LEARN SIX RULES FOR SPELLING Rule 1: Place -i before -e, except after -c
or when sounded like -ay as in neighbor and weigh. -i before -e: | achieve, believe, relieve, siege | except after -c: | ceiling, perceive, receive | or when sounded like -ay: | neighbor, sleigh, vein | exceptions: | ancient, conscience, counterfeit, foreign, heir, leisure, seize, weird |
Rule 2: To change the ending on a word that ends in -y, first change -y to -i if the -y follows a consonant (any letter but a, e, i, o, u). penny | + | less | = | penniless | cry | + | ed | = | cried | beauty | + | ful | = | beautiful |
But keep the -y if it follows a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): attorney | + | s | = | attorneys | buoy | + | ed | = | buoyed | donkey | + | s | = | donkeys |
Always keep the final -y in a word when you add -ing: Rule 3: Toadd -able, -ed, or -ing to a word ending in a consonant, double that consonant only if the sound before it is short. hope + ing = hoping | hop + ing = hopping | BUT | scare + ed = scared | scar + ed = scarred |
Rule 4: If the final -e in a word is not pronounced, drop that
-e when you add an ending that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u). fame | + | ous | = | famous | solve | + | ing | = | solving | clone | + | ing | = | cloning |
But keep the -e when you add an ending that begins with a consonant (any letter but a, e, i, o, u). time | + | ly | = | timely | pave | + | ment | = | pavement |
EXCEPTIONS responsible | + | ly | = | responsibly | true | + | ly | = | truly |
Rule 5: Follow seven guides for forming plurals. a. In general, add -s or -es: building | buildings | flash | flashes | machine | machines |
b. Form the plural of an acronym by adding -s. An acronym is a word made up of the first letters of a name or title: VCRs, TVs, BTUs c. If a noun ends in a -y that follows a consonant, change the -y to -i and add -es: society | societies | treaty | treaties |
But if the -y follows a vowel, just add -s: attorney | attorneys | bay | bays |
d. If a word ends in -f or -fe, change the ending to -v and add -es: e. Add -s to some words that end in -o, -es to others: piano | pianos | tomato | tomatoes |
CAUTION: | The plural of hero is heros or heroes. |
heroes | = | brave people | heros | = | long sandwiches |
f. To form the plural of a word with hyphens, add -s or -es to the first noun in the group: editor-in-chief | editors-in-chief | father-in-law | fathers-in-law |
g. Irregular nouns don't follow the rules. Some even change their spellings in the plural: Some are spelled the same in the plural and the singular: Rule 6: Create contractions by joining two words with an apostrophe. can + not = can't will + not = won't | it + is = it's they + are = they're |
CAUTION: | In contractions made with not, put the apostrophe between the n and the t: |
Not | But | could'nt | couldn't | are'nt | aren't |
Back to Top |