HOW TO TEACH
ENGLISH SPELLING

Other Books by John Fulford

The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules

My 60 Job Resume

To Reach the Sea

Last Plane to Cochabamba

Hitchhiking to Serendip

How To
Teach
English Spelling

Including

The Spelling Rules and 151 Spelling Lists

By John J. Fulford B.Ed. M.A.

Author of The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules

HOW TO TEACH ENGLISH SPELLING by John J. Fulford

Copyright © 2017 by John J. Fulford

Published by Astoria Press, Long Beach, CA

Author services provided by Kathleen Kaiser

www.kathleenkaiserandassociates.com

Publishing services provided by Pedernales Publishing, LLC

www.pedernalespublishing.com

Cover by Christine Di Natale

www.dinataledesign.com

Edited by Barbara Ardinger

www.barbaraardinger.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) whatsoever without permission in writing from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017953054

ISBN Number:  978-0-9963799-2-2 Paperback Edition

978-0-9963799-3-9 Digital Edition

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Preface

Why I Wrote This Book

Spelling Rules

Noah Webster and Syllabification

How We Learn to Spell

Phonics or the Whole Word

Spelling Lists

How This Book Is Divided

The Basics

The Vowels

Silent Letters

Syllabification

How to Teach Spelling

Part One - Markers

1. Soft and Hard C

2. Combinations Using C

3. The Silent E

4. U and V

5. The Following R

6. Soft and Hard G

7. Double Consonants

8. K, CK, IC, AC

9. CH, TCH

10. J, GE, DGE

Part Two - Working with Consonants

11.  Changing Y to I

12.  QU Plus Vowel

13.  AL, TIAL, CIAL

14.  EFY, IFY

15.  SEED, CEDE, CEED, SEDE

16.  ER, OR, AR, RE, OUR

17.  RY, ARY, ERY, ORY, URY, IRY, RRY

18.  LY, LLY, ALLY

19.  ABLE, IBLE

20. TION, SION, SSION, TIAN, CIAN, CION, SHION, XION,
SIAN, CEAN

21. LE, EL, AL, IL, OL, UL, YL

22. IZE, ISE, YZE

23. ICAL, ACLE, ICLE

24. ANT, ENT, ANCE, ENCE, ENS

Part Three - Working With Vowels

The Various Sounds of A

25. Short A, A + E

26. AY, AI, EI

27. AU, AW, OU, ALL

28. AR

29. AIR, ARE, EAR, ERE, ERR, EIR

30. AL, ALL

The Various Sounds of E

31. IE, EI

32. EA, EE

33. Y, EY, I, EE, IE

The Various Sounds of I

34. The Long I

35. IR

36. I + E

37. IGH, IGN

38. Y

The Various Sounds of O

39. Long O

40. O + E, OA, OW, OE

41. OR, ORE

42. OU

43. OY, OI

44. OUGH

The Various Sounds of U

45. Short U

46. U + E

47. UI

48. EU, EW, EAU

49. OUS, EOUS, IOUS, UOUS

Annoying Spellings

50. Silent First Letters

51. The GH words

52. Confusing Homophones

Preface

Spelling is the unloved stepchild of the English language. Students hate to study it, teachers are frustrated when they teach it, parents are angry about it, and experts write long, useless articles about it. Inevitably, spelling is either scorned, ignored, or quietly pushed into the background whenever the subject of education is discussed.

But it is not possible to be fully educated without being able to read well. And it is not possible to read well without understanding English spelling. The ability to decipher and make sense of English spelling is the key to being able to read quickly and effortlessly and fully understand what is written.

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, roughly 85 percent of all children in juvenile detention are functionally illiterate. Most of them have either dropped out of school or will drop out. These children are not in prison because they are stupid or because they are psychopaths; they are there because they failed to learn to read.

Because they had serious difficulty reading the textbooks and other materials used in their classes, as well as the material the teacher wrote on the chalkboard, or printed signs and instructions on notice boards, they fell further and further behind, not only in English classes but also in most other subjects, with the result that they took no pleasure in school and saw no value in getting an education. Boredom and truancy inevitably followed.

Why should these two English-speaking countries have such a high rate of illiteracy? Also, why do native English-speaking students take years longer than other students to become literate in their mother tongue? Various experts have suggested a wide range of reasons, but the main reason is the extraordinarily convoluted spelling system used in English.

Despite the fact that English spelling is so important, the subject gets very little attention. Most of the hard work of teaching spelling is done in the lowest grades. As the students progresses through school, less and less time is devoted to spelling. By the time the student reaches high school, there is no formal teaching of spelling. Many students graduate from high school incapable of spelling even the simplest of words. Few, if any, colleges and universities offer remedial spelling courses, and thus many college students graduate with deplorable spelling skills. At the post-graduate level, there are scores of linguists busy studying every aspect of the English language - except spelling. It is not considered important enough for formal study.

When students enroll in teacher-training institutes, very few (if any) are given a spelling test. Of all the courses they have to take, none are devoted to the study of English spelling rules and the teaching of spelling. None of these students are given spelling tests before they graduate. The result is that too many teachers who have difficulty with spelling are sent out into the world to teach spelling along with English grammar and reading.

It is sad that English spelling has such a bad reputation. English is a fascinating, colorful, and extremely flexible language, mainly because of its extraordinary variety of words. Millions of people enjoy learning and studying unusual words, doing crossword puzzles, and playing word games like Scrabble. Many books have been written about the origins of words, and the words themselves can be seen as cultural artifacts that reflect history, geography, and our ever-changing way of life.

