One of the most common misspellings in English is the word separate.

The spelling is the same whether it's an adjective or a verb, but the pronunciation is different:

/ˈsep(ə)rət/ : adjective

/ˈsepəreɪt/ : verb

In both the adjective and the verb, the middle syllable is a <em>schwa</em> /ə/ : a very weak 'uh' sound. In fact, in its adjective form, we often lose the second syllable entirely: many of us pronounce the adjective as "sep'rut".

But whether or not you pronounce the middle syllable, you do have to write it. And that's where the problem comes. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing whether that middle syllable is written with an 'a' or an 'e': both of these letters sound exactly the same when in unstressed syllables. In fact, a very large proportion of native speakers misspell this word as 'seperate': you'll see this mistake time and time again.

But here's a handy tip to help you remember how to spell this tricky word:

When you separate things you pull them apart.

If you remember that the word apart is the second part of the word separate, you'll never misspell it again.

Thanks for the bump :)

Farther means that there is more distance to travel:

e.g., We have ten more kilometres to travel to reach our destination.

Beyond means "past this point" and we usually say or write something to compare the distance between two points:

- The lake is beyond the mountain.

on, at, or to the farther side of:

- Beyond those trees you'll find his house.

farther on than; more distant than:

- beyond the horizon; beyond the sea.

Beyond has some other usages:

outside the understanding, limits, or reach of; past:

- beyond comprehension; beyond endurance; beyond help.

superior to; surpassing; above:

- wise beyond all others.

more than; in excess of; over and above:

- to stay beyond one's welcome.

I hope my simple explanation is helpful.

Thanks Sir it's so helpful for me 🙏

I'm so interested to use tips

La Liseuse...

Your explanations are always so clear - so easy to understand... thank you.

Every time you explain something, we all learn.

And your tip is helpful.

How about "sep a rate" (even though sep is not a word), or

"Let's separate the two As with the letter r"

Does it look like I'm grasping at straws.. :)

Thank you, Richard!