Essential Spelling Rules - STUDENT Version

Essential Spelling Rules

Standard Words

Pluralizing

Adding Affixes

Doubling Letters

Press on the LEGO Brick to see the rules that fit into that category. Test yourself by trying to guess the proper spelling of each example. Hover over the example to see the proper spelling.

• Adding a prefix to a word does not usually change the spelling.
• Examples:
• bi + cycle = ??
• re + act = ??
• Drop the final e in a word before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) but not before a suffix beginning with a consonant.
• Examples:
• ride + ing = ??

• like + ness = ??

• Change a final y to i before a suffix, unless the suffix is -ing or -ed.
• Examples:

• try + es = ??

• copy + ing = ??
• Words ending in a vowel and y can add the suffix -ed or -ing without making any other change.
• Examples:
• go + ing = ??
• echo + ed = ??

bicycle

react

riding

likeness

tries

copying

going

echoed

• To make a word plural, if the word ends with a consonant and y, change the y to an i and add es.
• Example:
• Plural of baby
• If the word ends with a y with a vowel before the y, just add s.
• Example:
• Plural of abbey
• If a word ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z, add an es to the end of the word.
• Example:
• Plural of boss
• Plural of fox
• If a word ends in -f or -fe, drop the -f or -fe and add -ves.
• Example:
• Plural of life
• For nouns that end with a consonant before an o, add -es.
• Example:
• Plural of tomato
• There are some irregular nouns that use the same spelling and pronunciation for the singular and plural.
• Example: moose, deer

babies

abbeys

bosses

foxes

lives

tomatoes

• Double a final single consonant before adding a suffix when the word ends with a single vowel followed by a single consonant AND the consonant ends an accented syllable or a one-syllable word.
• Examples:
• stop + ing = ??
• occur + ence = ??
• swim + ing = ??
• The consonants v, j, k, w and x are never doubled.
• Examples:
• walk + ing = ??
• row + ing = ??
• coax + ed = ??

stopping

occurrence

swimming

walking

rowing

coaxed

• Use i before e, except after c, or when sounding like "a" as in "neighbor" and "weigh."
• Examples:
• a portion of something (such as cake or pie)
• the upper interior surface of a room
• Some exceptions: neighbor, weird, height, neither, weigh, foreign
• The letter q is usually followed by u.
• Examples:
• a female monarch
• a patchwork blanket
• The letter s never follows x.
• Example: annexes, detoxes, appendix pluralizes to appendices

piece

ceiling

queen

quilt