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Grammar and Spelling

TRCA advocates the use of proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Even when you are trying to achieve a casual style, it’s important to avoid distracting readers with grammar or usage choices that appear unnecessary or careless.

The Canadian Press Stylebook is the default resource at TRCA for grammar and punctuation guidance. A copy of The Canadian Press Stylebook is available for reference in the Communications, Marketing and Events business unit.

Spelling can present a challenge because English is not phonetic and its rules nearly always have significant exceptions. In addition, there are hundreds of words that have variant spellings in different parts of the English-speaking world, the principal difference being between the UK and the US. Canadian spelling has tended to waver between the forms used in these two countries, and to this day there is no clearly established Canadian standard.

While the list of words that have variant British and American spellings is vast, the great majority fall into a few well-defined categories, as shown below. TRCA’s preference is for the typical Canadian usage.

 

Verbs ending in ise/ize and their derived forms:
British American Canadian
civilise, civilisation civilize, civilization civilize, civilization
organise, organisation organize, organization organize, organization
specialise, specialisation specialize, specialization specialize, specialization

 

Nouns ending in our/or:
British American Canadian
colour, honour, favour color, honor, favor colour, honour, favour

 

Nouns ending in re/er:
British American Canadian
centre, fibre, theatre center, fiber, theater centre, fibre, theatre

 

Verbs with single L / double L and their derivatives:
British American Canadian
instil instill instil
fulfil, fulfilment fulfill, fulfillment fulfil, fulfilment
enrol, enrolment enroll, enrollment enrol, enrolment

 

Nouns ending in ce/se:
British American Canadian
defence, offence, pretence defense, offense, pretense defence, offence, pretence

 

Double/single L in the past tense of verbs:
British American Canadian
counselled, labelled counseled, labeled counselled, labelled
travelled traveled travelled

 

Treatment of the digraphs ae and oe in words derived from Greek and Latin:
British American Canadian
anaemia, encyclopaedia anemia, encyclopedia anemia, encyclopedia
archaeology archeology archaeology