1. Spelling Rules and Plurals Spelling Rules

2. Spelling ie and ei REMEMBER: I before E except after C or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh. EXCEPTIONS: either, caffeine, foreign, forfeit, height, heir, leisure, neither, protein, seize, species, their, weird

3. Words ending in –cede, –ceed, –sede Only one English word ends in –sede: supersede. REMEMBER: If you proceed to exceed the speed limit, you will succeed in getting a ticket. (Only three words end in –ceed.) All other “seed” words are spelled –cede.

4. Suffixes Double the final consonant in the base word if the suffix ends in a vowel and the base word has one syllable (sad > sadder) OR the word is stressed on the last syllable and the stress does not change after the suffix is added (commit > committed) Don’t double the final s, w, x, or y. Drop the final silent E before a suffix that begins with a vowel. (dine>dining, blue>bluish) EXCEPTIONS: mile>mileage, dye>dyeing

5. Suffixes Drop the final –le before the suffix –ly when the word ends with a consonant + -le. (possible>possibly; sparkle>sparkly) Keep the final silent E before suffixes that begin with A and O if the word ends in –ce or –ge. (change>changeable, courage>courageous) Keep the final silent E before suffixes that begin with a vowel if the word ends in –ee or –oe. (agree>agreeable) EXCEPTIONS: free>freer, freest

6. Suffixes Keep the final E before suffixes that begin with a consonant. (encourage>encouragement) EXCEPTIONS: awe>awful, argue>argument, true>truly, due>duly, whole>wholly

7. Compound Words Keep the spelling of both parts of a compound word (bookcase, fishhook).

8. Plurals For most nouns, add –s (cats, boys, radios). For nouns ending –ch, –s, –sh, –x, –z, add –es (lunches, dishes, buses). For nouns ending in a consonant and Y, change the Y to I and add –es (babies, pennies), except for proper names (Marys, Kennedys). For nouns ending in a consonant and O, add – es. (potatoes, tomatoes, heroes, echoes) EXCEPTIONS: zeros, photos, pianos.

9. Plurals For nouns ending –f or –fe, change the F to V and add –s or –es. (wives, knives, leaves, wolves) EXCEPTIONS: roofs, chiefs, cliffs, giraffes

10. Plurals Some nouns follow no pattern, but have irregular plural forms: man>men, woman>women, child>children, foot>feet, tooth>teeth, mouse>mice, goose>geese, ox>oxen. Some words are the same in singular and plural forms: deer, sheep, series, species, Sioux.

11. Plurals Some words have more than one correct plural form: fish>fish or fishes, antelope>antelope or antelopes, buffalo>buffalo, buffaloes, or buffalos. The plural form of a compound word usually follow the rules for the plural form of the second word (housewives, lunchboxes).