HINTS
• The most commonly used letters of the English language are e, t, a, i, o, n, s, h, and r.
• The letters that are most commonly found at the beginning of words are t, a, o, d, and w.
• The letters that are most commonly found at the end of words are e, s, d, and t.
• Short words provide useful clues. One-letter words are either a or I.
• The most common two-letter words are to, of, in, it, is, as, at, be, we, he, so, on, an, or, do, if, up, by, and my.
• The most common three-letter words are the, and, are,for, not, but, had, has, was, all, any, one, man, out, you, his, her, and can.
• The most common four-letter words are that, with, have, this, will, your, from, they, want, been, good, much, some, and very.
• The most. common word endings are -ed, -ing, -ion, -ist, -ous, -ent, -able, -ment, -tion, -ight, and -ance.
• The most frequent double-letter combinations are ee, ll, ss, oo, tt,ff, rr, nn, pp, and cc.
• The double letters that occur most commonly at the end of words are ee, ll, ss, and ff.
• A comma is often followed by but, and, or who.
• A question often begins with why, how, who, was, did, what, where, or which.
• Two words that often precede quotation marks are said and says.
• Two letters that usually follow an apostrophe are t and s.