PR-6802UK Essential Study Guide - Spelling

Spelling rules
Spelling
a
cat
a–e
rake
are
mare
b
ball
d
dog
e
met
ee
beef
ir
thirsty
er
father
f
fish
g
got
i
hit
i–e
kite
j
jam
k
kind
l
long
n
neck
o
pot
oa
boat
ai
plaid
ai
pain
air
stair
bb
hobbit
dd
odd
a
many
ea
team
er
serve
ar
dollar
ff
fluff
gg
egg
e
England
y
sky
ay
play
ear
bear
ed
filled
ea
bread
y
nappy
ur
nurse
ir
elixir
gh
laugh
gh
ghoul
o
women
ie
tie
a
crazy
ere
where
u
bury
ey
key
ear
earth
or
author
ph
photo
gu
guess
u
busy
i
blind
g
gent, giant and gypsy
c
coat
ll
fell
nn
runny
a
swan
o–e
tone
a
ball and walk
oi
coil
p
pop
s
sick
sh
ship
t
top
u
hug
oo
soon
v
vase
x
fox
you
you
z
zero
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oy
toy
pp
puppy
ss
miss
ce
ocean
tt
kitten
o
come
ew
shrew
f
of
cks
rocks
ew
few
zz
buzz
ck
truck
kn
knee
ow
flow
aw
paw
uoy
buoy
cc
acclaim
gn
gnat
o
open
or
fork
ea
break
eir
their
ie
friend
ie
mischief
or
work
our
harbour
ft
often
gue
catalogue
ui
build
igh
high
dge
hedge
ch
Christmas
ey
they
ayer
prayer
ai
said
ei
rein
ay
says
i
ski and machine
our
journal
ur
occur
lf
calf
y
hymn
uy
buy
yr
myrtle
yr
martyr
ie
sieve
ye
rye
gg
exaggerate
lk
yolk
pn
pneumonia
oe
toe
au
sauce
c
cent, circus and cycle
s
sure
th
Thomas
oo
flood
oe
shoe
ph
Stephen
iew
view
s
has
Common spelling for sounds
ci
special
ed
tapped
ou
trouble
ue
blue
ue
cue
ss
scissor
si
tension
ough
through
ough
though
oor
floor
sc
science
cq
acquire
ew
sew
ore
store
sci
conscience
u–e
rule
yu ueue
yule queue
x
xylophone
eigh
weigh
ar
star
ch
chick
eo
leopard
e
equal
re
metre
eigh
height
di
soldier
qu
liquor
m
me
eau
beau
oar
board
ps
psychology
ui
fruit
eu
feud
ch
machine
th
thing
o
who
eau
beauty
aigh
straight
a
path
tch
catch
ei
heifer
ei
receive
eur
amateur
ai
aisle
mm
summer
et
crochet
ear
heart
tu
future
eo
people
is
island
mb
limb
au
gauge
au
laugh
e–e
fete
er
sergeant
ti te
question righteous
ay
quay
h
hat
lm
calm
ng
song, ring, bang and hung
eo
yeoman
ough
bought
r
ran
st
listen
ti
station
oo
took
ou
croup
w
will
y
yet
z
azure
oo
brooch
augh
taught
ou
house
rr
sorry
ou
should
ar
war
ow
now
wr
write
th
then
u
pull
oeu
manoeuvre
wh
wheat
i
onion
s
measure
u
quick
oe
phoenix
wh
who
mn
autumn
ngue
tongue
our
four
ough
bough
rh
rhythm
the
breathe
o
wolf
o
choir
j
hallelujah
si
division
ge
garage
Prefix
A ‘prefix’ is a word part
added to the beginning of
a word. It can change the
meaning of that word.
Prefix Meaning Example
Suffix Meaning Example
a– on, at, up, out, to ashore, asleep, ahead
a–, ab– away from absent
after– following afternoon, afterthought
ante– before antenatal
anti– against antiseptic
auto– self autobiography
bi– two bicycle
centi– one hundredth centimetre
circum– around circumference
co–, com–,
con–
together, with
companion, conflict
contra– against contrary, contradiction
de– down, away descend
deci– one tenth decimal
dif–, dis– apart from, not different, disagree
down– downwards downfall, downpour
e–, ex– former, out of export, emigrate
en–, em–
to make, in, into,
on
enclose, enrich, embark
extra– outside, beyond extraordinary
fore– in front, before forehand, foreword
hydro– water hydrofoil, hydroelectricity
il–, im–, in–, ir–
not
illegal, incorrect,
impossible, irregular
im–, in– into, in inspect, inland, immerse
inter– between, among interact, intersection
kilo– 1000 x greater kilogram
mid– middle midday, midnight
mis– wrong misfortune
multi– many multicultural, multiply
non– not nonsense
over–
over, beyond,
too much
overgrown, overcharge
post– after postpone, postscript
pre– before precaution, prefix
re– again, back redo, replace, return
pro– for proceed, produce
sub– under subway, submarine
super– over supermarket, supersonic
tele– far away telescope, television
trans– across transport
un– not unfair, uneven, unselfish
under– under, beneath underline, underneath
Suffix
–able tending to, able to enjoyable, movable
–age
–al
state of being, place
of, result of
relating to,
belonging to
wastage, shrinkage,
orphanage
electrical, mechanical
–an pertaining to comedian, Australian
–ance,
–ence
–ary, –ery
Viewing Sample
A ‘suffix’ is a word part added to the end
of a word. Sometimes when suffixes are
added, the spelling of the base word
changes; e.g. happy—happily.
