physical

Ph says “f”, and y says “i”: phys-i-cal.

“PE is a physical activity.”

prejudice

Pre + ju + dice.

“We should treat everyone fairly and without prejudice.”

privilege

Priv-i-lege. There's no d before the ge.

“It was a privilege to meet the author.”

profession

One f, double s: pro-fes-sion.

“Nursing is a caring profession.”

programme

The British spelling for a TV programme or a theatre programme ends mme.

“We watched a programme about penguins.”

pronunciation

Pronounce loses its o: pro-nun-ci-a-tion.

“Check the pronunciation of the French words.”

queue

Q, then ueue: four vowels in a row.

“We stood in a long queue for the ride.”

recognise

Don't miss the g: rec-og-nise. It has the British ise ending.

“I didn't recognise you in that hat.”

recommend

One c, double m: re-com-mend.

“Can you recommend a good book?”

relevant

Rel-e-vant: e in the middle, a at the end.

“Only include facts that are relevant.”

restaurant

Rest + au + rant.

“We went to an Italian restaurant for Nan's birthday.”

rhyme

A silent h after the r, and the y says “eye”: rh-y-me.

“Cat and hat rhyme.”

rhythm

No vowels except y: rh-y-th-m. Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move.

“Clap along to the rhythm.”

sacrifice

Sac-ri-fice.

“She made a sacrifice to help her team.”

secretary

It's secret + ary: sec-re-tar-y.

“Leave the form with the school secretary.”

shoulder

The “oh” sound is spelt ou: shoul-der.

“The parrot sat on the pirate's shoulder.”

signature

Sign keeps its g: sig-na-ture.

“This form needs a parent's signature.”

sincere

Sin-cere. It ends ere. Sincerely is sincere + ly.

“Her apology was sincere.”

soldier

The “j” sound is spelt di: sol-di-er.

“The toy soldier stood on the shelf.”

stomach

It ends ach, where the ch says “k”.

“My stomach was rumbling before lunch.”

sufficient

Double f, and ci says “sh”: suf-fi-cient.

“Is there sufficient food for everyone?”

suggest

Double g: sug-gest.

“I suggest we take an umbrella.”

symbol

The y says “i”: sym-bol.

“The symbol for pounds is £.”

system

The y says “i”: sys-tem.

“The solar system has eight planets.”

temperature

Tem-per-a-ture. Don't skip the per.

“Take the temperature of the water.”

thorough

Thor + ough. Don't mix it up with through.

“Give the floor a thorough clean.”

twelfth

Twelve becomes twelfth. The f is easy to miss.

“Our team came twelfth out of twenty.”

variety

Var-i-e-ty.

“The café sells a variety of sandwiches.”

vegetable

Veg-e-ta-ble. Four parts, though people often say three.

“Carrots are my favourite vegetable.”

vehicle

There's a silent h: ve-hi-cle.

“A fire engine is a large vehicle.”

yacht

The ch is silent: ya-ch-t.

“A white yacht sailed into the harbour.”