Spelling Rules Workbook
Spelling Rules Workbook
Spelling Rules Workbook
Spelling Rules
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
Vocabulary of Spelling 3
Silent ‘e’ Magic ‘e’ 12
Drop the ‘e’ rule 17
The 1:1:1 doubling up rule 26
Adding –es to words 34
Words ending in O 41
--‐y to –ies or –s Rule 47
--‐f /--‐fe to --‐ves or --‐s Rule 54
Words ending in --‐ful 59
Adding --‐ly to words 61
Drop the ‘L’ when adding all or till 74
--‐ise or –ize 78
Words ending in –le Rule 80
Words ending in --‐k, --‐ke, --‐ck, --‐ic 91
Changing the “y” to “i” when adding suffix endings 75
“ie” or “ei” Rule 101
Silent Letter Rules 117
2
Vocabulary of Spelling
The key words and terms you should know to help you learn spelling rules.
Vowels are a, e, i, o, u
y is sometimes a vowel depending on its position in a word, especially in
spelling rules
short vowel sounds: - pan, pen, pin, pun, ant, engine, igloo, octopus,
upset, apple, bread
(It doesn't matter how many vowels are together it‟s about the sound.)
long vowel sounds: bean, cheese, table, equal, ice, old, use, seize,
eight height … (They say their alphabet name and usually the first vowel
is an indication of the sound. But there are exceptions - eight, height)
The letter „y‟ can be a consonant as in the word „yes‟ or a vowel at the end of
happy.
We can have hard and soft sounds with “c” and “g”
“c” can be a hard "k" - can, come, basic
or a soft "s" - cinema, centre/center, advice
(We'll see how spelling rules change to keep these soft “c” and “g” sounds,
especially in the drop the 'e' rule.)
3
Root words, prefixes and suffixes - knowing these can help your
spelling and reading by understanding how words are built, especially long
words.
We also need to know these terms because they come up again and again
in some of the rules.
We can add a prefix and suffix to these words to make another word.
Can you see the prefixes and suffixes? What are they?
uncomfortable
irregularly
disorganised /disorganized
unconfidently
disrespectfully
Answers
4
Prefixes are little words or a letter that go before a word or root word
to change it to a related meaning or the opposite meaning.
Some prefixes are: un, il, im, in, ir, a, pre, ex, anti, dis…
Suffixes or common endings are little words that are added to the
end of a word to change the way that a word is used.
Some vowel suffixes are: -ing, -ed, -er, -est, -ise/-ize, -or, ary/ery, -ur,
-ent/-ence, ant/ance, -ous, -age, ive, -al...
Some consonant suffixes are: -s, ly, -ment, ful, -cian, -tion,-sion, -less,
-ful, -ward...
5
What are verbs, adjectives, nouns, adverbs?
Nouns are words, which name things or somebody: table, chair, London,
Joanne, pen, computer, dog, cat, man, woman...
A proper noun is the actual name of the person, place, thing and
begins with a capital - Toronto, London, Heathrow Airport, Harry
Potter, Lady Gaga, Pride and Prejudice, Sunday Times, Monday,
January…
Adjectives describe nouns - blue bag, happy baby, boring life, healthy
person, this is easy
Also there are adjectives with -ing and -ed suffix endings :
She's excited, This is interesting, I hope this is not boring.
6
Syllables / syllable breakdown is good for spelling long words and
you need to know them for some spelling rules.
1 syllable – trick
2 syllables paper - pa/per
3 syllables computer - com/pu/ter
4 syllables application - ap/pli/ca/ tion
5 syllables examination - ex/am/in/a/tion
Syllable stress
Sometimes the stress can be on the:
first syllable - 'careful
middle syllable - vo'cabulary
end syllable- for'get / be'gin (this is important in the 1:1:1 doubling up
rule)
7
Letter patterns or letter strings are a sequence of letters commonly
found in words - ight, -ui- ible, ough, ate, -oi-...
Good spellers know these patterns and this helps them see if their
spelling looks right.
When you're trying to spell you might forget the spelling rule but you
might be able to remember the pattern instead - that's great.
Always write in lower case with capitals for proper nouns. It's easier to
write in and you can see the shape of the word:
Joanne, family, computer, lesson, Britain,
Canada, Monday, Wednesday, January,
happy, interesting, handwriting…
Writing or typing a lot improves your muscle memory and soon you‟ll be
almost doing automatic writing and feel the spelling write itself.
