Attendance Vs. Attendence: Know the Correct Spelling

There is no such thing as a hard-and-fast rule when it comes to spelling. The English language has many exceptions because it draws from various languages and is continually developing and adopting new terms.

Attendance Vs. Attendence: Which Is Correct?

“Attendance” is the correct spelling, while “attendence” is a misspelled word. They look identical, but a change in one letter completely throws the word out of the dictionary!

The word “attendance” is formed by combining the word attend, which means to be present at an event, and the suffix “-ance.” This suffix is usually added to verb words to transform them into a noun – the state of something.

• Attendance at the annual meeting is mandatory.
• Her attendance record at the school is very poor.

A quick note:

Nouns ending with the suffix -ance or -ancyusually have a corresponding adjective form ending with -ant. Distance (distant), fragrance (fragrant), and relevance (relevant) are some of the examples.

How Do You Spell Attendance?

An easy way to spell the word Attendance correctly is to divide it into its root word and the added suffix.

“Attend” (the root word) + “-ance” (the suffix)

The phonemic transcription of Attendance is [/əˈtɛnd(ə)ns/], and the sound could be broken down as “uh·ten·dns” in American English.

Attendance spelling has three syllables, “AT-TEND-ANCE,” and the stress is on the second syllable. However, that doesn’t help with the spelling much because people don’t always stress the second syllable when speaking.

Attendance Spelling: Definition With Examples

Attendance is a noun, and it has multiple definitions with slight variations in the way it is used in sentences. The definitions are explained below with appropriate examples to help you understand the use of the word better.

1. the fact or state of being present somewhere at an event, meeting, party, or school.

• You won’t be able to attend the exam without full attendance in his class.
• Attendance in the evening workshop is not mandatory.

2. the number of people present at a particular place or taking part in an event or meeting.

• There was a massive attendance at the concert.
• We need to count the students’ attendance before leaving for the trip.

Common Idioms and Phrases

Some of the common and not so common idioms and phrases with attendance are mentioned below:

1. to dance attendance on: to do one’s best or everything in power to please someone or fulfill all their requests.

I can’t stand how she wants everyone to dance attendance on her all the time.

2. to be in attendance: to be present at some particular formal and important event.

Students who are in attendance at today’s lecture will receive extra credits.

3. to take attendance: to check or record the people attending something.

The teacher needs to take attendance before the end of class.

To Wrap Up

Spelling errors are common in English, with dozens of identical misspelled variations of the primary word.

But if you know the core of the spellings and how they are formed, you can almost always spell words correctly. Differentiating between “attendance” and “attendence” is just as easy. Only remember the formation: Attend (base word) + ance (suffix).