Spelling Rules

I
n the English language, if you simply wrote words the way they sound, you’d come up with some very pecu-
liar spellings. If you tried to sound out every word and pronounce it exactly the way it’s written, you’d come
up with some pretty odd pronunciations too.
Here are some general multisensory tips for studying spelling:
■
Use your eyes.
✓ Look at words carefully. With a marker or pen, highlight the part of the word that is hard to remember.
✓ Visualize the word with your eyes closed.
■
Use your ears.
✓ Listen for the sound of words you hear in conversation or on the radio or television.
✓ Listen to the sound of the spelling of words. Ask someone to dictate the words and their spelling,
and listen as the word is spelled out.
■
Use your hands.
✓ Write the word several times, spelling it in your head as you write.
CHAPTER
Spelling Rules
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter is designed to help you refresh your spelling skills by
teaching you the rules you need to know to spell your best. You’ll learn
strategies to help you spell hyphenated and compound words and
words with tricky letter combinations, unusual plurals, prefixes, suffixes,
apostrophes, and abbreviations.
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There are two main stumbling blocks to spelling
by sight and sound. One we have already identified—
the fact that English is both phonetically inconsistent
and visually confusing. Here are four strategies that

can guide your way through a difficult system and give
you some ways to make good spelling a part of your life.
1. Learn the rules, but expect some exceptions.
The lessons that follow point out both spelling
rules and their exceptions.
2. Use mnemonics (memory tricks) to help you
remember how to spell unfamiliar or
confusing words. The most common type of
mnemonic is the acronym. An acronym is a
word created from the first letters in a series of
words. Another type of mnemonic is a silly
sentence or phrase, known as an acrostic,
which is made out of words that each begin
with the letter or letters that start each item in
a series that you want to remember.
3. Write it down. This book provides you with
helpful exercises that require you to write your
vocabulary words in a blank space. This act
will help your hand and eye remember how to
spell the word. Make sure to spell the word
correctly as you go along so you don’t have to
relearn the word’s spelling later on. After you
are done with this book, you can teach yourself
to spell new words in the same way. The simple
act of writing words down several times will
help you cement their spellings in your mind.
4. Referring to a pronunciation chart in any
dictionary will help guide you through
pronouncing the words in our book and also
familiarize you with pronouncing other new

words you encounter in everyday life. You can
also access pronunciation charts online. The
following is a list of a few online resources:
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Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
www.m-w.com/help/pronguide.htm
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The Newbury House Online Dictionary:
nhd.heinle.com/pronunciation.aspx
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American Heritage Dictionary of the English
Language Online at Bartleby.com:
www.bartleby.com/61/12.html
There are many other online dictionaries such as
www.dictionary.com; or just type “online dictionary”
into any search engine, and get ready to pronounce.
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Vowels
When to Use ie and ei
You probably learned this saying years ago in school:
i before e except after c and when sound-
ing like “ay” as in neighbor and weigh.
This saying should help you remember the basic prin-
ciple of when to use ie and ei when spelling words.
The following sections outline the specifics of when to
spell a word with ie and when to spell a word with ei
and their exceptions.
The ie Rule
Here are some examples of words that use ie to make
the long e sound:

achieve niece
belief piece
cashier retrieve
chief series
fierce wield
Exceptions
Sometimes, the ie combination has other sounds:
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It can sound like short e, as in friend
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It can sound like long i, as in piety, fiery, quiet,
notoriety, society, science
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SPELLING RULES
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The only time the ie combination comes after c
is when it sounds like sh, as in ancient, deficient,
conscience.
The ei Rule
Here are some examples of words in which ei makes the
long a sound:
deign reign
eight sleigh
feign surveillance
freight vein
heinous weight
Exceptions
Sometimes, you will simply have to memorize words

