List E

earnest or Ernest?	EARNEST = serious and sincere ERNEST = masculine first name
economic or economical?	ECONOMIC = related to the economy of the country, or industry or business ECONOMICAL = thrifty, avoiding extravagance
-ed or -t?	These can be either: burned burnt dreamed dreamt dwelled dwelt kneeled knelt leaned leant leaped leapt learned learnt smelled smelt spelled spelt spilled spilt spoiled spoilt
eerie or eyrie?	EERIE = strange, weird, disturbing EYRIE = an eagle’s nest
effective, effectual or efficient?	EFFECTIVE =abletoproducearesult an EFFECTIVE cure an EFFECTIVE speech EFFECTUAL = likely to be completely successful: EFFECTUAL prayer EFFECTUAL legislation EFFICIENT = working well without wasting time, money or effort: an EFFICIENT secretary an EFFICIENT engine
ei/ie spelling rule	Remember the jingle: i before e except after c or when sounded like a as in ‘neighbour’ and ‘weigh’. Here are some examples which follow the rule. There are plenty of others. ie ei after c achieve ceiling believe conceited chief conceive field perceive friend receive hygiene ei sounding like a priest eight relief reign retrieve reindeer shield skein shriek sleigh thief vein 18 exceptions caffeine forfeit seize codeine heifer sheikh counterfeit height sovereign either leisure surfeit Fahrenheit neither weir foreign protein weird
emigrant or immigrant?	An EMIGRANT leaves his or her country to live in another. An IMMIGRANT moves into a country to live permanently.
eminent or imminent?	EMINENT =famous IMMINENT = about to happen
enquiry or inquiry?	Both spellings are correct and there is no difference in meaning. British English favours the first and American English the second. Some writers reserve the first for a general request for information and the second for a formal investigation, but this is by no means necessary.
ensure or insure?	to ENSURE =tomakesure to INSURE = to arrange for financial compensation in the case of loss, injury, damage or death
especially or specially?	The two words are very close in meaning and sometimes overlap. However, use these exemplar sentences as a guide to exclusive uses: I bought the car ESPECIALLY for you (= for you alone). We are awaiting a SPECIALLY commissioned report (= for a special purpose).
exceptionable or exceptional?	EXCEPTIONABLE = open to objection EXCEPTIONAL =unusual
exhausting or exhaustive?	EXHAUSTING = tiring EXHAUSTIVE = thorough, fully comprehensive
explicit or implicit?	EXPLICIT = stated clearly and openly IMPLICIT = implied but not actually stated