Don't forget your capital letters for proper nouns and for I and I'm
Block capitals are ALL CAPITALS. Never write in block capitals unless
it's on a form
Compound words are two words together that make one word:
time + table = timetable, hair + dresser = hairdresser, toothbrush,
football, armchair, scriptwriter, breakdown, handbag, newspaper…
All these spellings are correct. Some dictionaries have just the hyphen
spelling, some say both are OK.
8
Hyphens - hyphen usage is in a confusing state!
Hyphens come and go in words. When it‟s a new word it usually starts with
a hyphen so as not to confuse people then soon the hyphen is dropped
(e-mail now email) – this has been going on for centuries!
Homophones are words that have the same sound but different spelling
and different meaning: there/their/they‟re, to/too/two, bare/bear,
be/bee, its/it‟s, I‟ll/aisle/isle, stationary/stationery…
9
Exercise
7. b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s are
Learning anything takes a little effort by going over it again and again to
put it in the long term memory.
10
Exercise Answers
5. -ing, -ed, -s, -able, -ly, -tion are all suffixes/word endings
13. the man, a laptop, one lesson are all singular nouns
hyphen
11
Silent „e‟ Magic „e‟
The silent 'e' magic 'e' is all about the 'e' at the end of words and how it
makes a huge difference to the spelling, pronunciation and meaning of
them: name, site, wife, gate, time, nose, volume…
You can call this 'e' the magic 'e', the bossy 'e', or the final silent 'e'.
But I like the magic 'e' silent 'e' - it's magic because it changes the
meaning and sound, and it's silent! (We'll see this silent 'e' again in drop the
'e' rule)
The magic 'e' silent 'e' is called a marker. That means it doesn't
represent a sound but tells us the sounds of the other letters in the
word.
It's a marker of a long vowel sound. It makes the nearest vowel to it say
its name - say it's alphabet name - a e i o u ) but we have exceptions
which we'll see later
Look at these words: age, alone, date, wine, life, shine, write, volume,
those, twice, marmalade... they all have a long vowel sound
age, alone, date, wine, life, shine, write, volume, those, twice, marmalade...
12
Exceptions: There are a few exceptions of words that have an „e‟ at the
end of the word and it‟s pronounced: be, me, see
Let's look at how one simple 'e' at the end of a word can change the
pronunciation and meaning of short vowel sound words to long vowel
sounds:
Tap / tape
them / theme
slim / slime
not / note
us / use
breath / breathe
rag / rage
Did you notice the first column of words is short vowel sounds and the
second column with the „e‟ have a long vowel sound?
So adding the magic 'e' silent 'e' makes the vowel say its alphabet name
but there are exceptions: bar/bare, car/care, far/fare, (they‟re both
long sounds but the „e‟ words don‟t say their name), moral/morale (short
sounds) , on/one (doesn‟t say its name)
For more short to long vowel sound words check the list on the next page
13
More short to long vowel words.
14
The magic „e‟ silent „e‟ also makes the „g‟ soft as in:
rag / rage, hug / huge, wag /wage, stag/stage
It also makes the final "th" more voiced and a long vowel sound:
breath / breathe, cloth/ clothe, bath/ bathe,
and also loathe, lathe, writhe, seethe, soothe,
1. It makes the hard c into a soft c "s" sound in (but it sometimes doesn't
make the vowel long)
: these words are long: vice, advice, ace, place, mice, nice, piece/peace,
but choice ( says it's -oi- pattern "oy"),
: fence, glance, dance - notice these don't have the vowel + consonant + silent
'e' pattern
3. It‟s also there to show the final ‟s‟ isn't a plural: house, mouse, nurse,
purse…
Notice the difference between the -se "s" and -s "zuh" sound in:
tense / tens dense / dens fence/ fens curse/curs
The „e‟ makes a difference to the s sound.
4. We have some longer words - the magic 'e' makes the final syllable a
longer vowel sound - the vowel nearest the magic e
English words don‟t end in v and u* because centuries ago they didn‟t want
to double these letters at the end of words because they‟d look like w so
'e' was added to words like: - have, give, due, clue, love
*(exceptions are menu - a foreign word & flu and rev - abbreviations)
-ue words have a long vowel sound: due, clue, glue, clue
but love/ glove/ above/ have /come/ some/ none / oven/ cover/ glove/ to
live have short vowel sounds.
but there is a long sound in: gave, save, clove, life, live, live wire, alive.
All this confusion comes from the 1580s when Richard Mulcaster tried
to standardised spelling by adding 'e' to words to indicate a long vowel
sound but then neglected to reform love, come, have, etc.
Knowing the reasons why English spelling is the way it is, is a great
strategy to improve and learn spelling.
Conclusion
Just one little silent „e‟ changes the sound and meaning of a word! That‟s
why it‟s so important to be careful about adding „e‟ on the end of words.
