Select the most appropriate option that can rectify the incorrectly spelt word in the following sentence. In our quest for power, we often fail to acknowlege the existence of other people.

Correct — A. The sentence prints acknowlege, which has lost the d.

The word is built on knowledge: ac + knowledge. Everything the base word spells, the verb keeps — the k, the d and the -dge ending.

Option (a), acknowledge, is the spelling that keeps a single c, restores the d and ends in -dge.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  accknowledge — Doubles the c. The prefix is written with one c before the k, as in acknowledge and acknowledgement, so accknowledge is not a form English uses.
• (c)
  acknowlede — Drops the g, leaving -lede. The ending is -ledge, exactly as in knowledge, pledge and ledge.
• (d)
  acknowledje — Respells the ending as -dje. After a short vowel English writes that sound -dge — judge, ledge, bridge — and never -dje.

A spelling item gives you one misspelt word inside a sentence and four candidate corrections, three of which are also wrong. Recognising the error is not enough; you need the exact form.

Acknowledge becomes easy once you split it: ac + knowledge. Spell the base word and the rest follows.

Each wrong option breaks one piece — the c doubles, the g disappears, or the -dge cluster is rewritten as it sounds.

Key facts

• Acknowledge is ac + knowledge, and the d of knowledge is kept.
• After a short vowel English writes the final j sound as -dge: ledge, bridge, judge.
• Both acknowledgement and acknowledgment are accepted spellings of the noun.

Common traps

• Spotting the misspelt word, then picking a correction that fixes one letter and breaks another
• Assuming the longer or more heavily doubled spelling is the correct one

No directly related past PYQ was found.