Teachers should always encourage any interest on the part of their students in the origin and history of English words. After all, your students are going to be using the language for the rest of their lives. Studying English word origins and history can also be a good opportunity to introduce some history and geography when you point out to your students that no other major language can claim to contain words borrowed from almost every other language under the sun.

Why I Wrote This Book

I wrote this book for two reasons. The first reason was because an extremely frustrated school principal asked me to write it.

He was frustrated because year after year his new teachers would arrive, keen and eager to get to work but with no idea how to teach spelling. They had passed all their courses and had their heads full of educational psychology and statistics and theory, and they knew their English literature, too. But when it came to teaching their students how to spell? They didn’t even know where to start. It wasn’t long before teaching spelling became a chore. The teachers went through the motions with little enthusiasm and with the result that students’ spelling scores plummeted and reading ability followed.

The second reason is based on my own experience. I was educated in England, where my father was a journalist and my mother had taught English, and then I went to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. My first teaching experience was in a one-room school in the far north. This school was in a village that consisted of a store, a service station, and half a dozen small houses. We had neither electricity nor running water. We also had a very limited stock of school supplies that had to last the school year. My 28 students lived in shacks and cabins scattered through the forest and would appear out of the winter darkness as if by magic every morning at 8 o’clock.

Teaching there was a wonderful experience. I had my problems and difficulties, of course, but everybody was very helpful and the cheerful enthusiasm of the children also helped smooth things out. Officially, my students ranged from one kindergartner to some sixth graders, but they were a mixed bunch with very mixed abilities and included three native Canadians and two French Canadians. For me, it was an extraordinary learning experience, and I learned more “on the job” than I had in many of my education classes at the university. It was there that I began to appreciate the problems with English spelling.

For my next school, I chose a junior high school in the center of British Columbia where the students were mostly Doukhobour. The Doukhobor are a Russian-speaking religious group who traditionally have little use for schools and education. The children turned out to be very friendly and eager to learn and, for me, it was an extremely interesting year. Although I didn’t learn any Russian, I did end the year quite sympathetic to the Doukhobor, and equally sympathetic to their problems spelling English.

Next year, I moved back to Vancouver where I taught English and business law at the high school level and, eventually, decided to take a year out to teach in a language school in Barcelona, Spain. I thoroughly enjoyed my year in Barcelona and learned a lot about teaching English to foreigners. It was there that my interest in English spelling became more of an obsession than mere curiosity. Many of my students were university students polishing their English. They could speak and read English quite well but they refused to write much, claiming that looking up the spelling was a waste of time. English spelling, they told me, was an incomprehensible mess. Nothing I said seemed to convince them that there is a great deal of logic to English spelling and that there are rules that govern correct spelling.

Back in Canada, I taught high school English in Winnipeg and was soon offered a job as an ESL teacher at a night school. I taught two classes two nights a week to adult immigrants who desperately needed to learn English in order to get a job (and even a driving license). The students were from all parts of Europe and there was no textbook, so I had to use my imagination and come up with inventive ways using newspapers and anything else I could think of. I spent hours trying to explain English spelling. At the end of the year, the principal assured me that I had done a good job and tried to persuade me to stay on for another year. But it had been a bitterly hard winter in Winnipeg and the warm sun and blue skies of Southern California beckoned me.

In California, I married and switched to elementary teaching. My interest in English spelling had become a serious study by that time, and with my wife’s help I began in-depth research, which included some university courses in linguistics and a careful study of the works of Noah Webster, plus great deal of time doing internet research.

Eventually, I put everything that I had learned into a book, The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules. It was well received and quickly became extremely popular among teachers and home schooling parents, not only in North America, but in many foreign countries.

The Spelling Rules.

Many years ago, I reasoned that there must be rules that govern English spelling. The problem as I saw it was that few experts agreed that such rules even existed, so the rules were not taught to the teachers, who did not teach them to their students.

English is now the most widely used language in the world. Somewhere between 500 million and a billion people on every continent use it every day. There must be some form of general agreement how words are spelled; otherwise, there would be linguistic chaos. Over time, this general agreement has become a series of spelling rules. For historic reasons, the English language contains an extraordinary variety of words, many with strange letter combinations that can produce a bewildering range of sounds. Yet almost all of these words are subject to the spelling rules. There is a logical pattern to the spelling of most English words.

Notice that I said “most English words.” There are exceptions to many of the spelling rules, but when we compare them to the number of words that do indeed follow the rules, the exceptions are surprisingly few. English spelling is a bit like chess. A student who tried to play chess without knowing the rules and knowing how each piece moves would be understandably frustrated. Our students are intelligent and curious. They want too know the “how” and the “why” of English spelling. They are eager to know the rules.

Noah Webster and Syllabification

For many generations, spelling was taught primarily by memorization. The student was given a list of words, and the teacher offered either a reward or punishment to persuade the student to memorize the words. Nobody thought to improve on this crude “carrot and stick” approach until late in the 18th century, when Noah Webster published his famous American Spelling Book (commonly called the Blue-Back Speller) in 1788.

Noah Webster was a practical man. He was a lawyer before he became a teacher, and he took an extremely logical approach to teaching spelling. He did not arrange the words in his dictionary in alphabetical order. He started with words of one syllable and gradually introduced longer and more complex words. He also broke all the words into syllables.

The words in Webster’s Dictionary were divided into syllables because he had, quite logically, reasoned that when faced with any kind of complicated problem, we instinctively break it down into its component parts and study each part separately. This is probably why the Blue-Back Speller was so immensely popular. It sold more than sixty million copies over the many years it was in print, and the title “Webster’s dictionary” turned into a generic term. Unabridged reprints of the 1824 edition of Webster’s spelling book are still available, complete with the blue cover.