And also not to forget the 'e'.
It's generally a reliable rule: a silent 'e' at the end of a word following a
single vowel and a consonant usually makes the preceding vowel long.
vowel + consonant + silent 'e' = long sound
This rule can help you pronounce or spell words. All these words have
vowels that say their name: swede, rote, mule, flute, cline, hose, kale, eve,
zero, music
**If you‟re not sure about a pronunciation of a word you can go to these
excellent online dictionaries, and hear the pronunciation in British or
American.
16
Drop the „e‟ rule
The drop the 'e' rule is a great little rule to know but be warned like all
English spelling rules there are exceptions, which we'll look at too.
but we keep the 'e' with consonant suffixes - ly, -ment, -s, -ful, -ness:
lovely, excitement, hopeful, makes (but there are a few exceptions)
17
Rules and patterns of drop the 'e'
Exceptions:
singe +ing = singeing (means scorching not singing)
whinge - whingeing - stressing the soft g ( not winging)
binge - bingeing (not binging)
tinge – tingeing (not tinging)
dye - dyeing (not dying)
also: hoe+ ing = hoeing, shoe +ing = shoeing, toe +ing toeing
18
drop the 'e' with –ible (to avoid having an –ei- pattern)
collapse- collapsible (collapseible)
sense- sensible
response - responsible
reverse - reversible
reduce - reducible
19
Dropping the 'e' or keeping the 'e' with the -able ending
But be careful, there are some differences between British and American
spelling:
like - likeable/likable
move - moveable/movable
love - loveable/lovable
name - nameable or namable
live - liveable/livable
sale - saleable / salable
but we drop the 'e' with -ing with all these liking, naming, loving, blaming,
giving, naming, sizing
20
With words ending in '-ge' and '-ce' we keep the 'e' before 'able' and
'ous' to keep the soft 'g' and 'c' sounds:
manage - manageable,
change- changeable,
marriage - marriageable
knowledge - knowledgeable
advantage - advantageous,
outrage - outrageous,
notice - noticeable,
replace - replaceable
service - serviceable
trace - traceable
peace- peaceable
Another exception to the rule is the final -e is not dropped from words
ending in: -ee, -oe, -ye. ( to avoid the –ei-, -oi- patterns)
see - seeing, (seing)
agree - agreeing, agreeable,
canoe - canoeist, canoeing, (canoing)
dye – dyeing, (keep the „e‟ or it‟ll be dying = dead)
flee - fleeing
foresee- foreseer, foreseeing, foreseeable,
**Good spellers usually see what looks right – so keep practicing and using
the words, and notice the rule and spelling patterns in ads, in magazines,
online etc**
21
Exercises
Exercise 1
1. care + ing =
2. use + ful =
3. close + ed =
4. shade + y =
5. shake + ing =
6. manage + able =
7. achieve + able =
8. argue + ment =
9. safe + ty =
12. true + ly =
22
Exercise 1 Answers
3. close + ed = closed
4. shade + y = shady
9. safe + ty = safety
23
Exercise 2
Which is correct?
1. a. argument b. arguement
2. a. using b. useing
3. a. writing b. writting
4. a. noticeable b. noticable
5. a. responseible b. responsible
6. a. haveing b. having
7. a. involvement b. involvment
8. a. agred b. agreed
9. a. lovly b. lovely
24
Exercise 2 Answers
Which is correct?
1. a. argument b. arguement
2. a. using b. useing
3. a. writing b. writting
4. a. noticeable b. noticable
5. a. responseible b. responsible
6. a. haveing b. having
7. a. involvement b. involvment
8. a. agred b. agreed
9. a. lovly b. lovely
25
The 1:1:1 doubling up rule
vowel suffixes are -ing, -ed, -ary, -er, -ant, -ance, -ent...
26
The 1:1:1 doubling up rule
With the 1:1:1 rule we usually double the end consonant when we add the
following vowel suffixes (-ing,-ed,-er, -est, -en, -ish, -ery, -y)
Let's look at why knowing all about the magic 'e' silent 'e,‟ drop the 'e'
rule and the doubling up rule is important.
Read them out loud - when you read them you should be able to
distinguish between the short vowel and the long vowel sound.