state of being
that which, place
where
excellence,
disappearance
bakery, parliamentary
–ate to make donate, separate
–en having nature of fallen, broken, golden
–en to make or become widen, whiten, flatten
–er one who, that which worker, teacher
–er more (in degree) taller, faster, smarter
–ese belonging to Chinese, Japanese
–est most (in degree) cleanest, loudest
–ful full of cheerful, helpful
–fy make or form into identify, notify
–hood
state of rank
childhood,
neighbourhood
–ible tending to, able to sensible, possible
–ic like, belonging to athletic, artistic
–ion act, process, state action, education
–ish like whitish, foolish, childish
–ist one who artist, journalist
–ive having nature of active
–less without worthless, helpless
–ling small, little duckling, gosling
–ly in the manner of happily, sadly, quietly
–ment
resulting state,
action
treatment,
employment
–most most (in degree) topmost, northernmost
–ness
quality or state of
being
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weakness, sickness
–or person who actor, doctor
–ous state or condition nervous, dangerous
–ship state of being hardship, friendship
–ure act, process pleasure, adventure
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Rules
‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’
with the sound of ‘eeee’:
e.g. brief; receive
(there are some exceptions)
Short ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’ and ‘u’
are followed by ‘–ck’ (in one
syllable words):
e.g. duck; sock; track; quick
When ‘c’ or ‘g’ are followed
by ‘a’, ‘o’ or ‘u’, they have a
hard sound:
e.g. colour; gold
When ‘c’ or ‘g’ are followed
by ‘e’ or ‘i’ they usually have
a soft sound:
e.g. cinema; germ
When ‘c’ is followed by ‘y’ it
also has a soft sound:
e.g. cycle
For the hard ‘k’ sound, ‘k’
goes in front of ‘e’ and ‘i’; ‘c’
goes in front of ‘a’, ‘o’ and ‘u’:
e.g. kelp, kick; cat, cot, cut
‘k’, ‘g’ and ‘p’ are silent at the
beginning of a word if followed
by a consonant (usually ‘n’):
e.g. knee; gnaw; pneumonia
The consonants ‘f’, ‘l’ and ‘s’
are doubled at the end of most
words of one syllable:
e.g. ball; cliff; kiss
Most words of two or more
syllables ending in ‘l’ have only
one fi nal ‘l’:
e.g. parallel; initial
When a word ends in an ‘e’, the ‘e’ is
usually kept when a suffi x beginning with
a consonant is added:
e.g. price + less = priceless;
Usually, the ‘e’ is dropped when adding a
suffi x beginning with a vowel:
e.g. love + able = lovable
When adding ‘y’ to a word ending in ‘e’,
drop the ‘e’ before adding ‘y’:
e.g. ease–easy; noise–noisy
Change the fi nal ‘y’ to ‘i’ before adding
any suffix, except with ‘–ing’ or when ‘y’
follows a vowel:
e.g. carry–carried; carry–carrying;
sway–swayed
Words ending in ‘–ce’ and ‘–ge’ drop
the ‘–e’ when ‘–ing’ is added, but retain
the ‘–e’ when ‘–able’ and ‘–ous’ are
added:
e.g. notice; noticing; noticeable
A short vowel sound should always be
followed by two consonants when adding
‘–y’, ‘–ed’, ‘–ing’ or ‘–er’:
e.g. run–running; jump–jumper
Words which end in a single consonant
preceded by a short vowel sound, double
the consonant when a suffi x beginning
with a vowel is added:
e.g. bat; batted; batting; batter
Making words plural:
(a) Just add ‘–s’ to most nouns and words
ending in ‘–ful’:
e.g. biscuits; handfuls
(b) Add ‘–es’ to nouns ending in ‘–ch’, ‘–sh’,
‘–o’, ‘–s’, ‘–x’ or ‘–z’:
e.g. classes; buzzes; foxes; potatoes;
arches; leashes (note: zeros)
(c) Change ‘f’ to ‘v’ for words ending in ‘–f’
or ‘–fe’:
e.g. calf–calves; wife–wives
(note: roofs)
(d) Some words change their vowels:
e.g. man–men; tooth–teeth
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It is important to note that there are often exceptions to a ‘rule’.
