6th Grade Writing Quiz: Spell Correctly

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Spell Correctly, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for 6th Grade Writing.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

Question 1

1. studys
2. studyes
3. studies (correct answer)
4. studdies

Explanation: When you make a noun plural, the spelling depends on the letter before the final "y." Here's the key rule: if a word ends in a consonant + y, you change the "y" to "i" and add "-es." If it ends in a vowel + y (like "key" or "day"), you simply add "-s." Look at "study." The letter before the "y" is "d"—a consonant. So you drop the "y," change it to "i," and add "-es," giving you studies. This fits perfectly in the sentence: "The two studies she completed last year focused on ocean life." Now let's check the traps. "Studys" just adds "-s" to the original word, which is the rule for vowel + y words—but "study" ends in consonant + y, so this breaks the rule. "Studyes" keeps the "y" and adds "-es," but the rule requires you to change the "y" to "i" first, not keep both letters. "Studdies" correctly changes "y" to "i" and adds "-es," but it wrongly doubles the "d." You only double consonants in certain situations (like adding "-ing" to some verbs), not when forming this kind of plural. A quick way to remember: consonant + y → i + es (study → studies, baby → babies, city → cities). Before you change any "y" ending, always peek at the letter right before it. That single letter tells you exactly which rule to follow.

Question 2

1. comfortible
2. comfortabel
3. comfertable
4. comfortable (correct answer)

Explanation: When you add a suffix like "-able" to a base word, the first step is to check whether the base word changes its spelling. For many words ending in silent "e," you drop the "e" before adding "-able," but when the base word ends in a solid consonant and keeps its full spelling, you simply attach the suffix without changing anything. The base word here is "comfort," which stays completely intact, so you just add "-able" to get comfortable. Look closely at "comfortible." The error here is the suffix itself—it uses "-ible" instead of "-able." Since the question specifically asks about the "-able" suffix, this spelling can't be right. "Comfortabel" keeps the correct base word but scrambles the suffix, flipping the "l" and "e" to "-abel." The suffix is always spelled "-able," with the "e" at the very end. "Comfertable" gets the suffix right but misspells the base word, changing "comfort" to "comfert." The base word must keep its full, correct spelling, and "comfort" has an "o," not an "e," in the second syllable. A smart strategy for suffix questions: separate the word into two parts—the base and the suffix—and check each one independently. First ask, "Is the base word spelled correctly?" Then ask, "Is the suffix spelled correctly?" A word is only right when both parts pass the test. This two-step check helps you catch traps that fix one part while breaking the other.

Question 3

1. The dog stoped barking once its owner came home.
2. The dog stopped barking once its owner came home. (correct answer)
3. The dog stopeded barking once its owner came home.
4. The dog stopded barking once its owner came home.

Explanation: The verb "stop" is one syllable, ends in a single consonant (p), and that p comes right after a single vowel (o). When all three of those things are true, you double the final consonant before adding -ed, so "stop" becomes "stopped." That makes "The dog stopped barking" the correct sentence. The spelling "stoped" adds -ed but forgets to double the p. This is a very common mistake, and it also makes the word look like it should rhyme with "hoped." The spelling "stopeded" doubles a whole syllable and even squeezes in an extra e, giving the word too many endings. English never stacks -ed like that. The spelling "stopded" tries to double the d instead of the p. The doubling rule always applies to the consonant that comes before -ed, not to any letter inside the ending. Remember the check: one syllable, one final consonant, one vowel before it, then double that consonant.

Question 4

1. We planted rows of potatos and carrots in the garden.
2. We planted rows of potattoes and carrots in the garden.
3. We planted rows of potatoe's and carrots in the garden.
4. We planted rows of potatoes and carrots in the garden. (correct answer)

Explanation: When you form the plural of a noun that ends in "o," you have two common paths: some just add "-s" (like photos or pianos), while others add "-es" (like heroes, tomatoes, and potatoes). Many everyday words for food and things that have been around a long time take "-es," so it's worth memorizing that group. The sentence "We planted rows of potatoes and carrots in the garden" is correct because potato ends in "o" and belongs to the "-es" group: potato becomes potatoes. Notice the base word "potato" stays fully intact, and you simply add "-es." The version with "potatos" only adds "-s," which is the wrong ending for this particular word — it's a classic spelling trap. The one with "potattoes" doubles the "t," but the base word "potato" has only one "t," so you shouldn't add an extra letter when making it plural. The choice with "potatoe's" uses an apostrophe, but apostrophes show possession or contractions, never plurals — a plural noun should never carry an apostrophe just because it's more than one. A helpful memory tip: think of the phrase "tomatoes and potatoes" together — both take "-es." When you're unsure whether an "o" word adds "-s" or "-es," pause and check whether an apostrophe is sneaking in (it shouldn't) and whether you've accidentally doubled a letter (you usually shouldn't). Keep the base word spelled correctly, then add the right ending.

