General Spelling Rules
If you’ve ever felt afraid to write without a spell checker, this lesson is for you. While you should definitely keep spell check turned on, here are a few simple rules to boost your spelling confidence.
“I” Before “E”
Did you ever learn the rhyme, “I before E except after C, or when sounded as A, as in neighbour and weigh”? That mnemonic makes this rule easy to remember, so let’s look at some examples:
- chief
- yield
- niece
- ceiling
- receive
- deceit
- eight
- vein
- veil
Now, it’s time for some exceptions!
- weird
- foreign
- leisure
- science
- efficient
- ancient
Spell check will almost certainly correct you if you spell one of these words wrong.
Change -y to -ie when Pluralizing
If a word ends in -y when it’s singular, change it to -ie when you pluralize:
- bunny bunnies
- sky skies
- party parties
When to Add -es to Pluralize
Generally, you make a word plural by adding -s to the end of it. But with words that end in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, you add -es to make them plural.
- bus buses
- brush brushes
- church churches
- fox foxes
- buzz buzzes
If the -ch is pronounced like a “k”, you pluralize by just adding -s.
- stomach stomachs
Changing -f to -ves when Pluralizing
This is our last rule about plurals. Words that end in -f or -fe usually change their ending to -ves in the plural.
- scarf scarves
- knife knives
- leaf leaves
Of course, there are exceptions:
- chief chiefs
- roof roofs
Words that end in -ff just add -s:
- cliff cliffs
- sniff sniffs
Doubling Consonants
When you add a suffix (ending) to a word, double the final consonant if the last three letters are consonant vowel consonant.
- hop hopping
- stop stopped
- beg begging
There are many exceptions to this rule, so pay attention to your spell checker.
Adding -ly
Adding -ly to a word is very common when you’re forming adverbs. Generally, you just stick the -ly right on to the end of the word.
- sad sadly
- general generally
- childish childishly
Now, it’s time for some exceptions!
If the word ends in -ll, just add -y:
- full fully
If the word ends in -le, remove the -e and and -y:
- capable capably
If the word ends in -y, remove the -y and add -ily:
- angry angrily
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