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Writing (and therefore spelling) is a representation of the spoken word. The spoken word is not a representation of writing. Because accents and pronunciation can change easily and quite quickly, whereas what is written in books and dictionaries remains "fixed" for years, as well as for various historical reasons, there is often little correspondence between spoken English (pronunciation) and written English (spelling). English spelling therefore often appears to be totally illogical. The following rules can help you to decode the mysteries of English spelling. But remember, even the best rules have their exceptions. Adding -er/-est quick, quicker, quickest, happy, happier, happiest, hot, hotter, hottest... We make the comparative or superlative forms of short adjectives by adding -er or -est. Spelling Rule Just add -er or -est to the end of the adjective, for example: * quick > quicker > quickest * great > greater > greatest * full > fuller > fullest Adding -ing/-ed work, working, worked, stop, stopping, stopped... Often we need to add -ing or -ed to a verb to make other forms of the verb, for example: I was talking when John arrived. Spelling Rule Just add -ing or -ed to the end of the base verb: * work > working > worked * play > playing > played * open > opening > opened Adding -ly loud, loudly, happy, happily, terrible, terribly... We often make an adverb by adding -ly to an adjective, for example: quick > quickly. Spelling Rule Just add -ly to the end of the adjective: * coy > coyly * loud > loudly * beautiful > beautifully * senseless > senselessly * intelligent > intelligently Adding -s dog, dogs, church, churches, wife, wives... We add -s to words for two reasons: 1. to make plural nouns (boy > boys) 2. to form the 3rd person singular of the present simple tense (I work > you work > he works) Spelling Rule Just add -s to the end of the word, for example: * dog > dogs * play > plays * demand > demands -ible or -able accessible, visible, dependable, networkable... Many words end in -ible and -able. Sometimes it is difficult to remember which spelling to use. The -ible ending is for words of Latin origin. There are about 180 words ending in -ible. No new words are being created with -ible endings. Here are the most common examples: accessible admissible audible collapsible combustible compatible comprehensible contemptible credible defensible destructible digestible divisible edible fallible flexible gullible horrible illegible implausible inaccessible incontrovertible incredible indefensible indelible inedible insensible intelligible invincible invisible illegible irresistible irreversible ostensible permissible plausible possible responsible reversible sensible susceptible suggestible tangible terrible visible The -able ending is for: * some Latin words, for example: dependable * non-Latin words, for example: affordable, renewable, washable * new (modern) words, for example: networkable, windsurfable Rule of thumb This rule can help you decide the correct spelling. It works most (but not all!) of the time. Remember, if you are not sure about a word, it is probably best to use a dictionary. Here is the rule: * If you remove -able from a word, you are left with a complete word. * If you remove -ible from a word, you are not left with a complete word (note that accessible, contemptible, digestible, flexible and suggestible above are among the exceptions to this rule). -ie- or -ei- friend, fiend, feint, freight... Sometimes it is difficult to remember whether a word is spelled with -ie- or -ei-. There is a very simple rule about this: I before E except after C or when sounding like AY as in neighbour and weigh http://www.englishclub.com/writing/spelling.htm |