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At its best, English spelling can be

perplexing, especially for non-native

speakers and writers. The following rules

and suggestions are offered as aids. You

will always be able to find exceptions to

these rules, but most writers find them

helpful.

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ibeforee, except afterc. . . .achieve, believe, bier, brief, hygiene, grief, thief, friend, grieve,

chief, fiend, patience, pierce, priestceiling, conceive, deceive, perceive, receipt,receive, deceit, conceit

. . . and in words that rhyme with hay. . .

neighbor, freight, beige, sleigh, weight, vein, and weigh

. . . and some other exceptions. . . .either, neither, feint, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure,weird, seize

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Afinalychanges to iwhen an ending is added .supply becomes supplies

worry becomes worriedmerry becomes merrier

. . . except when that ending is -ing. . .

crying, studying

. . . And when the yis preceded by a vowel. . . .obeyed, saying

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Asilenteis dropped when adding an ending thatbegins with a vowel . . .

advance + -ing = advancingsurprise + -ing = surprising

. . . but kept when the ending begins with a consonant . . .

advancement, likeness

. . . unless the eis preceded by a vowel. . . .

argue + -ment= argumenttrue + -ly= truly

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Adding a prefix seldom changes the

spelling of a word.

misspelledunnecessarydissatisfied

disinterestedmisinform

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We form plurals in English by adding

-sor-es. shoesporchesboxesbushesblitzes

For words ending in a consonant plus-y, change the-yto-iand add-es. For proper nouns, keep the-y.

toyscompanies

Kennedys

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When adding an ending to a word thatends in a consonant, we double that

consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word isaccented and that syllable ends in a singlevowel followed by a single consonant.

Now thats a mouthful! Lets look at

some examples. . . .

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ADMIT + -ed= ADMITTED

When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single

consonant.

ADMIT is accented on the last syllable and the finalconsonant is preceded by a vowel, so we double the

t before adding, for instance, an -ing or -ed:admitting, admitted.

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FLAP + -ed= FLAPPED

When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single

consonant.

FLAP contains only one syllable, which means thatsyllable has to be accented. The final consonant ispreceded by a vowel, so we double that final

consonant: flapped, flapping.

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COUNSEL + -ing = COUNSELING

When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single

consonant.

COUNSEL contains two syllables and the finalconsonant is preceded by a vowel, but the word isaccented on the first syllable, so we dont double

the consonant before adding an ending.

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BEGIN + -ing = BEGINNING

When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single

consonant.

BEGIN contains two syllables and the finalconsonant is preceded by a vowel, and the word isaccented on the last syllable, so we double the

consonant before adding an ending: beginner,beginning

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DESPAIR + -ed= DESPAIRED

When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single

consonant.

DESPAIR contains two syllables, and the finalsyllable is accented, but the final consonant ispreceded by two vowels, not a single vowel, so we

dont double that final consonant when we add anending.

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Becoming a better speller is a matter of personalcommitment and finding your own method to add thisimportant skill to your writing arsenal. Refer to theGuide to Grammar and Writingfor recommendations on

working on spelling. Also, take the spelling quizzes on theList of Interactive Quizzes.

http://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/spelling.htmhttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/quiz_list.html-ssihttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/quiz_list.html-ssihttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/spelling.htm

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This PowerPoint presentation was created by

Charles Darling, PhD

Professor of English and Webmaster

Capital Community CollegeHartford, Connecticut

copyright November 1999

http://cctc.commnet.edu/