Spelling Rules
Very few spelling rules are effective in teaching spelling. For a rule to
be valid, it must apply to a large number of words and have few
exceptions. Following are rules that meet this definition.
Suffixes
Double the Final Consonant
- Double the final consonant of a word that ends with a single vowel and consonant
before adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. (get/getting)
- Double the final consonant of a word that is accented on the final syllable
and ends with a single vowel and consonant before adding a suffix that
begins with a vowel. (permit/permitted)
Words Ending in Silent e
- Drop the final silent e before adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. (have/having)
- Keep the final silent e when adding a suffix that begins with a consonant. (late/lately)
Words Ending in y
- Change the y to i when adding a suffix to words that end in consonant -y, unless the suffix begins with i. (try/tried)
- Do not change the y to i when adding a suffix to words that end in vowel -y. (play/played)
Plurals
- Add s to most nouns to form plurals. (friend/friends)
- Add es to nouns that end with s, ss, sh, ch, or x. (box/boxes, class/classes)
- Change the y to i and add es to nouns that end in consonant -y. (country/countries)
- Add s to nouns that end in vowel -y. (key/keys)
- Change the f or fe to v and add es to some nouns that end in f or fe. (half/halves, knife/knives)
- Some nouns change their spellings to form the plural. (foot/feet)
- Some nouns are spelled the same for both singular and plural. (sheep)
Last update: 03-29-00/mgl
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