Spelling Rules in English

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Top 10 Spelling Rules in English

At first glance, the spelling rules in English look complicated. However, after a bit of practice, you will soon discover that they are not as bad as they initially look.

After a bit of practice, you will notice that a word looks wrong, or would be pronounced wrongly, without the spelling rule. You will even learn to love the exceptions!

(1) Adding a suffix to word ending "-y"

If the suffix starts with e, change the y to an i.

word ending -y	suffix	correct spelling
cry	-ed	cried
ugly	-est	ugliest
family	-es	families

If the suffix is -ing, leave the y.

words ending -y	suffix	correct spellings
cry, try, tidy	-ing	crying, trying, tidying

If suffix is -ly and the word ends [two consonants] + y, change the y to an i.

words ending [two consonants] + y	suffix	correct spellings
happy, funny, jolly	-ly	happily, funnily, jollily

Exceptions: There are exceptions, which must be learned separately. For example:

word ending [two consonants] + y	suffix	correct spelling
sly	-ly	slyly not slyily

(2) Adding "-es" to a word ending "-s," "-ss," "-z," "-ch," "-sh", or "-x"

There are two reasons to add -s or -es to the end of a word:

1. To make a noun plural (e.g., cat > cats, tree > trees)
2. To make a verb fit with "he," "she," or "it" (e.g., he looks, she thinks, it likes)

If the words ends -s, -ss, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, use -es (not -s).

example word	reason to add "-s" or "-es"	correct spelling
bus	make plural	buses
fox	make plural	foxes
business	make plural	businesss
catch	verb change	he catches
wash	verb change	it washes
box	verb change	he boxs

Changing a verb to fit is called verb conjugation.

(3) Dropping the "-e"

Drop the silent e to add a suffix that starts with a vowel (e.g., -ing, -ed, -er, -est, -able).

example word	vowel suffix	correct spelling
write	-ing	writing
imagine	-able	imaginable
loose	-est	loosest
opposite	-ion	opposition
promote	-able	promoteable

Exceptions: Some words that end -ge or -ce, keep the e to maintain the soft sound of the g or c.

example word	vowel suffix	correct spelling
courage	-ous	courageous
notice	-able	noticeable

Not all words that end -ge or -ce follow this rule:

example word	vowel suffix	correct spelling
stage	-ing	staging
splice	-ing	splicing

(4) Writing "i" before "e" except after "c"

If you're unsure whether to use ie or ei, follow this well-known rhyme:

• i before e except after c

uncertainty	comment	correct spelling
believe or beleive?	i before e	believe
recieve or receive?	after c, so switch	receive
cieling or ceiling?	after c, so switch	ceiling

Exceptions 1: Keep i before e when the c sounds like sh.

uncertainty	comment	correct spelling
ancient or anceint?	c sounds like sh	ancient
efficient or efficeint?	c sounds like sh	efficient

Exceptions 2: Keep i before e when the pairing sounds like A.

uncertainty	comment	correct spelling
weigh or wiegh?	pairing sounds like A	weigh
freight or frieght?	pairing sounds like A	freight

Exceptions 3: There are some noteworthy exceptions:

• conscience, counterfeit, either, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure, neither, science, seize, species, sufficient, weird

(5) Changing "-f" to "-ves"

When pluralizing a word ending -f, use the -ves ending.

example words	correct spellings
leaf, knife, shelf	leaves, knives, shelves

Exceptions 1: If the word ends -rf, a normal -s might also be acceptable.

example word	correct spellings
dwarf	dwarves, dwarfs
scarf	scarves, scarfs

Exceptions 2: Some words that end [two vowels] + f just add -s.

example words	correct spellings
chief, roof, belief	chiefs, roofs, beliefs

Some words that end [two vowels] + f use the -ves ending (e.g., thief > thieves, leaf > leaves).

Exceptions 3: If the word ends -ff, add -s.

example words	correct spellings
cliff, sniff	cliffs, sniffs

(6) Doubling the final consonant

If a one-syllable word ends vowel + consonant, double the final consonant before a vowel suffix.

example word	vowel suffix	correct spelling
sit	-ing	sitting
big	-er	bigger
tap	-able	tappable
thin	-est	thinnest

A one-syllable word is also called a monosyllabic word.

With multi-syllable words, apply the same rule if the final syllable is stressed.

example word	vowel suffix	correct spelling
refer	-ing	referring
begin	-er	beginner
tap	-able	tappable

Note the end syllable must be stressed. Look at these examples with "offer" and "develop," which are not end-stressed.

example word	vowel suffix	correct spelling
offer	-ing	offering
develop	-er	developer

(7) Adding the suffix "-ful"

The suffix -ful always has one l.

example words	correct spellings
faith, care	faithful, careful

Note that the suffix "-fully" has two Ls (e.g., faithfully, carefully).

(8) Adding the suffix "-ly"

If a word ends -e, add -ly.

example words	correct spellings
love, live, definite	lovely, lively, definitely

Exception: True becomes not truely .

If a word ends -le, remove the -e and add -y.

example words	correct spellings
gentle, subtle	gently, subtly

(9) Adding the prefix "al-"

The prefix al- comes from "all," but it always has one l.

correct spellings
also, always, almighty, already

Do not confuse the prefixed words with the two-word phrase (e.g., already/all ready, alright/all right, altogether/all together).

(10) Adding "-s" or -"-es" to a word ending "-o"

The he/she/it version of go and do are goes and does.

verb	reason to add "-s" or "-es"	correct spelling
do	verb change	he does
go	verb change	it goes

The following words add -es. For everything else, add -s.

words for "-es"	correct spellings
domino, echo, embargo, hero, mosquito, potato, tomato, torpedo, veto	dominoes, echoes, embargoes, heroes, mosquitoes, potatoes, tomatoes, torpedoes, vetoes

For the rest of the words ending -o, you can just add -s. Nevertheless, here are some additional rules for added confidence:

If the word ends vowel + o, add -s.

example words	correct spellings
patio, video, tattoo	patios, videos, tattoos

If the word is a musical term or instrument, add -s.

example words	correct spellings
solo, soprano, banjo, cello, piano	solos, sopranos, banjos, cellos, pianos

If the word is an abbreviated version of a longer word, add -s.

example word	long form	correct spelling
photo	photograph	photos
hippo	hippopotamus	hippos
kilo	kilogram	kilos
typo	typographical error	typos

If the word is "foreign," add -s.

example words	correct spellings
stiletto, kimono, taco, inferno	stilettos, kimonos, tacos, infernos

Exceptions: The following common words ending -o can be pluralized with -s or -es.

example word	acceptable plurals
buffalo	buffalos or buffaloes
cargo	cargos or cargoes
fresco	frescos or frescoes
ghetto	ghettos or ghettoes
halo	halos or haloes
mango	mangos or mangoes
memento	mementos or mementoes
motto	mottos or mottoes
tornado	tornados or tornadoes
volcano	volcanos or volcanoes
zero	zeros or zeroes

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