Question 5

1. Change "straightfoward" to "straightforward" (correct answer)
2. Change "straightfoward" to "straitforward"
3. Change "straightfoward" to "straightforeward"
4. Change "straightfoward" to "streightforward"

Explanation: When you build a compound word, you keep all the letters from both smaller words. Here you are joining "straight" and "forward." The misspelling "straightfoward" splits into "straight" + "foward," and that second half is missing its r. The word "forward" is spelled f-o-r-w-a-r-d, so fixing the word to "straightforward" restores the missing r and spells both parts correctly. The version "straitforward" swaps "straight" for "strait," a different word meaning a narrow waterway (like the Strait of Gibraltar). That creates a new error and still ignores the missing r. The version "straightforeward" keeps the first half right but adds an extra e to "forward" ("foreward"), so the second half is still wrong. The version "streightforward" fixes the r in "forward" but misspells the first half by turning "straight" into "streight." A smart strategy: break a compound word into its two parts and check each one. Both "straight" and "forward" must be spelled correctly, and only "straightforward" does that.

Question 6

1. Change "seperate" to "separate" (correct answer)
2. Change "seperate" to "seperete"
3. Change "seperate" to "seperait"
4. Change "seperate" to "sepparate"

Explanation: The misspelled word here is "seperate." The correct spelling is "separate" — with an "a" in the middle, not an "e." A helpful trick: there's "a rat" hiding in sep​a​r​a​te. So changing "seperate" to "separate" fixes the error exactly. Now look at the other options. Changing it to "seperete" keeps the wrong "e" in the middle and adds another "e" near the end, making the spelling worse instead of correct. Changing it to "seperait" still has the wrong "e" in the middle and swaps the ending for "ait," which is not how the word is spelled. Changing it to "sepparate" fixes the middle vowel but wrongly doubles the "p," so it still isn't the true spelling. The strategy: don't just pick a change because it looks different from the original. Confirm that the replacement matches the real dictionary spelling all the way through, letter by letter. For "separate" specifically, remember the "a rat" trick so this frequently tested word never fools you again.

Question 7

1. preformed
2. performened
3. performed (correct answer)
4. preformened

Explanation: The base word here is perform, built from per- plus form. Because it is a regular verb, you make the past tense by adding -ed to the end, which gives you performed. The sentence says the gymnast "finally   the routine," so you need the past tense, and performed is spelled with every letter of the base word in the right order followed by a clean -ed. Now check the other options. Preformed swaps the first two vowels, spelling "pre-" instead of "per-"; that actually spells a different word (to preform means to shape ahead of time), so it does not fit this sentence. Performened keeps the correct base word but adds an extra "en" before the ending, giving too many letters for the simple past tense. Preformened makes both mistakes at once: the wrong "pre-" opening and the extra "en" chunk. A reliable strategy is to spell the base word first, then attach the ending. Say the word slowly: per-form-ed. If you hear only those parts, extra letters like the "en" or a flipped "pre-" will stand out right away.

Question 8

1. argueing
2. arguing (correct answer)
3. arguering
4. arguuing

Explanation: When you add a suffix to a word ending in silent e, ask whether the suffix begins with a vowel or a consonant. The rule says to drop the silent e when the suffix starts with a vowel. Since "-ing" begins with the vowel i, you drop the e from "argue" to get "argu," then add "-ing" for arguing. The spelling arguing is the correct result. The spelling argueing keeps the silent e in place, which ignores the rule and leaves an awkward extra vowel. The spelling arguering changes the e into "er," inventing letters that were never part of the word. The spelling arguuing drops the e but keeps a doubled u, so it mishandles the base word by removing the wrong letter. Remember the pattern: a vowel suffix means drop the e (bake becomes baking, hope becomes hoping), while a consonant suffix keeps the e (hope becomes hopeful). Always check the first letter of the suffix first, and that single check tells you exactly what to do.

