Spelling Rules to Remember
Below are a list of foundation spelling rules you must follow when spelling common English language words.
I after E except after C
Example:
Believe (I after E), Receive (except after C)
If the sound is ‘ay’, it is spelt ‘ei’
These are usually found within a word and not at the end. It can help to say the word out loud.
Example:
Eight, Neighbour
Prefixes
Two words added together to make a new word. With a prefix, the two words you use are not changed in order to create one new word.
Examples:
Mis and Step = Misstep
Pre and Eminent = Preeminent
A word of more than one syllable ending in a single consonant (any letter other than a, e, i, o, u) after a single vowel (a, e, i, o, u) doubles the consonant before adding -ed or -ing
Examples:
Occur – occurring, begin = beginning, control = controlling
But you must remember – words of more than one syllable have their consonants doubled only when the final syllable is stressed. To understand this, say the word out loud.
Example:
begin = beginning BUT open = opening
defer = deferring BUT offer = offering
If the earlier vowel is not stressed, then do not double the consonant before adding -ing or -ed
Examples:
enter / entering
visit / visiting
Exceptions to the rule:
worship / worshipping
kidnap / kidnapping
handicap / handicapped
Final consonants are not doubled before suffixes beginning with a consonant
Example:
enrol / enrolment
commit / commitment
fulfil / fulfilment
Words of more than one syllable ending in ‘L’ double the ‘L’ even if stress does not fall on the last syllable before you add -ing or -ed
Examples:
cancel / cancelled
travel / travelling
level / levelling
equal / equalled
Keep the final ‘e’ of the base word before adding a suffix beginning with a consonant (-ment, -ful, -ness, -less)
Example:
commencement, pronouncement, amusement
Exceptions:
argument, awful, truly, wholly
If the suffix or verb (doing word) ending begins with a vowel, drop the ‘e’
Examples:
commence / commencing
pronounce / pronouncing
amuse / amusing
To obtain the ‘s’ sound of a ‘c’ and the ‘g’ sound of a “j” in words ending in ‘ce’ and ‘ge’, we keep the final ‘e’ at the end of the word.
Example:
peace = peaceable
replace = replaceable
arrange = arrangement
A word ending in two vowels (‘a’ and the final ‘e’) obtains ‘e’ before adding a suffix
Examples:
see / seeable
shoe / shoeing
canoe / canoeing
flee / fleeing
For words that end in ‘c’, add ‘k’ before adding -ing or -y
Example:
picnic / picnicking
traffic / trafficking
panic / panicking
If the word has a consonant before ‘y’, and when adding -ed or -er after ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’
Examples:
mercy / merciless
fly / flier
carry / carried
You must remember – If the word has a vowel before the ‘y’ or when adding -ing, keep the ‘y’
Examples:
employ / employed
annoy / annoyed
carry / carrying
If a word ends in ‘o’, add -es
Example:
potato / potatoes
echo / echoes
hero / heroes
Exceptions:
studio / studios
piano / pianos
kangaroo / kangaroos
zoo / zoos
The sounds -ian and -tion sound familiar, but they do not have the same meaning
Examples:
-ian is used at the end of a word describing a person – music / musician
-tion is never used for people
If the root word end in ‘t’, use -tion
Example:
complete / completion
If the root word ends in ‘s’ or ‘d’ use -sion
Examples:
extend / extension
suppress / suppression
If you can hear the sound ‘zhun’ to a word, use -sion not -zion
Example:
confusion
vision
adhesion
Exceptions:
The ending -mit becomes ‘mission’
permit / permission
omit / omission
submit / submission
commit / commission
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