(Remember we double up to distinguish a short vowel)
27
hoping = hope + ing (drop the 'e') hoping (long sound)
hoping = hop + ing (double the p) = hopping short sound
rating = rate + ing (drop the 'e') = rating (long sound)
ratting = rat + ing (double t) = ratting
taping = tape + ing (drop the 'e') = taping (long sound)
tapping = tap + ing (double up ) = tapping
So we double up the final consonant when words have one syllable ending
in one vowel + one consonant and it makes the vowel sound short
Notice the second syllable is stressed and you can hear a clear short
vowel sound
28
We also double up the r in:
When the stress doesn’t fall on the final syllable don’t double up:
budget – budgeting, budgeted
burmur murmuring, murmuring
cater catering catered
perform - performer performing ( the second syllable is stressed but it's
a long vowel sound with -or- before the m
focused / focussed,
focusing / focussing
29
Exercise
1. shoper or shopper?
2. foxes or foxxes?
3. beginner or beginer?
4. fatest or fattest?
5. sleeping or sleepping?
6. forgettable or forgetable?
7. quicker or quickker?
8. planning or planing?
9. budgetting or budgeting?
30
Answers
not doubled)
doubled)
31
Exercise
32
Exercise Answers
33
Adding –es to words
Adding -es to the end of words makes plurals and third person verbs:
Can you see the letter or letters next to the –es? What are
they?
34
We add -es to words ending in s / ss / sh/ ch / x / z
bush – bushes
crash – crashes
crush – crushes
dash - dashes
rush - rushes
varnish - varnishes
flush – flushes
wish - wishes
bench - benches
crutch - crutches
bunch – bunches
despatch – despatches
church – churches
witch – witches
hunch – hunches
watch – watches
lunch – lunches
match - matches
porch - porches
waltz - waltzes
quiz – quizzes (note this word has the doubling up rule too)
buzz - buzzes
whizz – whizzes
fizz – fizzes
35
Let's look at why -es was added to these words.
All these words end in a 'hissing' sound so we add -es to soften the sound
to a /z/ sound. And we can't have 3 S‟s together - businesss x glasss x
There‟s one exception to this rule. If the -ch ending is pronounced with a
„k‟ sound, you add –s rather than -es:
singular plural
stomach stomachs
epoch epochs
36
Exercise 1
1. dish –
2. business –
3. amaze –
4. tablet –
5. class –
6. phone –
7. witness –
8. torch –
9. crush –
10. six –
11. lunch –
12. buzz –
37
Exercise 1
1. dish – dishes
2. business – businesses
3. amaze – amazes
4. tablet – tablets
5. class – classes
6. phone – phones
7. witness – witnesses
8. torch – torches
9. crush – crushes
38
Exercise 2
Which is correct?
1. varnishes or varnishs?
2. buses or busses?
3. busineses or businesses?
4. foxes or foxs?
5. despatches or despatchs?
6. busineses or businesses?
7. mackintoshs or mackintoshes?
8. richs or riches?
9. addresses or addreses?
39
Exercise 2 Answers
Which is correct?
1. varnishes or varnishs
2. buses or busses
3. busineses or businesses
4. foxes or foxs
5. despatches or despatchs
6. busineses or businesses
7. mackintoshs or mackintoshes
8. richs or riches
9. addresses or addreses
40
Words ending in O
1. We also add -es to some third person verbs and nouns ending in O
radio - radios
patio - patios
zoo - zoos
kangaroo - kangaroos
tattoo - tattoos
audio- audios
cameo- cameos
cuckoo- cuckoos
ratio- ratios
stereo- stereos
video- videos
studio – studios
scenario - scenarios
41
4. When a word ends in a consonant + O we can add -es or -s or both -
there's no rule about this.
42
Exercise 1
1. radio -
2. tomato -
3. photo -
4. echo -
5. memo -
6. potato -
7. hero -
8. stereo -
9. soprano -
10. kilo -
11. zero -
12. typo -
43
Exercise 1 Answers
1. radio - radios
2. tomato - tomatoes
3. photo - photos
4. echo – echoes
5. memo – memos
6. potato - potatoes
7. hero - heroes
8. stereo - stereos
9. soprano - sopranos
44
Exercise 2
Which is correct?
1. videos or videoes?
2. kilos or kiloes?
3. tomatos or tomatoes?
4. photos or photoes?
5. memos or memoes?
6. heros or heroes?
7. echos or echoes?
8. radios or radioes?
9. potatos or potatoes?
45
Exercise 2 Answers
Which is correct?
1. videos or videoes
2. kilos or kiloes
3. tomatos or tomatoes
4. photos or photoes
5. memos or memoes
6. heros or heroes
7. echos or echoes
8. radios or radioes
9. potatos or potatoes
46
-y to –ies or –s Rule
I buy – he buys, she buys. They cry – she cries, he cries, it cries
47
Why do we add -s to some words and change -y to -ies in others?