When Webster wrote in his introduction that “letters form syllables, syllables form words, and words form sentences,” he was explaining that the sound formed by the syllable or syllables is the heart of any word. Each of these individual sounds consists of a vowel together with the consonants that give it a particular sound. There may also be two or more vowels making one sound; these are called diphthongs (pronounced dif-thongs).

Linguists have names like “morpheme” and “phoneme” for the various units of sound that make up syllables and words, but all your students need to know is that the separate and distinct sounds of P, E, and T, for example, when put together form a syllable: pet. That syllable can be a word by itself (“I pet the cat”) or it can be joined to other syllables to form a different word (“carpet,” “petrify”). A good teacher will sound out any new word by emphasizing these individual sounds and syllables. It helps if the teacher sounds out each syllable slowly and clearly and repeats it a few times.

Today we take it for granted that this is the correct way to introduce a new word, but it was Noah Webster who first insisted on this approach. He had two very good reasons for doing so.

First, syllabication is the logical approach to learning how to spell. The student studies the bits and pieces that make up the word.

Second, an emphasis on pronouncing each syllable correctly is the best way to improve the student’s diction. If the student pronounces the word correctly, he or she will have less trouble spelling the word.

It should be remembered that at the time that Noah Webster’s first dictionary, A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, appeared in 1806, North America and much of Europe were undergoing what is called the Industrial Revolution. North America was absorbing a flood of immigrants from all parts of Europe, many of them uneducated and most of them speaking another language. At the same time, the urban areas of England were also being flooded by poorly educated people from rural areas looking for work. In both North America and England, a common form of communication in English was essential. It might be impossible for all these people to speak alike, but at least they could all read alike.

Since Webster’s time, there have been numerous serious studies that have proved beyond argument that breaking words down into their component syllables is the most logical and most productive method available for enabling students to learn how to spell English words.

How we learn to spell

I am quite confident that most teachers appreciate the value of syllabication and clear pronunciation, but we cannot avoid the hard fact that correct spelling involves memorization. Almost any other subject can be taught in a variety of ways, but learning how to spell English words invariably involves memorization.

There are two basic types of memory: short-term and long-term. Short-term memory is useful for shopping lists and finding the car keys and for students preparing for a test. For learning how to spell correctly, however, we need long-term memory.

When we consider long-term memory, we can compare the human brain to a modern computer. They both work the same way. When the eye sees a new word, the brain places it in a group with other similarly spelled words. The brain notes any similarity with these other words and also picks up and records a great deal of information from the context of the new word. Eventually, the new word is locked into this special group, and, whether we know it or not, we have learned a spelling rule that covers that group of words.

The brain is also doing a great deal of subconscious comparison with other words in its files. Any words that do not seem to fit will eventually become part of a subgroup or remain as anomalies. Since English is not a completely phonetic language, there will be dozens of word groups and subgroups, but the human brain can handle them as easily as a computer does. The only difference is that the computer is much faster and doesn’t forget. But the human brain has one advantage over the computer: it can recognize and analyze new words that would only confuse the computer because the new words are not yet in its memory bank.

Needless to say, the more the student reads, the faster the process works. Every word the student reads, whether in a textbook or a comic book or an advertisement, is valuable input.

This marvelous computer that we call our brain is constantly at work sorting words into various groups by sound, by meaning, and by spelling. After months of reading, writing, and studying on the part of the student (or anyone else), the files will contain enough information to be able to formulate spelling rules that apply to the majority of words it encounters.

Phonics or the whole word?

Much has been written on the problem of teaching spelling, and numerous experts have produced various theories. The most vocal experts are the supporters of phonics. A French mathematician named Blaise Pascal introduced the concept of phonics in 1655, and the system has been popular ever since. Unfortunately, fewer than fifty percent of our words come from the Anglo-Saxon, which was a phonemic language. It’s the other fifty percent that contain those strange and irritating spellings that confuse the student. Phonics is an important part of teaching reading and spelling, but it is not, and never can be, the whole solution.

Learning to spell words by recognizing the entire word—the whole word approach—was popularized by Horace Mann, an American politician with a keen interest in education and public schools. During the first half of the 19th century he supported the idea that entire words could be learned without the use of phonics. This idea was later supported by the famous linguist Noam Chomsky

In actual practice, we use both methods to learn to spell. With beginners, we start with phonics, concentrate on the sounds of individual letters, and use single-syllable words, gradually increasing the difficulty. Whenever a new word is introduced, we persuade the student to break it into syllables and sound it out. Eventually, the student will recognize the word and not need to sound it out. He or she may even anticipate some words because of the context of the sentence or the subject.

More literate students no longer need to sound out each individual word. They have reached the stage of word recognition and can read a sentence at a glance or scan a whole paragraph using context, syntax, and grammar as a guide to meaning. Very good readers can read a paragraph silently faster than they can speak it aloud.

Spelling lists

At this point, let me take a guess at how you learned to spell. You probably learned the way I learned and the way my father learned and perhaps even my grandfather: “Twenty words on Monday, and a spelling test on Friday.”

There is nothing wrong with this method. It allows the teacher to keep a reasonably accurate record of the student’s progress and have something concrete to show a parent. The weakness in this method lies in choosing those twenty words.

Many teachers just go along with the spelling book traditionally used in their school. They use the spelling list for that week, no matter what words it contains, and spend very little time explaining the spelling. This is the worst approach.

