One of the most common spelling mistakes we notice in competition entries is the er/or endings, which usually occur with names of doers – that is, people who do certain jobs.

Why do some doers have ‘er’ endings, such as farmer, baker, minister, lawyer, plumber, banker, teacher or crossword compiler while other doers are spelled ‘or’, such as governor, conductor, sailor or doctor? It is just the way the words evolved. There are no rules, unfortunately, to guide you – you just have to learn the spellings of each word.

While on the subject of occupational suffixes, there are other common patterns such as –ant (accountant, sergeant, assistant or lieutenant), not to be confused with –ent endings (president, newsagent or parent). Well, parent is an occupation too – a fulltime one!

Another ending is –ive (executive, representative, machine operative) and –ist, often used in the medical, scientific, sporting or artistic professions, eg dentist, botanist, pianist, cyclist or journalist.

Politician, beautician, physician and electrician are not to be mixed up with champion, companion, relation or minion. The last two are not exactly occupational, but they describe a person.

There are similar patterns in other languages too. In Spanish, some of the doers have –dor endings, such as matador, picador, conquistador and ambassador – all of which are also words in our language.

Words ending with ee often denote a person who is on the receiving end of some action, eg interviewee, nominee, payee, employee and mortgagee.  And of course referee, who is often on the receiving end of spectators’ criticism!

So, whether you are by occupation an er, or, ant, ent, ive, ist, ian or ion – or something entirely different – watch out for your spelling.

Happy Puzzling!