Can you see a pattern, a rule going on with the letter next to the -y in
these singular words?
boy, tray, journey all have vowels next to the -y so we just add –s:
boys, trays, journeys
There are patterns you can remember if you can't remember the rule:
rays, trays, frays, prays, strays, sprays, X-rays…
plays, delays, relays, underlays…
pays, says, bays…
ways, byways, subways…
alleys, valleys, volleys, trolleys...
keys, monkeys, donkeys, turkeys…
journeys, chimneys, attorneys ...
boys, toys, ploys, envoys…
buys, guys…
(add to this list)
Notice these words have a consonant next to the end -y:
baby, party, country.
So we change the -y to -ies:
babies, parties, countries
49
Exercise 1
1. factory -
2. trolley -
3. empty -
4. play -
5. story -
6. guy -
7. pastry -
8. turkey -
9. ninety -
10. responsibility -
11. subway -
12. family -
50
Exercise 1 Answers
1. factory - factories
2. trolley - trolleys
3. empty - empties
4. play - plays
5. story - stories
6. guy - guys
7. pastry - pastries
8. turkey – turkeys
9. ninety – nineties
51
Exercise 2
4 Danish (pastry)
2 vegetable (curry)
2 frozen (turkey)
4 AA (battery)
2 (loaf) of bread
(empty). And could you get two new (key) cut for the
52
Exercise 2 Answers
4 AA (battery) batteries
Park next to where the trolleys (trolley) are – that‟s where the
(empty). And could you get two new keys (key) cut for the gate.
And also could you find a DVD with children‟s stories (story) on
it please? Thanks.
53
-f /-fe to -ves or -s Rule
Why do we change some of these words that end in -f / -fe to -ves and
some we just add -s?
The -f to -ves or -s rule is an easy rule but with many exceptions that
you need to learn.
54
2. Some words can have both endings -ves or -s:
scarf – scarfs / scarves
dwarf – dwarfs / dwarves
wharf – wharfs / wharves
handkerchief – handkerchiefs / handkerchieves (looks a bit strange though!)
(or we usually say hanky – hankies)
hoof – hoofs / hooves
turf – turfs / turves (looks a bit strange though!)
cliff - cliffs
toff – toffs
scuff - scuffs
sniff - sniffs
bluff - bluffs
gaff - gaffs
scoff - scoffs
whiff - whiffs
sheriff - sheriffs
tariff - tariffs
bailiff - bailiffs
55
Exceptions: leaf – leaves, loaf-loaves, thief - thieves
Look at the difference between the noun and the verb in these words
nouns
singular - plural related verb third person (She/He/ It)
belief - beliefs to believe She/He believes
half - halves to halve She/He halves
life - lives to live She/He lives
safe - safes to save She/he saves
thief - thieves to thieve She/He thieves
shelf - shelves to shelve She/He shelves
56
Exercise 3
1. leaf -
2. scarf -
3. roof -
4. sniff -
5. shelf -
6. chief -
7. wife -
8. yourself -
9. scoff -
10. knife -
11. thief -
12. shelf -
13. belief -
14. cliff -
57
Exercise 3 Answers
1. leaf - leaves
3. roof - roofs
4. sniff - sniffs
5. shelf - shelves
6. chief – chiefs
7. wife - wives
8. yourself - yourselves
9. scoff - scoffs
58
Words ending in -ful
59
But we only use full when full when it‟s alone.
Full up
Full on
Full marks
A full sandwich
A full train etc
When we add another suffix -ly this is when the -ful has a double l
60
Adding -ly to words
slowly, possibly, uneasily, lovely, gently, beautifully, basically
The rules are quite simple and reliable but some of the words are tricky
to spell: definitely, probably, absolutely, likely, reasonably and hopefully
But when do we spell a word with -ly, or -lly, or -ily, or - ely? And what
about the -ally ending?
verbs are doing/being words - go, drive, have, be, read, listen,
learn…
adverbs describe the verb.
We usually add -ly to adjectives to make adverbs, and they're great
words for describing how something, or how often, something is
done.