Other teachers are forced to use spelling lists that are either mandated by administrators or are part of a commercially-produced reading program. This program usually consists of a teacher’s manual, textbooks, and supplemental material sold to a school or school district by a large publisher. They are popular with administrators because they usually include standardized tests which, in theory, can be used to map a student’s progress. They are also visually attractive and extremely lucrative for the publisher. In those reading programs, however, spelling is often given short shrift. The emphasis is on reading, and no attention is paid to spelling rules. In fact, the authors of the programs rarely mention that spelling rules exist. When a chapter does include a spelling list, the words are usually based only on the reading assignment. They offer very little help for the student struggling with spelling.

Another popular approach is to choose words that the students are having difficulties with. While this sounds like a good idea, it tends to limit the students’ vocabulary. If they stick with words they are familiar with, there will be little to no new word acquisition. Also, the students are probably having difficulty with a word because of its strange spelling. Unless the spelling is carefully explained, they will continue to have difficulty with that word.

When students have difficulty with a word, this is an excellent opportunity to introduce synonyms and antonyms. Finding another word that is similar, or opposite, in spelling or meaning is excellent for word acquisition. They will quickly learn the technical terms for such words. This is also an opportunity to introduce them to the thesaurus.

Another idea is to choose “useful” words, such as the days of the week, the months of the year, or the animals in the zoo. Such lists will have high student interest, but they will inevitably include words such as Wednesday, February, knife-knives, rhinoceros, gnu, and other words with strange spellings. With the limited time available for teaching spelling, the teacher is rarely able to carefully explain these words. The students are told to just memorize them.

Some teachers make up their own lists from other lists. Over the years, I have collected quite a few lists with titles like “The One hundred Most Commonly Misspelled Words” and “The Fifty Hardest Words to Spell.” But they never state just how or by whom the list was made up, and few lists even agree with other lists. These lists always contain spellings that need to be carefully explained. If the words are commonly misspelled, there must be a reason.

So what words should we put in spelling lists? This will depend on the age and ability level of the students, but it is essential that, no matter the age of the students, whenever there is a spelling rule that governs that particular spelling, the list should be based on a clear understanding of the rule. Your students need to see a pattern to the words in the list, and they need to see the logic of that particular spelling. Only then will they remember how to spell the words.

The aim is to have every student earn a perfect score every Friday. If every student earns an A, this does not mean that the words were too easy. It means that they have remembered the spelling rule and applied it. The students will be happy with their progress, and the teacher will know that he or she has taught the basic rule successfully and that the students are beginning to recognize spelling patterns. To make sure that the students have fixed the words in their long term memories, they should then be asked to use the words in sentences and tested again some weeks later.

The chapters in this book are based on the spelling rules laid out in The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules. It would be a good idea to have a copy of this book handy in case a particularly smart student asks a particularly awkward question, but I do not recommend that the students study only the rules. Each rule should be introduced along with the spelling words the teacher has chosen to exemplify that rule. For each chapter, therefore, I have included a sample of words that illustrate the rules. We can call these “word families.” The teacher should choose from the list or add words as he or she sees fit.

Warnings!

(1) Do not attempt to cover everything in just one school year. Choose carefully those elements that you believe your students can handle.

(2) Do not attempt to teach every word in the word lists. These lists are designed for all teaching levels and contain words ranging from simple, everyday words to words that even well educated adults often find challenging.

To summarize…

The best way to teach English spelling is to teach the spelling rules reinforced by as many examples as necessary and to make sure that students break the words down into syllables.

But we have to be practical. Teachers simply do not have the time to research the spelling rules and then also research and create lists of words. In this book you will find both lists of words and the spelling rules that apply, plus anomalies and explanations. It’s all ready to use.

If I have done it right, you should be able to make up a word list built on a spelling rule and adjusted to the age and skills of your students.

There are about one million words in the English language. This is more than any other language in the world and twice as many as any Romance or Germanic or Slavic language. However, because the average person has a vocabulary of about 20,000 words, I have chosen just those words that I consider commonly used and have kept to the minimum the scientific words, names, and exotic imports that organizers of spelling bees love to dig up.

How This Book Is Divided

This book is divided into three parts. Part One deals with the spelling markers, or guides, that control the pronunciation of many words.

Part Two deals with spelling problems that involve the use of consonants. Most students struggling with English have little difficulty with consonants, as they are generally predictable. So we tackle the easy part first in order to give the students confidence.

Part Three deals with spelling problems that involve vowels. It is the extraordinary variation of vowel sounds that causes most of the confusion in English spelling.

Naturally, every teacher or parent will choose where to start and what to study, depending on the ages and abilities of the students. You may want to start with the consonants or dive right into the vowel problem. Whatever you do, I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your students learn and retain many of the spelling rules.

The Basics

Teachers and parents should read this section carefully before explaining the basics of English spelling to their students.

When teaching very young or foreign students learning English, it is necessary to make sure that the students understand the basics. As the teacher, you need to know that they have a solid foundation.

The vowels: A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y

Don’t take anything for granted. First, make sure that the students understand that an English vowel can be short or long. When teaching foreign students, remember that many languages have only one sound for each vowel, and usually it is short. This is not true of English.

1. The short vowels are the sounds in these one-syllable words: pat, pet, pit, pot, put, catch, fresh, sick, cloth, luck.

2. Long vowels are the sounds in made, feel, pine, home, cute. These long vowels produce a wide variety of sounds, like haul, hear, oil, and book.

3. Two vowels together form a diphthong, which usually has a long vowel sound. There are over two dozen diphthongs. With diphthongs, the first of the two vowels usually controls the sound. For example, “He wore a suit and coat with a plain cream tie.” Always make sure that students know what a diphthong is and how to recognize one. The word comes from the Greek di, meaning “twice” and phthongos, meaning “voice or sound.”