that use the ei combination because they don’t follow
the rule.
■
In some words, ei is used even though it sounds
like ee: either, seize, weird, sheik, seizure, leisure
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Sometimes, ei sounds like long i: height, sleight,
stein, seismology
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Sometimes, ei sounds like short e: heifer, their,
foreign, forfeit
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As you learned in the saying on the previous
page, after c you use ei, even if it sounds like ee:
ceiling, deceit, conceited, receive, receipt
Spelling Practice 1
Circle the word in the parentheses that is spelled cor-
rectly. Check your answers at the end of the lesson.
1. My (niece, neice) was born on Thanksgiving
Day.
2. My brother is the kind of person who likes to
(sieze, seize) every opportunity, no matter how
big or small.
3. The vet said that my dog’s (weight, wieght) was
too much with respect to its (height, hieght).
4. I was (releived, relieved) when I realized I hadn’t
missed my flight.
5. The (reign, riegn) of a top-ranked tennis player
is short-lived.
6. When I was in college, I worked as a (casheir,

cashier) at the local grocery store.
7. There are (surveillance, surviellance) cameras in
the lobby of my building.
8. I decided to go with a wallpaper (frieze, freize)
along the upper wall in the family room.
9. I have always wanted to be a (chief, cheif) editor.
10. He is a (feind, fiend) with no conscience.
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More Vowel Combinations
When two vowels are together, the first one is usually
long, or says its own name, and the second one is silent.
For example, in the word reach, you hear long e, but not
the short a. Similarly, if you know how to pronounce
the word caffeine, you stand a chance at spelling it cor-
rectly because you hear that the e sound comes first. If
you know what sound you hear, that sound is likely to
be the first of two vowels working together.
Here are some examples of words using ai, ui, and
ea combinations in which the vowel you hear is the one
that comes first.
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SPELLING RULES
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Words with ai Words with ea Words with ui
abstain cheap juice
acquaint conceal nuisance
chaise gear ruin
paisley heal suit
prevail lead

refrain reveal
traipse steal
The Exceptions
There are several exceptions to this rule, which you
will simply have to recognize by sight rather than by
sound.
Exceptions
porcelain
beauty
healthy
hearse
hearty
The following are some tips to help you remem-
ber these exceptions. Remember the word heart is in
hearty. Think of it like this: “A hearty person is good-
hearted.” Some people put ice in juice. You can think:
“Juice is cooler if you add ice.” And, the word heal
appears in healthy. Think of it like this: “The doctor will
heal you and help you stay healthy.”
Words with ai or ia
When the vowel pair has one sound and says “uh” (e.g.
captain), it uses ai. When the vowel pair has separate
sounds (e.g. genial), it uses ia. However, there is an
exception: When words combine t or c with ia, they
make a “shuh” sound, for example, martial, beneficial,
glacial. The following are some examples of words that
follow the ai and ia rules:
Words with ai Words with ia
Britain alleviate
captain brilliant

certain civilian
chieftain familiar
curtain guardian
fountain median
villain menial
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Consonants
Silent Consonants
Many English words include silent consonants, ones
that are written but not pronounced. Unfortunately,
there is no rule governing silent consonants; you sim-
ply have to learn the words by sight. The following list
includes some common examples, with the silent con-
sonants highlighted.
answer gnaw pseudonym
autumn indict psychology
blight kneel rhetorical
calm knight subtle
debt knowledge through
ghost psalm write
Memory Tricks
Use sound cues or sight cues, depending on which
works better for you—or use both to reinforce your
learning.
■
Pronounce the silent consonants in your mind
as you write them. Say subtle, often, and so on.
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Write the words on index cards and highlight
the missing consonant sounds with a marker.

