Mechanics: Spelling Flashcards
words with ie and ei
except after c, unless used as ay as in neighbor or weigh, except for the exceptions
example: i before e exceptions
seize, either, weird, height, foreign, leisure, conscience, counterfeit, forfeit, neither, science, species, sufficient
spelling final y before a suffix
if a suffix begins with an e, the y at the end of the root word is usually changed to an i; y isn’t changed for the suffix -ing; if the word in question has two consonants before the y, change the y to i before adding the suffix ‑ly
final silent e
as a general rule, the e on the end of a word is silent; e is important to the word because it makes the first vowel long; when adding a suffix, the silent e is usually dropped from the end of the root word as there shouldn’t be two e’s together
words with double consonants
frequently found in words which have a suffix added to them; some words can be pronounced as either one or two syllables, but the spelling remains the same; in some cases, the double consonant can change the pronunciation and the meaning of the word
plurals with –s, –es, or other plurals
if a word ends in ‑s, ‑sh, ‑ch, ‑x, or ‑z, you add ‑es; for all other endings add -s