Word choice & usage · Topic 10 of 17

Spelling Rules

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Grammar · spelling

i before e except after c; drop a silent e before a vowel suffix; double a lone final consonant; change consonant + y to i.

01 · ie or eii before e, except after c

02 · Silent eDrop silent e before a vowel suffix

03 · Doublingstop + ed = stopped (double it)

i before e, except after c or with an “ay” sound: believe, receive, weigh must know

Drop a silent e before a vowel suffix: hope → hoping, make → making must know

One vowel + one final consonant doubles before a vowel suffix: stop → stopped must know

Consonant + y changes y to i before a suffix: happy → happiness, cry → cried must know

Keep the silent e before a consonant suffix: care → careful, safe → safely

argue, nine and whole drop the e anyway: argument, ninth, wholly

-ce and -ge keep the e before -able/-ous: noticeable, courageous

Longer word doubles only if the last syllable is stressed: occurred, beginning

Keep the y before -ing: study → studying, carry → carrying

Vowel + y keeps the y: enjoy → enjoyment, delay → delayed

i-before-e rule breakers to memorize: weird, seize, either, height, foreign

A prefix never changes the base word: un + natural = unnatural

✗ makeing → ✓ making · ✗ shoping → ✓ shopping · ✗ recieve → ✓ receive

Commonly confused

	Suffix starts with a vowel	Suffix starts with a consonant
Typical suffixes	-ing, -ed, -er, -able, -ous	-ful, -ly, -ment, -ness, -less
Silent e	Drop it: hope → hoping	Keep it: hope → hopeful
One vowel + one final consonant	Double it: stop → stopped	Leave it single: ship → shipment
Consonant + y	y → i (cried), but keep y before -ing (crying)	y → i: happy → happiness

Stress not on the last syllable means no doubling: visited, offered

Two vowels or two final consonants mean no doubling: raining, jumped

Say every syllable to catch skipped letters: government, environment

Show 4 more facts

ie: believe, field · after c: receipt, ceiling · “ay”: eight, vein

Vowel + y words that change y to i anyway: daily, laid, paid, said

Doubling follows the stress of the new word: referred, but reference

No doubling before a consonant suffix: ship → shipment, glad → gladness

Pearl

Vowel suffix? The silent e goes and a lone final consonant doubles. Consonant suffix? Both stay as they are.

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