SPELLING RULES:
1. i-e/e-i rule: In order to maintain the “s” sound of an internal “c”, it must be followed by an “e”…Don’t ask why, just learn it.
I BEFORE E, EXCEPT AFTER C, WHEN THE SOUND IS LIKE “E”.
Examples:
Believe, Receive, Achieve, Siege, etc. (Seize is an exception.)
Visual learners may do best with “Believe is “li” as in LIce; RECEIVE is “ce” as liCE.
2. e-i/i-e rule: E BEFORE I WHEN SOUNDED AS “A” AS IN NEIGHOR OR WEIGH.
Examples:
Sleigh, Neigh
3. Plurals: Words which end in “a consonant plus y”, change the “y” to “I” and add “es”. Words which end in a vowel plus a y merely add “s”.
“CONSONANT Y” CHANGES TO “I” (AND ADDS “ES”)
“VOWEL Y” STANDS BY (AND ADDS “S”).
Examples:
Company/companies
Baby/babies
History/histories
Dolly/dollies
Folly/follies
Country/countries
Query/queries
Key/keys
Monkey/monkeys
Journey/journeys
Honey/honeys
4. Plurals: Words ending in “o” preceded by vowel add “s”
Italian words (such as musical terms) frequently add only an s.
Examples:
Radio/radios
Rodeo/rodeos
Piano/pianos
Libretto/librettos
lto/altos
soprano/sopranos
5. Plurals: Words ending in “o” preceded by a consonant usually
add “es”.
Examples:
volcano/volcanoes
hero/heroes
mosquito/mosquitoes
6. Plurals: By far the majority of words add an “s” to form the plural. The only words which add an “es” are those which are almost impossible to say because of the ending consonant: s, z, ch, sh, or x ending words, for example.
glass/glasses
bus/busses
grass/grasses
fox/foxes;
church/churches
clutch/clutches
7. Plurals: Some words have plurals which form as they did in their
original language and, hence, do not follow a specific.
Examples:
child/children
woman/women
trout/trout
fish/fish
sheep/sheep
deer/deer
ox/oxen
goose/geese
* These words have two plurals. When you mean many examples of one variety, or where variety is of no consequence, the plural forms as given. If differences in varieties is intended or emphasized, the plurals form by adding an “s”.
8. Adding Prefixes: A prefix is a sound or a group of sounds added
to the beginning of the word to alter the meaning of the root
word. When adding a prefix, DO NOT change it in any way. Do
Not Double any letter.
Examples
spell/misspell
necessary/unnecessary
appear/disappear
appoint/disappoint
9. Adding Suffixes: To words ending in e, drop the final e for
suffixes beginning with a vowel.
Examples:
treasure/treasured
seize/seizure
blaze/blazing
* There are a few exceptions: Words ending in “ce” or “ge” usually keep the final “e” in order to maintain the integrity of the “c’ or “g” sound.
Examples:
outrage/outrageous
service/serviceable
bridge/bridgeable
10. Adding suffixes: Keep the final “e” for suffixes beginning with a
consonant.
Examples:
passage/passageway
safe/safety
* There are two exceptions:
argue/argument
judge/judgment
11.Adding suffixes to words of one syllable: When adding a suffix to words ending in a single consonant (vc), double the consonant.
Examples:
run/runner
sit/sitting
wet/wettest
jog/jogging
When adding a suffix to a one-syllable word ending in two vowels before the consonant (vcc), Do Not Double the final consonant. Examples:
keep/keeper
veil/veiled
feed/feeding
12.Adding “ly” or “ness”: Do Not Change the root. Add the suffix.* Examples:
love/lovely
great/greatly
kind/kindness
Exceptions:
true/truly
due/duly
Adding “ly” or “ness” to words ending in “y”: Change the “y” to
“i” before adding the suffix.
Examples:
tardy/tardily
happy/happily
lovely/loveliness
easy/easiness
busy/business
Subject: SPELLING RULES 
Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:35 pm