4. A digraph is also two letters together. Digraphs are usually consonants, but they can also be a consonant and a vowel. The word comes from the Greek di, meaning “twice” and graph, meaning “something written.” Two consonants together are often called consonant digraphs or consonant blends. Examples are ch, bl, tr, sw, sh, and th.

5. The letter Y is special. It should be considered another vowel because it is used as a vowel more than it is used as a consonant. As a vowel, it has three sounds, as in happy, shy, and the first syllable of gypsum.

Half of English words are spelled the way they sound

About half of all commonly used words (the ones we read and write every day) are phonemic. That is, they are spelled the way they sound and sound the way they are spelled. It’s the other fifty percent that confuse us. However, when we look closer, we will see that those weird spellings actually contain clues as to spelling and pronunciation.

Many languages use special marks called diacritics. These are the accent marks we commonly see in French words (bête, théâtre, façade), the Spanish tilde (año and mañana), and the German umlaut (Das Mädchen ist dünn und schön). Diacritics are rarely used in English, however, except with foreign words. Instead, we arrange the spelling to tell us how the word must be pronounced. For example, instead of the tilde, we use an I or a Y: onion, canyon. I and Y as used this way are called markers. There are about ten of these spelling markers that we use instead of diacritics, and there are spelling rules that explain how these markers are used.

Silent letters

English spelling has too many silent letters. Almost all the consonants are sometimes silent. Examples range from common words, like the B in debt and the S in island to more complex words, like the P in psycho and pneumonia, the N in hymn, and the first M in mnemonic.

Too many English words contain the old Germanic spellings like ough (as in cough and through) and augh (as in laugh) that should have been abandoned many years ago. These, along with ph instead of F (as in photo and graph), are serious stumbling blocks for many students. The only way to deal with them is to explain to the student that they are ancient and anachronistic and we hope that some future generation will get rid of them.

Syllabication

First, explain to your students that a syllable is the sound made by a vowel or diphthong accompanied by the consonants that give it that sound. Examples: cat, hen, pig, dog, duck.

A syllable is not always a whole word. Prefixes and suffixes (together called affixes) are also syllables. Examples are hap-py, hap-pi-est, un-hap-py, un-hap-pi-est. Happy is the root word. un is the prefix and est is the suffix. Both affixes are syllables.

The spelling rules are as follows:

1. A closed syllable is a vowel followed by a consonant. These will be short vowels. They may be followed by two or more consonants and still retain the short vowel sound. Examples: not, men, den-tist, pil-grim, vel-vet, o-poss-um.

2. An open syllable occurs when the vowel is not followed by a consonant. In this case, the vowel will be long. The vowel in an open syllable is often called the letter name. Examples: no, me, a-corn, be-ing, bro-ken, i-o-dine.

Notes:

1. When the letter Y is in a closed syllable, it should have the short I sound, as in hymn and the first syllable of gypsy. When it is in an open syllable, it will have the long E sound (the second syllable of gypsy) or the long I sound (fry, ty-rant).

2. When dividing words into syllables, never split a consonant blend or vowel diphthong. Examples: ill-ness, suck-ing, feel-ing. But double consonants are often split: em-bar-ras-sing, suc-cess, ac-ci-dent.

Breaking a word into syllables is valuable because the student needs to know whether a vowel is long or short. Not only does this affect the sound and pronunciation of a word, it also almost always changes the meaning of the word. See the examples in the following list:

di-ning

din-ner

si-lent

sil-ly

de-feat

def-er-ence

o-pen

op-er-ate

ma-ting

mat-ter

ti-tan-ic

tit-u-lar

pro-pel

prop-er

Anomalies

There are a few cases where a vowel diphthong produces a short vowel sound. Examples: head, dead, bread, thread, dealt, leather, health, sweat, dread, cough, rough, friend, plait.

There are also a few cases where a closed syllable containing only one vowel does not produce a short vowel sound. Examples: busy, monk, many, ton.

Practicing syllabification for fun

Correct pronunciation is a very important aid to learning how to spell.

Just for fun, and to give the students practice, ask them to break this popular nonsense word (from Mary Poppins) into syllables: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Su-per-cal-i-frag-i-lis-tic-ex-pi-al-i-do-cious

This next word was invented by Shakespeare, and he used it only once. It is the longest word in the English language that has alternating vowels and consonants. honorificabilitudinitatibus.

Hon-or-if-ic-ab-il-it-ud-in-it-at-i-bus

How to teach spelling.

When teaching the very youngest students in the primary grades (K to 3), use the phonic approach. Choose words from the list that have the short vowel, such as cat, pet, sit, hot, and cut, and make sure that the students understand the consonant sounds. When they are ready, introduce consonant digraphs such as sh, ch, th, sp, bl, and d. Do not try to teach the spelling rules yet.

As primary teachers have known for many generations, the phonic approach is the most logical for the very young. The children learn quickly and enjoy being able to read. But also remember that phonics is a trap! Those students who have grown up believing that all words can be sounded out easily and logically are the students who have the most difficulty with spelling when they are faced with words that cannot be sounded out easily and seem to be spelled in illogical ways. Therefore, the teacher must start including more difficult words as soon as the students appear to be ready for them. One guide is to listen to the children talking among themselves. Quite often, they will use sophisticated words in conversation. If they know and use such words, they are ready to learn how to spell them.

From my own years of teaching, I appreciate that your class time is limited and there are frequent interruptions. Your lessons don’t always go as planned. This is why I have listed the points that have to be covered and the order in which to cover them.

Choose the words for the week and put them on the board. Have the students write them down.