Verb + adverb
slow + ly = slowly Speak slowly, carefully, quickly, suddenly,
sudden + ly = suddenly I stopped suddenly, abruptly, immediately…
careful + ly = carefully Drive carefully, slowly, quickly…
61
The Rules
Rule 1
Add -ly to words ending in –ful = -fully (with double l)
careful + ly = carefully
wonderful + ly = wonderfully
beautiful + ly = beautifully
faithful + ly = faithfully
peaceful + ly = peacefully
successful + ly = successfully
But when we add -ly to the whole word full + ly we drop one “l” because we
can't have triple “l”
full + ly = fully
dull + ly = dully
Rule 2
The same rule applies to other words ending in “l” it makes a double “l”
accidental + ly = accidentally
cool + ly = coolly
cruel + ly = cruelly
especial + ly = especially
final + ly = finally
financial + ly = financially
formal + ly = formally
general + ly = generally
lethal + ly = lethally
occasional + ly = occasionally
total + ly = totally
social + ly = socially
usual + ly = usually
dreadful + ly = dreadfully
playful + ly = playfully
hopeful + ly = hopefully
thoughtful + ly = thoughtfully
helpful + ly = helpfully
real + ly = really
eventual + ly = eventually
62
Rule 3
Add -ly to the whole word
slow + ly = slowly
endless + ly = endlessly
week + ly = weekly
stupid + ly = stupidly
immediate + ly = immediately
friend + ly = friendly
fortunate + ly = fortunately
unfortunate + ly = unfortunately
independent + ly = independently
quick + ly = quickly
quiet + ly = quietly
vivid + ly = vividly
Rule 4
Keep the 'e' in:
lone + ly = lonely
love + ly = lovely
live + ly = lively
complete + ly = completely
definite + ly = definitely
desperate + ly = desperately
extreme + ly = extremely
immediate + ly = immediately
separate + ly = separately
sincere + ly = sincerely
sole + ly solely
Also rarely, homely, approximately, entirely…
63
Rule 5
gentle - gently
simple - simply
terrible - terribly
wrinkle - wrinkly
miserable - miserably
possible - possibly
incredible – incredibly
fiddle – fiddly
subtle - subtly
idle - idly
single - singly
humble - humbly
probable - probably
responsible – responsibly
ample – amply
capable – capably
irresistible – irresistibly
remarkable – remarkably
supple – supply
horrible – horribly
unforgettable – unforgettably
uncontrollable – uncontrollably
unforgettable - unforgettably
favourable (British) - favourably
favorable (American) - favorably
64
Rule 6
When we add -ly to words ending in -y we change the “y” to “i” if more
than one syllable:
easy - easily, uneasily
happy - happily, unhappily
busy - busily
crazy - crazily
lazy - lazily
necessary - necessarily, unnecessarily
shabby - shabbily
steady – steadily, unsteadily
greedy – greedily
fancy – fancily
flabby – flabbily
hazy – hazily
hungry – hungrily
merry – merrily
momentary – momentarily
ordinary – ordinarily
ready – readily
exceptions:
day + ly = daily (change the “y” to “i”)
gay + ly = gaily
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Rule 7
When we add -ly to words ending in -ic we add –ally
practical + ly = practically
chemical – chemically
political – politically
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CONCLUSION
Exceptions:
Drop the “e” in these words
true - truly
due - duly
whole - wholly
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EXERCISE 1
1. love
2. careful
3. basic
4. true
5. slow
6. happy
7. day
8. lazy
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EXERCISE 1 Answers
1. love - lovely
2. careful - carefully
3. basic - basically
4. true - truly
5. slow - slowly
6. happy – happily
7. day – daily
8. lazy - lazily
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Exercise 2
1. definite
2. probable
3. absolute
4. like
5. reasonable
6. hopeful
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Exercise Answers
hopefully)
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Exercise 3
1. thankful
2. perfect
3. graceful
4. unnecessary
5. hearty
6. argumentative
7. magic
8. high
9. true
10. day
11. angry
12. separate
13. practical
14. knowledgeable
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Exercise 3 Answers
1. thankfully
2. perfectly
3. gracefully
4. unnecessarily
5. heartily
6. argumentatively
7. magically
8. highly
9. truly (drop that “e”)
10. daily
11. angrily
12. separately
13. practically
14. knowledgeably
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Drop the „L‟ when adding all or till
Dropping one l also occurs when we add all and till to words
all + so = also
all + most = almost
although
always
almighty
already
alright (all right as two words is used in formal English)
altogether (Note that altogether and all together do not mean the same
thing. Altogether means „in total‟, as in there are six
bedrooms altogether, whereas all together means „all in one place‟ or „all
at once‟, as in it was good to have a group of friends all together; they
came in all together.)
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Changing the “y” to “i” when adding suffix endings
but: dry: dried, driest, but drying, dryish (keep the “y” because we don‟t
want two i‟s together)
defy: defies, defied, but defying
apply: applies, applied, application but applying
but: day – daily, gay – gaiety, gaily, lay – laid, pay – paid, say - said,
slay - slain (the pronunciation helps)
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Exercise
1. applyed
2. daily
3. compliance
4. dryest
5. paid
6. easyer
7. hungrily
8. relyable
9. necessarily
10. paiment
11. joyous
12. marryed
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Exercise
Which is correct?
