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Spelling 03
Reading and writing will improve your spelling skills.

Spelling 03

Sharpen your GCSE spelling. Learn how English treats accents in loanwords, when to keep them, and how consistent patterns make exam writing precise.

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Fascinating Fact:

Diacritics often vanish in English. Café keeps the accent sometimes, but façade and naïve frequently lose theirs.

In GCSE English, spelling accuracy shows control of audience and purpose. This quiz explores diacritics in loanwords, common patterns, and how to choose consistent forms that keep your writing clear and credible.

  • Diacritic: A mark added to a letter, such as é or ï, that can change pronunciation or meaning.
  • Loanword: A word taken from another language and used in English, for example café or cliché.
  • Anglicise: To adapt a foreign word to English spelling or usage, often by dropping accents.
Do I have to keep accents in English exam writing?

Examiners reward consistency and clarity. If you use an accent in a word like café, use it every time. If you drop it, be consistent across your answer.

Which common English words keep their accents?

Words such as café, cliché, façade, and naïve often appear with accents in formal writing. Many publications also accept accentless forms, so choose one style and stick to it.

How can I remember spellings of loanwords for GCSE?

Make a mini list, note any accent or unusual letter, learn the meaning and example sentence, and practise by writing each word correctly three to five times.

1 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
Given her ...... salary, Karen thought her holiday to the ...... would have to be postponed for another year.
meger, Meditteranean
meager, Meditterranean
meagre, Mediterranean
meegre, Mediterranean
Given her meagre salary, Karen thought her holiday to the Mediterranean would have to be postponed for another year
2 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
Although she was merely ...... as a singer, she had quickly ...... herself into a starring role in the musical.
compitent, manuvered
competent, manoeuvred
compatent, manouevered
competant, manoeuvered
Although she was merely competent as a singer, she had quickly manoeuvred herself into a starring role in the musical
3 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
George could not understand why the new editor never ...... how ...... he was to the smooth running of the newsroom.
acknoledge, indespensable
acnowledged, indispenseable
aknowledged, indespinsable
acknowledged, indispensable
George could never understand why the new editor never acknowledged how indispensable he was to the smooth running of the newsroom.
4 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
Their mother had always used the threat of an especially foul-tasting ...... as a ...... from falsely claiming to be ill on school days.
medcine, deterrent
medicine, deterrent
medecine, detterent
medicin, deterrant
Their mother had always used the threat of an especially foul-tasting medicine as a deterrent from falsely claiming to be ill on school days.
5 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
Julia expected her ...... to ...... her version of the event.
coleges, corroberate
colleagues, corroborate
collegues, coroborate
colleages, corrobrate
Julia expected her colleagues to corroborate her version of the event
6 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
Although she was still an ......, Sonia's ...... technique swiftly impressed her diving coach.
amachure, efishent
ameture, eficient
amateur, efficient
amature, effecient
Although she was still an amateur, Sonia's efficient technique swiftly impressed her diving coach.
7 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
The majority of the working day was spent ...... with ...... clients.
liaising, corprate
liasing, cooperate
liaising, corporate
liasing, corperate
The majority of the working day was spent liaising with corporate clients
8 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
His inability to ...... the tone of a conversation could be ...... at times.
gage, disastrous
guage, disasterous
gauge, disastorous
gauge, disastrous
His inability to gauge the tone of a conversation could be disastrous at times
9 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
Julian believed himself to be a ...... of ...... cuisine.
connosure, exguisit
connoisseur, exquisite
conosure, exquisit
connoisur, exquisite
Julian believed himself to be a connoisseur of exquisite cuisine
10 .
Complete the following sentence with the correct spelling.
It had only been ...... that Kevin had ...... his vast horticultural knowledge.
incidentally, acquired
incidently, acquired
incidentaly, aquired
incidentally, ackwired
It had only been incidentally that Kevin had acquired his vast horticultural knowledge
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Spelling

Author:  Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)

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