Therefore, it is a good idea to check your dictionary if in doubt
of the correct spelling.
Words which end in a single
consonant preceded by a long vowel,
do not double the consonant when a
suffi x beginning with a vowel is added:
e.g. beat; beaten; beating; beater
Adjectives ending in ‘–le’ after a
consonant form adverbs by dropping
the ‘e’ and adding a ‘y’:
e.g. gentle; gentl–y
When ‘–ice’ or ‘–ise’ are used at the
end of words, ‘–ice’ is used for nouns;
‘is’ is a verb and, therefore, ‘–ise’ is
used for verbs:
e.g. notice, practice (nouns);
exercise, practise (verbs)
Words ending in a single consonant
other than ‘l’, but not accented on
the last syllable, do not double the
consonant when a suffi x is added:
e.g. gallop; galloper; galloping
When the words ‘all’,, ‘full’,, ‘well’,,
‘fill’ and ‘till’ are used as suffi xes or
prefixes, one ‘l’ is dropped:
e.g. already; fulfil
The prefi xes ‘dis–’ and ‘mis–’ never
drop their ‘s’, even when added to a
word beginning with ‘s’:
e.g. dis–ability; dis–satisfied
Making words past tense:
(a) Just add ‘–ed’ or ‘–d’:
e.g. trace–traced;
talk–talked
(b) Verbs with a short vowel sound
followed by a consonant have
the fi nal letter doubled:
e.g. fit–fitted; trap–trapped
(c) Some words use ‘–t’:
e.g. weep–wept; sleep–slept
(d) Some words change their
spelling:
e.g. rise–rose; run–ran
Homophones
‘Homophones’ are words that sound the
same but have different meanings and often
different spellings. Sometimes, these words
are used incorrectly because they are easily
confused.
allowed/aloud gait/gate road/rode/rowed
altar/alter guessed/guest rote/wrote
aren’t/aunt hail/hale sail/sale
ate/eight hair/hare sauce/source
bare/bear hear/here saw/sore/soar
berry/bury heard/herd scene/seen
berth/birth hoarse/horse sea/see
blew/blue hole/whole seam/seem
board/bored hour/our sew/so/sow
boarder/border idle/idol shore/sure
bough/bow key/quay sight/site
boy/buoy knead/need/kneed son/sun
brake/break knew/new stair/stare
buy/by/bye knight/night stake/steak
caught/court know/no stationary/stationery
ceiling/sealing lead/led steal/steel
cent/scent/sent load/lode storey/story
cereal/serial made/maid straight/strait
cheap/cheep main/mane tail/tale
check/cheque mare/mayor team/teem
chews/choose meat/meet their/there/they’re
coarse/course medal/meddle threw/through
complement/compliment muscle/mussel throne/thrown
council/counsel none/nun to/too/two
currant/current one/won vain/vane/vein
dessert/desert paced/paste waist/waste
die/dye pair/pare/pear wait/weight
faint/feint paw/poor/pore/pour weak/week
fair/fare peace/piece weal/wheel
fate/fete plain/plane wear/where
feat/feet practice/practise weather/wether/whether
flaw/floor rap/wrap which/witch
foul/fowl right/rite/write wood/would
Tips and hints
Try spelling new
words.
Picture what you think
the new word looks like.
Write it down in
different ways.
Choose which one you
think looks right.
Check the spelling in a
dictionary.
Use spelling tricks
like:
mnemonics; patterns;
word games.
Use ‘syllables’
to help you.
Words are made
up of syllables.
Every syllable
contains one
vowel sound.
Some words only
have one syllable,
others have many.
Always say the
word in syllables
when writing it:
e.g. hos/pit/al
Make sure you
have the correct
pronunciation.
Use a dictionary
to check your
spelling.
Keep your own
personal spelling
dictionary.
100
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Difficult words to spell
accommodation definite material reference
actually development minute relief
although disappear mischief remember
always disappoint much research
answer does necessary Saturday
argument embarrass nervous secondary
audience enough often separate
autumn enquire outrageous should
beautiful environment parallel shoulder
beginning explanation participation sincerely
believe February pattern skilful
beneath forty people stomach
business friend performance straight
caught half permanent strength
chocolate health persuade success
climb height piece surely
colour imaginary possession surprise
column industrial potential through
coming interesting preparation tomorrow
concentration interrupt prioritise Tuesday
conclusion issue process unfortunately
consequence jealous questionnaire Wednesday
country know queue weight
daughter lonely reaction whole
decision marriage receive women
Viewing Sample
Use the strategy of:
Look at the word.
Say the word to yourself.
Cover the word, then try to
picture it in your head.
Write the word without
looking.
Check your spelling.
Master the rules and learn
the exceptions to them.
Spelling
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without written permission from the publisher.
PR–6802
Copyright Information
ISBN 1-84654-023-2
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