1. applyed X applied √
2. daily √
3. compliance √
4. dryest X driest √
5. paid √
6. easyer X easier V
7. hungrily √
8. relyable X reliable V
9. necessarily √
11. joyous √
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-ise or –ize
realise /realize
apologise /apologize
organise/ organize
recognise/recognize
finalise / finalize
Choosing between the endings depends whether your using British English
or American English.
Which one do you use? Do you know which is the American English ending?
Do you know which we can use in British English?
As you can see from the table British English can use both endings but
American English can‟t. Canadians use the American English endings too.
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According to the Oxford Dictionary both endings are correct in British
English but only one way in American. They recommend you choose one
and make sure you stick to it within a piece of writing.
The Oxford Dictionary use the –ize ending on their website maybe
because the -ize ending is older and preferred by some as it‟s closer to
its Greek roots. But –ise is more widely used.
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Words ending in –le Rule
Why do we spell some of these with a single consonant before the -le and
some with double letters?
idle / middle
maple / apple
Google / goggle
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idle and middle
idle is a long vowel sound so it has a single consonant -dle
middle is a short vowel sound so we have a double consonant -ddle.
Both these examples have single vowels but one vowel is long the other
short.
But don't get too stressed if you can‟t hear the short or long vowel
sounds just make sure you keep a beady eye on the patterns.
Let's look at the letter patterns with -le and the exceptions.
x We never have these patterns -hle, -jle, -qle, -qule, -mle, -nle, -rle, -vle, -wle
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-ble
able
table
stable
cable
bible
noble
bauble
marble
warble
-dle
idle
sidle
bridle
cradle
ladle
doodle
noodle
poodle
needle
hurdle
dawdle
-fle
trifle
rifle
stifle
-gle
Google
eagle
beagle
bugle
ogle
burgle
gurgle
-kle
sparkle
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-ple
maple
staple
people
steeple
purple
-sle
measle(s)
tousle
(isle and aisle have a silent "s" and the -le isn't a separate syllable - all
the words in this rule have two or more syllables)
-tle
title
beetle
the Beatles
startle
hurtle
turtle
-cle
treacle
circle
cycle
Note that no letters are doubled if there are two different consonants
before -le: ankle, sprinkle, stumble, bundle, gargle, bangle, bungle...
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-bble
bobble
wobble
hobble
babble
scrabble
dribble
nibble
scribble
bubble
stubble
hobble
-ddle
paddle
straddle
saddle
waddle
meddle
peddle
riddle
middle
fiddle
cuddle
huddle
muddle
puddle
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-ffle
raffle
baffle
snaffle
sniffle
shuffle
scuffle
truffle
muffle
ruffle
duffle
snuffle
-gle
haggle
straggle
struggle
squiggle
giggle
jiggle
wiggle
wriggle
juggle
smuggle
snuggle
-pple
dapple
Exception with single “p” is couple
grapple
ripple Exceptions with the -mple pattern:
cripple ample, sample, example, trample
tipple temple
topple simple, dimple, pimple
supple crumple
principle
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-ssle
hassle
tussle
-ttle
battle
rattle
cattle
kettle
nettle
settle
little
brittle
skittle
bottle
throttle
shuttle
scuttle
Exception: gentle
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-cle and -kle endings
So for short vowel sounds we add a “c” before the “k” to make -ckle
tackle
cackle
crackle
shackle
freckle
heckle
speckle
fickle
tickle
pickle
prickle
buckle
chuckle
suckle
knuckle
Some short and long sounds in: -ncle, -kle, -nkle, -rkle,
uncle
circle
rankle
crinkle
sprinkle
twinkle
wrinkle
sparkle
article obstacle
chronicle miracle muscle
icicle pinnacle silent “c”
particle spectacle
cubicle tentacle
vehicle manacle
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-stle letter pattern - the "t" is silent
These are mostly short vowel sounds but in some accents “castle” is long.
