SPELLING RULES
Here are 11 general spelling rules you should learn and apply.
1. A word that ends with the sound of ‘v’ is spelled with the letters ‘ve’ at
its end
e.g. shave, above, effective
- Nouns ending in ‘f’ take ‘ves’ in the plural
e.g. wolf = wolves; elf = elves
2. The letter ‘i’ comes before ‘e’ except after ‘c’
e.g. believe, field, tried (but not receive)
3. When a word ends with ‘y’ preceded by a consonant, form the plural
of the word by changing the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and adding ‘es’.
e.g. countries, carries, ladies
4. Drop the final silent ‘e’ when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel.
e.g. changing, notable, nervous
5. Keep the final silent ‘e’ when adding a suffix that begins with a
consonant
e.g. useful, lovely, hopeless
6. When a one-syllable word ends in a vowel followed by a consonant,
double the final consonant when adding a suffix
e.g. topped, swimmer, hitting
7. The letter ‘q’ in a word is always followed by ‘u’
e.g. quick, antique, equation
8. Do not change the spelling of a word when adding a prefix to it
e.g. remove, triangle, misspell, disappear
9. When adding ‘full’ as a suffix, drop the final ‘l’
e.g. beautiful, plentiful
BUT
If the word ends in an ‘l’ and a suffix is added, then the ‘l’ doubles
e.g. beautifully, plentifully
10.
Always one word: cannot, upstairs, downstairs
Always two words: a lot, in front, in fact
11.
Everyday = regular
Every day = each day
It is an everyday occurrence
I practice soccer every day