How good is your spelling?

In a recent survey, 40% of British adults could not spell "questionnaire", 38 per cent "accommodate" and 37 per cent "definitely".

Two-thirds of those surveyed blamed their inability to spell common words on the predictive text function on their mobile phones. 14% did not think it was important to spell properly, and 11% were not bothered by colleagues' spelling mistakes. 20% avoid writing by hand because their spelling was poor, and 59% rely on their computer's spell checker, even though some are programmed with American English.

The Plain English campaign said: "People seem less inclined to consider correct spelling important. When we spell words incorrectly, it is bound to cause confusion and make writing more difficult to read."

The 20 everyday words which are often misspelt:

1. Questionnaire 2. Accommodate 3. Definitely 4. Liaison 5. Existence 6. Occurrence 7. Referring 8. Occurred 9. Millennium 10. Embarrass 11. Calendar 12. Receive 13. Necessary 14. Separate 15. Cemetery 16. Library 17. Accidentally 18. Independent 19. Occasionally 20. Receipt