Year 3 · Unit 10 · Lesson 2 of 5
Spelling and Punctuation Errors: Polish Every Line
"Their going too there house."
Every word is a real word, and a spellchecker would not complain. How many errors are there?
Three. Their → They're (they are), too → to, there → their (belonging to them). Corrected: "They're going to their house." Confusable words are the most common spelling errors in compositions.
Master the essentials
11 · their / there / they're
Their going to there house.
They're going to their house.
their = belonging to them · there = place · they're = they are
12 · your / you're
Your welcome to join us.
You're welcome to join us.
your = belonging to you · you're = you are
13 · its / it's
The cat licked it's paw.
The cat licked its paw.
its = belonging to it · it's = it is
14 · to / too / two
It was to hot to play.
It was too hot to play.
too = excessively or also · two = 2
15 · then / than
She is taller then me.
She is taller than me.
than compares · then tells when
16 · lose / loose
Don't loose your keys.
Don't lose your keys.
lose = misplace · loose = not tight
17 · advice / advise
He gave me good advise.
He gave me good advice.
advice is the noun, advise the verb (also practice / practise in British English)
18 · Apostrophes
Apple's for sale. The dog's are barking.
Apples for sale. The dogs are barking.
Use apostrophes for possession (the boy's bag) or missing letters, never for plain plurals
19 · Capital letters
we met on monday in april.
We met on Monday in April.
Capitals for sentence starts, names, places, days, months and "I"
20 · Common misspellings
recieve · neccessary · seperate · definately
receive · necessary · separate · definitely
Learn the tricky ones: also beginning, tomorrow, environment, embarrass
See it done
1. Choose: "The team lost (its / it's) last match."
Test it: "lost it is last match" makes no sense, so: its. Only use "it's" when you can say "it is" or "it has".
2. Correct: "My mum gave me some advise."
You need a noun after "some", so: advice. "Advise" is what you do; "advice" is what you give.
Common mistake: Adding an apostrophe to every word that ends in -s. Ask: does something belong to it? If not, no apostrophe.
10 questions with instant feedback
Choose the best answer.
1."___ going to the match tomorrow."
Not quite. "They're" means "they are". Answer: C. They're.
Not quite. "They're" means "they are". Answer: C. They're.
Correct. "They're" means "they are".
Not quite. "They're" means "they are". Answer: C. They're.
2."Is this ___ book?"
Not quite. "Your" means belonging to you. Answer: D. your.
Not quite. "Your" means belonging to you. Answer: D. your.
Not quite. "Your" means belonging to you. Answer: D. your.
Correct. "Your" means belonging to you.
3."The dog wagged ___ tail."
Correct. "Its" shows belonging; "it's" means "it is".
Not quite. "Its" shows belonging; "it's" means "it is". Answer: A. its.
Not quite. "Its" shows belonging; "it's" means "it is". Answer: A. its.
Not quite. "Its" shows belonging; "it's" means "it is". Answer: A. its.
4."She is taller ___ her brother."
Not quite. "Than" is used to compare. Answer: B. than.
Correct. "Than" is used to compare.
Not quite. "Than" is used to compare. Answer: B. than.
Not quite. "Than" is used to compare. Answer: B. than.
5."Don't ___ your keys."
Correct. "Lose" means misplace; "loose" means not tight.
Not quite. "Lose" means misplace; "loose" means not tight. Answer: A. lose.
Not quite. "Lose" means misplace; "loose" means not tight. Answer: A. lose.
Not quite. "Lose" means misplace; "loose" means not tight. Answer: A. lose.
6."My teacher gave me some good ___."
Not quite. "Advice" is the noun, and it has no plural "-s". Answer: C. advice.
Not quite. "Advice" is the noun, and it has no plural "-s". Answer: C. advice.
Correct. "Advice" is the noun, and it has no plural "-s".
Not quite. "Advice" is the noun, and it has no plural "-s". Answer: C. advice.
7.Which uses the apostrophe correctly?
Not quite. The room belongs to the girls (plural), so the apostrophe goes after the "s". Answer: B. The girls' changing room is upstairs..
Correct. The room belongs to the girls (plural), so the apostrophe goes after the "s".
Not quite. The room belongs to the girls (plural), so the apostrophe goes after the "s". Answer: B. The girls' changing room is upstairs..
Not quite. The room belongs to the girls (plural), so the apostrophe goes after the "s". Answer: B. The girls' changing room is upstairs..
8.Which sentence is correctly capitalised?
Correct. Sentence starts, days and months take capitals.
Not quite. Sentence starts, days and months take capitals. Answer: A. We met on Monday in April..
Not quite. Sentence starts, days and months take capitals. Answer: A. We met on Monday in April..
Not quite. Sentence starts, days and months take capitals. Answer: A. We met on Monday in April..
9.Which spelling is correct?
Not quite. "i before e, except after c": receive. Answer: D. receive.
Not quite. "i before e, except after c": receive. Answer: D. receive.
Not quite. "i before e, except after c": receive. Answer: D. receive.
Correct. "i before e, except after c": receive.
10."It was ___ hot to play outside."
Not quite. "Too" means excessively. Answer: C. too.
Not quite. "Too" means excessively. Answer: C. too.
Correct. "Too" means excessively.
Not quite. "Too" means excessively. Answer: C. too.
Find and correct seven errors
This paragraph has seven errors. Rewrite it correctly, then check below.
Their going to visit there grandparents on saturday. Its a long journey, so they will leave early. Its going to be more fun then last year, when they had to wait for the bus. My mum gave them some useful advise.
They're going to visit their grandparents on Saturday. It's a long journey, so they will leave early. It's going to be more fun than last year, when they had to wait for the bus. My mum gave them some useful advice.
Errors: Their → They're · there → their · saturday → Saturday · Its → It's (twice) · then → than · advise → advice
Next: the Lesson 2 exit quiz. Five questions, recorded on your dashboard. Aim for 4 out of 5.