It is not necessary to have exactly twenty words. (But it is a nice round figure for record keeping.) You choose how many words you think your students can handle. Just make sure that they all form a “family” of words that illustrate a rule.

Small children will print the words, but older students should write them in cursive. While the youngest children enjoy writing, the older students are not so enthusiastic. The main reason for this is that many of them cannot write. That is, they cannot write cursive. They print each letter slowly and individually in an ugly mixture of lower and uppercase letters. Cursive, sometimes called longhand or roundhand, was introduced during the 17th century to make it possible to write much faster than printing. Once your students have learned to write in cursive, they will not only be able to write twice as fast, but the finished results will look more attractive. You can make good cursive writing a source of pride for the students by always commenting favorably when you see a nice example.

Ask the class if they can see a pattern to the words. Then introduce the spelling rule and explain how it applies to the words.

When there are rules that apply to the words you have chosen, make the students write the rule. Just telling them is useless. “In one ear and out the other.” Also make sure they have a copy of the list of words (and rules) to take home to study and to show their parents.

Break the words into syllables.

Pronounce each syllable slowly and carefully, then have the students repeat it. They should pronounce each syllable separately. Have the students tell you what the vowel or diphthong is and why it makes that particular sound. Discuss whether it is a long or short syllable. What are the clues to the sound? Here you may discuss the issue of regional accents. Everybody has an accent, but despite the fact that we each pronounce a word slightly differently from people in other cities or countries, we all spell the words and read them the same.

Play with the words.

This is a difficult but necessary part of word acquisition. What you do depends on the ability level of your students.

First, check to be sure they know what the words mean. Then ask your students if the words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, or other parts of speech. This gives you the opportunity to check that they all know what the parts of speech are. Do not turn it into a grammar lesson. Concentrate on the meaning and the spelling of the words under discussion. Your job is to get the students to see words as fascinating artifacts loaded with meaning that can be informative and flexible and extremely powerful when properly used.

Ask for opposites (antonyms) and similar words (synonyms). Experiment with adding suffixes or prefixes to the words. Discuss whether or not an affix works with some words but not with others. With verbs, study the tenses, especially the past tense, which often has a different spelling or form. Try to guess the root word, then look for words that appear to be from the same root. Introduce your students to Scrabble and crossword puzzles. Anything to get them interested in words. For the weaker students, one popular activity is to see how many words can be made from the word being studied.

If you have the time, read the famous poem “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, to them and have fun discussing the meaning of Carroll’s strange words. Carroll called his made-up words “portmanteau” words, meaning they combined syllables and meaning of two different words. “Slithy,” for example, means “lithe” and “slimy.” Ask your students to identify other portmanteau words in “Jabberwocky.”

Ask your students to write a short sentence that includes at least three of the spelling words. Ask for rhymes, short verses, or limericks. You may be surprised at their ingenuity.

Simply writing the words by themselves a number of times has very little value. It is better for the student to become familiar with the word in as many ways as possible. We learn to use tools by actually using them. We learn to spell words the same way: by becoming familiar with the words and using them often.

When giving the spelling test, pronounce each syllable carefully.

Take note of any word that seems to be a problem. Ask the students why they misspelled it. Analyze the problem and use that word in another, later test.

Part One: Markers

English spelling contains markers, or clues, to the correct pronunciation. Markers warn us that the sound of the vowel has changed or that the sound of a consonant has changed.

1. Soft and Hard C.

This is a very common marker. Your students need to know when the C is going to be hard like K (cat) or soft like S (cent).

Spelling Rule.  The C is soft when it is immediately followed by the vowels E, I, and Y. Examples: cent, cinder, cylinder. See List #1.

Spelling Rule.  When adding a suffix that starts with A, O, U, or a consonant to a word that ends in CE, we usually retain the silent E so that the C does not become hard. Examples: serviceable, noticeable. See List #2.

Spelling Rule.  When adding a suffix that begins with E, I, or Y to a word that ends in CE or GE, we drop the silent E, as it is not needed. Examples: servicing, managing. See List #3.

Spelling Rule.  The C is hard when it is immediately followed by the vowels A, O, and U. Examples: cat, corner, cucumber. See List #4.

Spelling Rule.  The C is hard when it is the final letter of a word or is followed by a consonant. Examples: picnic, panic, climb, cry. See List #4.

Spelling Rule.  When adding a suffix that begins with E, I, or Y to a word that ends in a hard C, we must add K to keep the C hard. Examples: picnicking, bivouacking. See List #5.

Spelling Rule.  When there are two C’s together, the first will be hard and the second will be hard or soft, depending on the letter that follows it. Examples: accident, accord. See List #6.

LIST #1.  Some words containing the soft C

CE

CE

CI

CY

cell

ace

city

cycle

cent

ice

cider

cyst

cedar

face

cigar

cynic

cease

dice

cinch

cynical

ceiling

lice

cist

cyanide

celery

mice

civic

cyborg

cellar

mace

civil

cyclic

cement

nice

cinder

cymbal

censer

once

cinema

cygnet

censor

brace

cipher

cylinder

center

dunce

circus

cypher

central

excel

cicada

cypress

cereal

fence

cigarette

cypress

censure

force

cistern

cyberspace

censored

grace

citadel

cyclone

century

juice

citrus

cylindrical

ceramic

laces

cilantro

Cyclops

certain

lance

cinnamon

cyan

certify

ocean

civilized

cybernetic

celibate

ounce

civilian

bouncy

celebrate

peace

circuitry

excellency

cemetery

biceps

circulate

spicy

centaur

cancel

cirrhosis

caesarian

faucet

circumstances

celluloid

glance

centipede

grocer

There are almost no exceptions to this rule except some scientific words like coelacanth, coelom, and coelenteron

Notes:

Cello is an Italian word and begins with the CH sound.