Spelling Practice 2
Fill in the missing (silent) letters in the following words.
11. night
12. ans er
13. de t
14. narled
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SPELLING RULES
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15. indi t
16. salm
17. su tle
18. gost
19. of en
20. autum
Doubling Consonants
Most of the time, a final consonant is doubled when
you add an ending. For example, drop becomes drop-
ping, mop becomes mopping, stab becomes stabbing. But
what about look/looking, rest/resting, counsel/counseled?
The Rules
There are two sets of rules: one for when you’re adding
an ending that begins with a vowel (such as -ed, -ing,
-ance, -ence, -ant) and another set for when the ending
begins with a consonant (such as -ness or -ly).
1. When the ending begins with a vowel:
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Double the last consonant in a one-syllable
word that ends with one vowel and one con-

sonant. For example, flip becomes flipper or
flipping, quit becomes quitter or quitting, and
clap becomes clapper or clapping.
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Double the final consonant when the last sylla-
ble is accented and there is only one consonant
in the accented syllable. For example, acquit
becomes acquitting, refer becomes referring, and
commit becomes committing.
You can remember a shorter version of the rules
about doubling before an ending that begins with a
vowel: one syllable or accented last syllable doubles the
single consonant.
2. When the ending begins with a consonant:
■
Keep a final n when you add -ness. You end up
with a double n: keenness, leanness.
■
Keep a final l when you add -ly. You end up
with a double l: formally, regally, legally.
In other cases, then, you don’t double the consonant.
The Exceptions
There are exceptions to the rules, but not many. Here
are a few of them:
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bus becomes buses
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chagrin becomes chagrined
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draw becomes drawing

Spelling Practice 3
This exercise focuses on double consonants. Choose an
appropriate ending for each word: -ed, -ing, -ness, or
-ly. Rewrite the word on the line that follows it, dou-
bling the consonant if necessary.
21. final
22. submit
23. think
24. roam
25. control
26. plain
27. rebel (v)
28. throb
29. legal
30. rain
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SPELLING RULES
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The Special Challenges of C and G
The letters c and g can sound either soft or hard. When
c is soft, it sounds like s; when it’s hard, it sounds like
k. When g is soft, it sounds like j; when it’s hard, it
sounds like g as in guess. But the difference isn’t as con-
fusing as it seems at first. The letters c and g are soft
when followed by e, i, or y. Otherwise, they are hard.
Thus, c sounds like s when it is followed by e, i, or y, as
in central, circle, cycle. It sounds like k when followed by
other vowels: case, cousin, current. The same rule also
applies to the letter g: g sounds like j when followed by

e, i, or y, as in genius, giant, gym. When followed by
other vowels, g is hard: gamble, go, gun.
The following are examples of words in which e,
i or y makes a soft c or g.
centimeter general
centrifuge generous
circulate genteel
circus germ
cyclical giraffe
cymbal gyrate
One more thing to remember is that a k is added
to a final c before an ending that begins with e, i, or y.
If you didn’t add the k, the c would become soft and
sound like s. So in order to add -ing to panic, for exam-
ple, you have to put a k first: panicking.
The following words are examples of words that
have had a k added to c before an ending beginning
with e, i, or y.
mimicking picnicked
panicky trafficking
There are virtually no exceptions to the rules about
using c and g. Listen to the words as you spell them and
let the rule guide your choice: c, s, or k; g or j.
Spelling Practice 4
Using the previous list, add the missing letters to the
following words:
31. The crashing of the c mbal made them all pay
attention.
32. He was a g nerous man who gave willingly of
what he had.

33. He was arrested for traffic ing in drugs.
34. The g neral ordered the troops into battle.
35. The fan helped to c rculate the air.
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Homonyms
Homonyms are words that sound the same, but are
spelled differently. Many of these words have just one
change in the vowel or vowel combination. There’s no
rule about these words, so you’ll simply have to mem-
orize them. Here are some examples of word pairs that
can be troublesome. Sometimes, it helps to learn each
word in terms of the job it will do in a sentence. Often,
the two words in a homophone pair are a different
part of speech. Take a look at the following examples:
affect/effect led/lead
altar/alter minor/miner
bare/bear passed/past
bloc/block peal/peel
cite/site piece/peace
cord/chord sheer/shear
coarse/course stationery/stationary
descent/dissent weak/week
dual/duel which/witch
heal/heel write/right
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SPELLING RULES
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