Especially means particularly, more than anything else; specially means for a particular purpose: specially made, specially trained. Especially can also be used to mean for a particular purpose, but when you mean particularly in written English, only especially is correct.
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especially + adjective; especially + when/if + clause; especially + noun; specially + made/designed/trained + for + noun
- I love travelling in Italy, especially in spring when it isn't too hot.
- This course is especially useful for people who work with foreign clients.
- The cake was specially made for my grandmother's eightieth birthday party.
What changed
First versionI like all sports, specially football.
RevisionI like all sports, especially football.
Here football is singled out from the other sports: particularly football. That needs especially. Specially with this meaning sounds informal, and in an essay or a letter it counts as a mistake. The words differ by just one letter, e, so it is easy to drop it.
Specially answers the question “what for?”: The room was specially designed for children. If you mean that someone did something deliberately, perhaps to annoy you, the phrase is on purpose: You broke it on purpose!
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especially — The sentence singles out the hardest case of all: particularly when time is short. That is especially. Specially means for a particular purpose, and in written English it is not used to mean particularly.
Write about what you like in your town or city. Single out one thing with especially and, with specially, name something that was made for a particular group of people.
I love the parks in my city, especially the one by the river, where a path was specially built for cyclists.
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