Arced is the past tense of arc and has the K sound.

Zinced, zincing behave the same as arc.

Celt is a Gaelic word pronounced kelt.

Mic is the short word for microphone and is pronounced mike.

LIST #2.  Hard vowels A and O following CE and G retaining the E

CEA

GEA

GEO

CEO

serviceable

manageable

courageous

curvaceous

noticeable

salvageable

advantageous

cetaceous

enforceable

changeable

outrageous

crustaceous

replaceable

chargeable

umbrageous

siliceous

sliceable

bridgeable

rampageous

herbaceous

traceable

marriageable

gorgeous

peaceable

forgeable

danceable

enlargeable

embraceable

exchangeable

influenceable

Note: The consonants L, M, and N following CE and GE retain the E:

CE

CE

GE

GE

CE

nicely

placement

engagement

hugeness

facileness

choicely

effacement

management

largeness

fierceness

fiercely

enticement

derangement

savageness

niceness

princely

defacement

arrangement

sageness

scarceness

scarcely

inducement

assuagement

strangeness

spruceness

sprucely

advancement

enlargement

conciseness

enhancement

enforcement

LIST #3.  Some words that drop the silent E

CING

CIBLE

CY

SIBLE

GING

icing

producible

pricy

defensible

managing

dicing

forcible

icy

sensible

aging

juicing

coercible

lacy

infusible

edging

pricing

reducible

racy

reversible

paging

slicing

invincible

juicy

diffusible

raging

spicing

deducible

chancy

dispersible

waging

voicing

spacy

bulging

enticing

spicy

dodging

noticing

bouncy

policing

sluicing

splicing

invoicing

rejoicing

servicing

practicing

sacrificing

dancing

tracing

placing

LIST #4.  Words containing the hard C

can

cot

cut

cat

cotton

cute

camp

cock

cubic

Canada

cold

cucumber

candy

content

cunning

click

clone

clumsy

cling

close

clue

crash

crop

crumbs

crazy

crown

crude

scalp

scrooge

scrub

scrape

scorch

scurry

cascade

discover

discuss

escape

disco

biscuit

epic

antic

attic

basic

magic

public

lilac

maniac

almanac

cuckoo

cushion

crumble

uncle

crush

cup

cuff

cub

crust

cling

clump

club

come

code

cone

cove

cope

coal

croak

coat

coast

Note: Show your students that the hard C can appear almost anywhere except before E, I, or Y.

LIST #5.  Two-syllable and longer words ending in IC and AC

picnic

picnicker

almanac

traffic

trafficker

aphrodisiac

frolic

frolicked

insomniac

panic

panicked

cardiac

mosaic

mosaicked

maniac

plastic

plasticky

lilac

garlic

garlicky

amnesiac

bivouac

zodiac

tarmac

cognac

sacroiliac

LIST #6.  Words containing the double C

Note: The first column has one sound. The second column has two sounds, the K and the S.

The words in the first group will be difficult for your students, as most of these words do not really need that extra C, except as indicators that the preceding vowel is short.

accompany

accident

accomplish

success

accommodate

eccentric

accord

access

accordion

accept

account

accent

accrue

accelerate

accumulate

accede

accurate

vaccine

accuse

vaccinate

accustom

succinct

broccoli

accessories

hiccup

accentuate

occasion

accident

occupy

success

occupation

eccentric

occur

access

piccolo

accept

succulent

accelerate

succumb

accede

succor

acclaim

stucco

occult

tobacco

raccoon

occlude

soccer

Note: The word soccer was created in the late 19th century from “Association Football.”

2. Combinations using C.

The letter C is a popular letter in English. It is commonly used in combination with other letters: CH, CK, CI, CE, and SC. These combinations often confuse the student.

Teachers: Do not try to teach this section unless you have a very advanced class. The information given here is mainly for teachers who will need it when students become confused.

When the C is followed by H, we usually expect the digraph sound produced by CH. Examples: lunch, chip. See List #7.

But the CH may have the SH sound. These are often French words like cliché. Also: chute, machine.

Sometimes the CH may have the K sound. These are often Greek words like chorus and stomach. See List #8.

When followed by K in one-syllable words with a short vowel, the C is silent, as in sack and stick. See List #9

When the SC digraph is followed by E or I, it has the SH sound, as in crescendo and luscious. See List #10.

After the letter S, the C is silent if it is followed by E or I. Examples are scene and scent. See List #9.

When the CI or CE digraph appears, it may have the SH sound, as in ocean and atrocious. See List #10.

Spelling Rule.  The K has to be used instead of C when the K sound is needed before E or I. Examples: kill, keeper, kennel. See List #11.

No commonly used English word begins with CK.

LIST #7.  Words using CH

chat

branch

change

batch

cheese

beach

chess

bench

china

flinch

chicken

rich

chop

porch

choose

crouch

chunk

lunch

chapter

chip

chocolate

chuckle

LIST #8.  CH with the K sound or the SH sound

CH with the K sound

CH with the SH sound

mechanic

mechanism

machine

chiffon

ache

anchor

parachute

Chablis

archeology

architect

chalet

chassis

chameleon

architecture

champagne

chenille

bronchial

bronchitis

chandelier

cliché

chaos

chasm

charade

brochure

character

chemical

chauffeur

fuchsia

chemistry

cholesterol

chef

attaché

chorus

echo

crochet

cache

monarch

psychology

microfiche

chute

orchestra

orchid

mustache

choux

schedule

scheme

quiche

chivalrous

scholar

school

schooner

stomach

synchronize

lichen

choir

alchemy

archaic

dachshund

arachnid

chorus

chord

scheme (pronounced skeme)

schism (pronounced skism)

Notes: These are the two main sounds of CH. The oddities are cello and the second C in concerto. These are Italian and have the CH sound.

