Fundamental rules of Spelling

These rules help form a strong foundation for good spelling habits!

1. “I” Before “E” Except After “C”

• Example: Believe, friend
• Exception: Receive, ceiling

2. Silent “E” Makes the Vowel Long

• Adding a silent “e” at the end of a word often makes the vowel say its name.
• Example: Hop → Hope, Mad → Made

3. When Adding Suffixes to Words Ending in “Y,” Change “Y” to “I”

• If a word ends in “y” and is preceded by a consonant, change “y” to “i” before adding a suffix.
• Example: Happy → Happier, Cry → Cried
• Exception: Keep the “y” if adding ing: Cry → Crying

4. Double the Final Consonant for Short Vowel Words When Adding a Suffix

• If a word has a single short vowel followed by a single consonant, double the consonant before adding a vowel suffix.
• Example: Run → Running, Hop → Hopping
• Exception: Do not double the consonant if the final syllable is not stressed: Open → Opening

5. Plural Rule: Add “-es” for Words Ending in “s,” “sh,” “ch,” “x,” or “z”

• Example: Box → Boxes, Church → Churches

6. Drop the Silent “E” Before Adding a Suffix That Begins with a Vowel

• Example: Love → Loving, Hope → Hoping
• Exception: Keep the “e” if the suffix begins with a consonant: Hope → Hopeful

7. “C” and “G” Soft Sounds Before “E,” “I,” or “Y”

• The letters C and G often have a soft sound before E, I, or Y.
• Example: City, Gentle, Cycle
• Exception: Some words break this rule, like Gift.

8. “Q” Always Needs “U”

• In English, “Q” is almost always followed by “U”.
• Example: Queen, Quick, Quiet
• Exception: Some borrowed words, like Qatar.

9. Words Ending in “F” or “Fe” Often Change to “V” Before Adding “Es”

• Example: Leaf → Leaves, Wolf → Wolves
• Exception: Some words just add “s”: Roof → Roofs

10. Use “-ck” After a Short Vowel Sound

• Words with a short vowel sound end in “-ck,” while long vowel words use “-k.”
• Example: Back, Duck, Stick
• Exception: Words like “picnic” don’t follow this rule.

11. “-dge” Instead of “-ge” After a Short Vowel

• Words with a short vowel sound use “-dge” instead of “-ge.”
• Example: Bridge, Badge
• Exception: Words like “huge” don’t follow this rule.

12. Prefixes Do Not Change the Root Word’s Spelling

• When adding a prefix, keep the original spelling of the root word.
• Example: Unhappy, Misunderstand, Disagree