at its best, english spelling can be perplexing, especially for
TRANSCRIPT
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8/14/2019 At Its Best, English Spelling Can Be Perplexing, Especially For
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At its best, English spelling can be
perplexing, especially for non-native
speakers and writers. The following rules
and suggestions are offered as aids. You
will always be able to find exceptions to
these rules, but most writers find them
helpful.
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ibeforee, except afterc. . . .achieve, believe, bier, brief, hygiene, grief, thief, friend, grieve,
chief, fiend, patience, pierce, priestceiling, conceive, deceive, perceive, receipt,receive, deceit, conceit
. . . and in words that rhyme with hay. . .
neighbor, freight, beige, sleigh, weight, vein, and weigh
. . . and some other exceptions. . . .either, neither, feint, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure,weird, seize
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Afinalychanges to iwhen an ending is added .supply becomes supplies
worry becomes worriedmerry becomes merrier
. . . except when that ending is -ing. . .
crying, studying
. . . And when the yis preceded by a vowel. . . .obeyed, saying
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Asilenteis dropped when adding an ending thatbegins with a vowel . . .
advance + -ing = advancingsurprise + -ing = surprising
. . . but kept when the ending begins with a consonant . . .
advancement, likeness
. . . unless the eis preceded by a vowel. . . .
argue + -ment= argumenttrue + -ly= truly
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Adding a prefix seldom changes the
spelling of a word.
misspelledunnecessarydissatisfied
disinterestedmisinform
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We form plurals in English by adding
-sor-es. shoesporchesboxesbushesblitzes
For words ending in a consonant plus-y, change the-yto-iand add-es. For proper nouns, keep the-y.
toyscompanies
Kennedys
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When adding an ending to a word thatends in a consonant, we double that
consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word isaccented and that syllable ends in a singlevowel followed by a single consonant.
Now thats a mouthful! Lets look at
some examples. . . .
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ADMIT + -ed= ADMITTED
When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single
consonant.
ADMIT is accented on the last syllable and the finalconsonant is preceded by a vowel, so we double the
t before adding, for instance, an -ing or -ed:admitting, admitted.
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FLAP + -ed= FLAPPED
When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single
consonant.
FLAP contains only one syllable, which means thatsyllable has to be accented. The final consonant ispreceded by a vowel, so we double that final
consonant: flapped, flapping.
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COUNSEL + -ing = COUNSELING
When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single
consonant.
COUNSEL contains two syllables and the finalconsonant is preceded by a vowel, but the word isaccented on the first syllable, so we dont double
the consonant before adding an ending.
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BEGIN + -ing = BEGINNING
When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single
consonant.
BEGIN contains two syllables and the finalconsonant is preceded by a vowel, and the word isaccented on the last syllable, so we double the
consonant before adding an ending: beginner,beginning
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DESPAIR + -ed= DESPAIRED
When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant,we double that consonant when the ending begins with avowel and the last syllable of the word is accented and thatsyllable ends in a single vowel followed by a single
consonant.
DESPAIR contains two syllables, and the finalsyllable is accented, but the final consonant ispreceded by two vowels, not a single vowel, so we
dont double that final consonant when we add anending.
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Becoming a better speller is a matter of personalcommitment and finding your own method to add thisimportant skill to your writing arsenal. Refer to theGuide to Grammar and Writingfor recommendations on
working on spelling. Also, take the spelling quizzes on theList of Interactive Quizzes.
http://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/spelling.htmhttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/quiz_list.html-ssihttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/quiz_list.html-ssihttp://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar/spelling.htm -
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This PowerPoint presentation was created by
Charles Darling, PhD
Professor of English and Webmaster
Capital Community CollegeHartford, Connecticut
copyright November 1999
http://cctc.commnet.edu/