Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Benevolence
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This spelling question tests your familiarity with the correct written form of a common English noun that means kindness, generosity and goodwill. The word is pronounced in a way that may confuse learners about where to place vowels, especially the sequence around the letters l and e. You need to identify which option matches the standard dictionary spelling of the word benevolence.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- The intended word is a noun meaning kindness or goodwill.
- Four candidate spellings are provided: Benevolens, Benevolene, Benevolence, Benevelence.
- Only one spelling is correct in standard written English.
Concept / Approach:
Words ending in ence and ance are often confusing because they sound similar in speech. However, many common words have fixed, well known patterns. Benevolence is formed from benevolent plus the noun ending ence. The correct order of letters is benevolence, with the sequence o l e n c e at the end. A systematic approach is to look for this known pattern and reject options that insert letters incorrectly or change the vowel order.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the related adjective benevolent, which is correctly spelt b e n e v o l e n t.
Step 2: Form the noun by replacing the final t with ce, resulting in benevolence, spelt b e n e v o l e n c e.
Step 3: Look at option A, Benevolens. This ends with e n s instead of e n c e and is therefore incorrect.
Step 4: Look at option B, Benevolene. This incorrectly ends with e n e and does not use the standard noun ending ence.
Step 5: Look at option C, Benevolence, which correctly preserves the letters from benevolent and adds the standard noun ending ence.
Step 6: Look at option D, Benevelence, where the order of vowels e and o is disturbed, producing vele instead of vole.
Verification / Alternative check:
A quick way to verify is to think of similar words, such as violence, silence and excellence, all of which end in ence. The rhythm and spelling pattern of benevolence matches these examples. Checking a mental picture of the word as seen in books or articles also helps. Benevolence appears frequently in phrases like an act of benevolence or a gesture of benevolence. Among the given options, only Benevolence looks and feels like such familiar uses, confirming it as the correct spelling.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Benevolens is wrong because the ending e n s does not form a standard abstract noun and does not match common usage.
Benevolene is wrong because the final e n e ending is not correct for this word and is not found in dictionaries.
Benevelence is wrong because it misplaces the vowels, creating vele instead of vole and breaking the connection with benevolent.
Common Pitfalls:
Learners often confuse the order of vowels in complex words, especially when the pronunciation does not clearly show each letter. Another common mistake is to misremember suffixes like ence, ance, ent and ant. To avoid such errors, whenever you learn an adjective like benevolent, also learn the related noun benevolence and practice writing both together. Building groups of related words and noticing how suffixes change across them strengthens your spelling skills and improves your performance in such questions.
Final Answer:
The correctly spelt word is Benevolence.
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