Question 9

1. The committee finally agreed on a date for the science fair.
2. She was embarassed when she tripped in front of the whole class. (correct answer)
3. My neighbor's dog kept us awake with its loud barking.
4. The coach recommended that we stretch before every practice.

Explanation: Spelling questions like this ask you to spot a word that looks almost right but breaks a common spelling rule. The trick is to slow down and mentally sound out or "test-spell" each longer or trickier word, especially ones with doubled letters or silent letters. The error appears in the sentence "She was embarassed when she tripped in front of the whole class." The word embarrassed actually needs two r's and two s's — it's spelled with a double set of both. Writing "embarassed" with only one r is one of the most common misspellings in English, so this is the sentence with the mistake. Now check the others. "The committee finally agreed on a date for the science fair" spells committee correctly, with its double m, double t, and double e — a word people often mangle, but it's right here. "My neighbor's dog kept us awake with its loud barking" correctly spells neighbor (with the tricky silent gh) and properly uses its for possession, no apostrophe needed. "The coach recommended that we stretch before every practice" spells recommended correctly — one c, two m's — another word that trips people up. Your takeaway: many exam spelling errors hide in words with double consonants. When you see a word like embarrassed, committee, or recommended, pause and count the doubled letters. Memorizing that embarrassed has "double r, double s" gives you a quick check for one of the test's favorite traps.

Question 10

1. I truly beleive that hard work leads to success.
2. I truly beleve that hard work leads to success.
3. I truly believe that hard work leads to success. (correct answer)
4. I truly bilieve that hard work leads to success.

Explanation: This question tests your knowledge of a classic spelling rule: "i before e, except after c." This means that in most words, the letter i comes before e (as in field or piece), unless the pair follows the letter c (as in receive or ceiling). When you spot a word with these two vowels, ask yourself: is there a c right before them? If not, i usually goes first. Look at the word in question: believe. There's no c before the ei sound, so the i comes first: b-e-l-ie-ve. That's why "I truly believe that hard work leads to success" is spelled correctly. The other choices all misspell the word. "I truly beleive" reverses the vowels to ei, breaking the "i before e" rule since there's no c to trigger the exception. "I truly beleve" drops the i entirely, leaving out a necessary letter. "I truly bilieve" swaps the second e for an i, changing bel- to bil-, which isn't how the word begins. A quick memory trick: recite the full rhyme, "i before e, except after c, or when sounding like 'ay' as in neighbor and weigh." For believe, break it into smaller chunks—be + lieve—and remember it contains the word lie in the middle: believe. Watching for the c exception will help you handle tricky words like receive and achieve too.

Question 11

1. Change "acommodate" to "accomodate"
2. Change "acommodate" to "acomodate"
3. Change "acommodate" to "acommadate"
4. Change "acommodate" to "accommodate" (correct answer)

Explanation: The word in the sentence, "acommodate," is misspelled. The tricky thing about accommodate is that it has double letters twice: two c's AND two m's. The correct spelling is "accommodate," which fixes both problems at once. Now look at the close look-alikes. "Accomodate" adds the second c, but it still leaves only one m, so the word is still wrong. "Acomodate" keeps a single c and a single m, so it doesn't fix either doubled letter. "Acommadate" doubles the m but keeps a single c, and it also swaps in an 'a' where the second 'o' belongs, adding a brand-new mistake. Only "accommodate" doubles both the c and the m and keeps every other letter correct. When a spelling question shows you several versions of the same word, read every single letter of each one. The right answer must fix all the errors, not just some of them. Memorize double-double words like accommodate.

Question 12

1. Change "definately" to "definitely" (correct answer)
2. Change "definately" to "definetly"
3. Change "definately" to "definitly"
4. Change "definately" to "definatly"

Explanation: The word "definately" is misspelled. The correct spelling is "definitely." A helpful trick: the word hides the smaller word "finite" inside it — de—finite—ly. Once you can spot "finite," you'll know it needs an "i" after the "n" and an "ite" chunk before the "ly." So changing "definately" to "definitely" fixes the error. The other choices are tempting because each one looks close to correct, but each one still breaks the "finite" chunk. Changing it to "definetly" uses an "e" instead of the needed "i" and drops a letter, so "finite" is gone. Changing it to "definitly" gets the "i" right but leaves out the "e" in "finite," so the word is still wrong. Changing it to "definatly" keeps the wrong "a" from the original and drops the "i" too, so it fixes nothing. On spelling questions, check that the replacement actually spells every part of the word correctly — not just that it looks a little better than what was there.