Spelling Conventions

Spelling conventions

The English language has over 50 rules, sub-rules, and guidelines for spelling. To make things even more confusing, some words fall outside all the normal spelling rules. What should you do? Well, there are some basic rules that apply in most cases.

• Most plurals are simple: you add the suffix -s.
• For words ending in s, ch, sh, ss, x, and z, you add -es to form the plural.
• Many words ending in o also use -es in the plural form
• For many nouns ending in f, form the plural by changing f to v and adding -es.

Plural Words

Verb Tenses

In English, verb suffixes are formed by using standard suffixes added to the base form of the verb.

• Present tense: add -s or -es to the base verb.
• Past tense and past participle: add -d or -ed to the base verb.
• Present participle: add -ing to the base verb.

Spelling with Prefixes and suffixes

Double Consonants A common spelling change involves doubling consonants. When adding a suffix, double an ending consonant in these situations:

• for one-syllable words: crammed, sagging
• for longer words that end in a stressed syllable, if the syllable ends in a single consonant: patrolling, recurrent

Do not double an ending consonant if

• the ending consonant is part of a pair: retarding, retractable
• the word ends with an unstressed syllable: flickered, lessening

Changed Ending Letters Words usually drop an ending e when a suffix beginning with a vowel is added: scoping, materialization, expansive.

Check a Dictionary

As always, there are exceptions to these rules. If a word doesn’t look right, take some time to look up the proper spelling in a dictionary. Some words are such outliers that the best approach can be to just memorize the correct spelling. It takes a bit of effort, but with memorization you will always know the right spelling.