Below are a few examples of rules that can be used to help decode
the spelling of an unfamiliar word.
•
i
before
e
, except after
c
, unless it says
a
as in neighbor and weigh. Not in
perceive
,
receipt
,
ceiling
.
• The letter
q
is always followed by
u
. In this case, the
u
is not considered to be a vowel.
• The letter
s
never follows
x
.
• The letter
y
, not
i
, is used at the end of English words. Examples include;
my
,
shy
,
by
,
why
.
• To spell a short vowel sound, only one letter is needed. Examples include;
at
,
red
,
it
,
hot
,
up
.
• Drop the
e
when a word ends with a silent final
e
. It should be written without the
e
when
adding an ending that begins with a vowel. In this way,
come
becomes
coming
and
hope
becomes
hoping
.
• When adding an ending to a word that ends with
y
, change the
y
to
i
if it is preceded by a
consonant. In this way,
supply
becomes
supplies
and
worry
becomes
worried
.
•
All
, written alone, has two
l
s. When used as a prefix, however, only one
l
is written.
Examples of this include
also
and
almost
.
• Generally, adding a prefix to a word does not change the correct spelling.
• Words ending in a vowel and
y
can add the suffix -
ed
or -
ing
without making any other change.
Tips For Spelling
ENGLISH
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