castle
wrestle, nestle
whistle, bristle, thistle gristle
jostle apostle
bustle
Spelling Rules
When we make these –le words into adverbs we change the end "e" to "y"
idle - idly
single - singly
wobble - wobbly
giggle - giggly
bristle - bristly
prickle - prickly
When we add -ing we drop the “e.” Remember to drop the "e" with –ing
chuckle - chuckling
giggle - giggling
shuffle - shuffling
stifle – stifling
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Crossword write in the squares with words ending in –le from the clues below
Across
1. When something is easy to do.
3. Put your arms round someone and hold them close to show that you like
or love them
4. You buy a ticket and if it's chosen you win a prize.
5. An insect.
6. You boil water in this.
9. Only one.
10. A baby sleeps in this.
12. A small pool of water on the ground after rain.
13. A piece of fruit.
Down
1. To write something quickly and carelessly.
2. The plural of person.
5. This is a glass or plastic container to hold liquid.
7. Another word for gun.
8. Auntie and
11. The part of the body where your foot joins your leg.
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Crossword answers
Across
1. When something is easy to do - simple
3. Put your arms round someone and hold them close to show that you like
or love them - cuddle
4. You buy a ticket and if it's chosen you win a prize - raffle
5. An insect - beetle
6. You boil water in this - kettle
9. Only one - single.
10. A baby sleeps in this - cradle.
12. A small pool of water on the ground after rain - puddle.
13. A piece of fruit - apple.
Down
1. To write something quickly and carelessly - scribble.
2. The plural of person - people.
5. This is a glass or plastic container to hold liquid - bottle.
7. Another word for gun - rifle.
8. Auntie and uncle
11. The part of the body where your foot joins your leg - ankle.
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Words ending in -k, -ke, -ck, -ic
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Words ending in -ck
Notice they all have short vowel sounds next to the -ck ending.
We also have words with more than one syllable ending with -ck and with
the short vowel sound next to the –ck:
Remember when we have a short vowel sound we usually double up the end
consonant when we add suffixes to indicate the short vowel sound:
sit sitting
pat patter
nip nipped
Unfortunately, centuries ago they hated a double “c” and double “k” at the end
of words, and they also hated a single vowel + “k” at the end of words too. So
they put a “c” next to the “k” to indicate a short vowel sound, and that‟s why we
have these short vowel sound –ck words.
The exceptions to the single vowel + “k” endings are in foreign borrowed
words: trek/trekking, anorak, Bolshevik, yak, yuk
We also have a short vowel sound before –ck- in the middle of words:
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Words ending in –ke
As we saw in the silent 'e' magic 'e' lesson the 'e' at the end of words
makes the preceding vowel long:
We drop the „e‟ with –ing, -ed, -er, able, ible etc
making, maker
baking, baker, baked
taking, taker
mistaken
flakey
puking, hiking, choking, joking
hiker, joker, biker
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Words ending in -k
These all have a long vowel sound but there are some important short
vowel sound exceptions: book, look, brook, cook, took (These used to be
pronounced with a long “oo” sound and some accents still say these with a long
sound)
We have an end –k after a consonant in these patterns: -nk, -rk, -sk, -lk
-nk
bank, sank, flank, blank, plank, yank, rank, stank, Hank, shrank…
pink, link, sink, rink, shrink, stink, wink…
honk, monk, wonky…
-rk
ark, park, hark, bark, embark, spark, lark…
berserk, clerk…
irk, quirk, shirk…
York, dork, pork…
-sk
ask, task, bask, mask, flask …
risk, brisk, whisk, frisk…
tusk, rusk…
-lk
walk, talk, stalk, chalk, balk, calk…
folk, yolk…
milk…
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Words ending in -ic
History lesson
Most of these –ic words used to be spelled with a “k” at the end of the word -ick
but academics didn't like words ending in “k” so dropped the “k”.
According to spelling expert, David Crystal, “music” was written in over 40 ways
by the 18th Century. Some of the spellings were: musique, musik, musicck,
musicke, musickque…
But then the brilliant American dictionary man, Noah Webster, knocked the “k”
off the end of these –ick words and now we‟re left with -ic.
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When we add a suffix ending that begins with “e”, “i”, or “y” (er, ed, ing,
y…) we add a “k” to -ic and –ac to -make -ick /-ack.
This is to maintain the hard “c”/ "k" sound otherwise it'll be "s"
But if the word already ends in -cal then we just add -ly
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Exercise 1
1. pan
2. brea
3. ban
4. wal
5. sho
6. mechan
7. mista
8. picn
9. quir
10. atta
11. gimmi
12. shran
13. smo
14. ca
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Exercise 1 Answers
1. panic
2. break
3. bank
4. walk
5. shock
6. mechanic
7. mistake
8. picnic
9. quirk
10. attack
11. gimmick
12. shrank
13. smoke
14. cake
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Exercise 2
1. pani ing
2. dramat ally
3. sho ing
4. chi en
5. ris y
6. ban er
7. jo ing
8. ja et
9. wee ly
11. mista n
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Exercise 2 Answers
1. panicking
2. dramatically
3. shocking
4. chicken
5. risky
6. banker
7. joking
8. jacket
9. weekly
10. breakable
11. mistaken
12. musically
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