SPELLING RULES

Back to the basics…

i before e, except after c

Use I before e except after c or when sounded like ay, as in neighbor and weigh.

I before E relieve, believe, sieve, niece, fierce, friezeE before I receive, deceive, sleigh, freight, eightExceptions seize, either, weird, height, foreign

i before e rule

There are actually 925 exceptions to the “i before e rule”

* Only 44 words in the English language adhere to the rule.* The Oxford Dictionary states: “The rule only applies when the sound represented is ‘ee’, though. It doesn’t apply to words like science or efficient, in which the –ie- combination does follow the letter c but isn’t pronounced ‘ee’.”

Suffixes…

Final silent -E

Suffix -an affix that follows the element to which it is added, as -ly in kindly. In other words…something added to the end of something else.

Generally, drop a final silent e when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. Keep the final e if the suffix begins with a consonant.combine, combination achieve, achievementdesire, desiring care, carefulprude, prudishentire, entiretyRemove, removablegentle, gentleness

Final - y

When adding s or d to words ending in y, ordinarily change y to ie when the y is preceded by a consonant but not when it is preceded by a vowel.

comedy, comediesmonkey, monkeysdry, driedplay, playedExceptions: With proper names ending in y, however, do not change the y to ie even if it is preceded by a consonant. Example: the Daugherty family becomes the Daughertys.

Final Consonants…

If a final consonant is precede by a single vowel and the consonant ends a one-syllable word or stressed syllable, double the consonant when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.

Examples:

bet, betting occur, occurrence

commit, committed

Plurals

S or ES – Add s to form the plural of most nouns; add es to singular nouns ending in s, sh, ch, and x.

table, tableschurch, churchespaper, papersdish, dishes* Ordinarily add s to nouns ending in o when the o is preceded by a vowel. Add es when it is preceded by a consonant.radio, radioshero, heroesvideo, videostomato, tomatoes

Other Plurals

To form the plural of a hyphenated compound word, add s to the chief word even if it does not appear at the end.

mother-in-law, mothers-in-law brother-in-arms, brothers-in-arms• English words derived from other languages such as Latin or French sometimes form the plural as they would in their original language.medium, media chateau, chateauxcriterion, criteria