Saccharin (sack-a-rin) is the only word in this group with double C.

The word choir (kwy-er) is a strange anomaly.

LIST #9.  Words where the C is silent

After a short vowel

After the S if followed by E or I

back

scene

snack

scent

neck

science

deck

scimitar

slick

scissors

sick

crescent

sock

sciatica

rock

scintillating

stuck

scion

pluck

scepter

scythe

Note: In indict (pronounced in-dite), the C is silent.

LIST #10.  CE and CI with the SH sound

ocean

gracious

cetacean

luscious

crustacean

precious

specious

atrocious

delicious

conscious

judicious

malicious

officious

tenacious

vivacious

suspicious

luscious

crescendo

LIST #11.  K before E or I

key

kid

kiosk

keel

kin

kindle

keen

kick

kidnap

keep

kill

kidney

kelp

kind

kipper

kept

kiln

kitten

ketch

king

kidding

kennel

kite

kilogram

kernel

kiss

kimono

kettle

kilo

kitchen

kelvins

kilt

kindness

ketchup

kink

kindergarten

3. The Silent E.

The most commonly used marker in English is the silent E. The spelling rule is simple, and students will quickly recognize it. The silent E indicates that the preceding vowel has changed from a short to a long vowel. Examples: hop/hope, cap/cape, cut/cute.

When adding a suffix, the problem is knowing when to drop the silent E:

Spelling Rule.  Retain the silent E when a consonant suffix is used: like/likeness, waste/wasteful. See List #12.

Spelling Rule.  Drop the silent E when a vowel suffix is used: like/likable, waste/wasting. See List #13.

Spelling Rule.  Retain the silent E if the word ends in a soft C or soft G and will be followed by a hard vowel or a consonant: nice/nicely, courage/courageous. See List #14.

Drop the silent E in words that end in UE: argue, argument, arguing. See List #15.

Drop the silent E in words ending in DGE: judgment, hedging. See List #16.

Keep the silent E in words ending in OE: hoeing, shoeing. See List #17.

With short IE words, drop the silent E and change the I to Y: tie/tying, die/dying. See List #18.

Some of the consonant suffixes are ly, ment, ness, less, ful, and ty. Usually the silent E is retained, but there are exceptions.

LIST #12 The silent E and suffixes retaining the E

LY

MENT

NESS

LESS

FUL

TY

basely

basement

baseness

ageless

baleful

safety

absolutely

amusement

bareness

loveless

careful

ninety

abrasively

casement

oneness

priceless

eyeful

nicety

barely

movement

blueness

eyeless

rueful

surety

comely

pavement

cuteness

toeless

useful

naivety

cutely

agreement

hugeness

useless

woeful

subtlety

gamely

amazement

idleness

tieless

fateful

entirety

homely

atonement

lateness

clueless

gleeful

hugely

elopement

likeness

fireless

hateful

lamely

involvement

loneness

gateless

hopeful

lately

placement

pureness

hopeless

tuneful

likely

statement

rareness

homeless

wakeful

lively

advisement

ripeness

lifeless

forceful

lonely

bafflement

rudeness

nameless

graceful

lovely

defilement

safeness

ruleless

grateful

merely

effacement

sameness

shoeless

houseful

mutely

engagement

soreness

timeless

peaceful

namely

enticement

awareness

tireless

shameful

nicely

management

crudeness

timeless

spadeful

acutely

puzzlement

graveness

tireless

wasteful

refinement

largeness

toneless

wireless

disgraceful

bravely

settlement

staleness

brakeless

suspenseful

closely

supplement

vagueness

graceless

spiteful

crudely

achievement

politeness

densely

falsely

gravely

irately

Also: able/ably, ample/amply, noble/nobly, bubble/bubbly, gentle/gently, agile/agily.

List #13.  Drop the silent E

ING

ING

ABLE

IBLE

icing

dining

usable

forcible

dicing

mining

evadable

sensible

acing

tuning

notable

defensible

lacing

zoning

forgivable

collapsible

racing

droning

adorable

producible

dancing

aping

curable

convincible

cubing

doping

livable

reversible

lubing

hoping

erasable

erodible

bribing

piping

forgivable

sensible

robing

typing

closable

coercible

fading

wiping

hirable

submergible

hiding

boring

likable

reducible

knifing

caring

valuable

deducible

poling

curing

admirable

invincible

ruling

hiring

movable

tangible

baling

biting

arguable

evadible

coming

dating

solvable

corrodible

gaming

voting

timing

tasting

blaming

writing

LIST #14.  Retain the silent E

fiercely

gorgeous

nicely

courageous

hugely

advantageous

princely

outrageous

largely

rampageous

scarcely

umbrageous

savagely

sagely

strangely

Note that although the silent E is very useful, there are times when it does not serve any useful purpose.

LIST #15.  Words ending in UE

flue

flues

cue

cued

clue

clues

due

dues

hue

hues

revue

revues

rue

rueful

ruing

sue

sued

suing

blue

bluest

bluing

glue

glued

gluing

slue

slued

sluing

true

truest

truing

argue

argued

arguing

argument.

ensue

ensued

ensuing

imbue

imbued

imbuing

issue

issuer

issuing

queue

queued

queuing

pursue

pursued

pursuing

LIST #16.  DGE words

badger

fridge

badge

badging

cadge

cadging

edge

edging

dredge

dredging

hedge

hedging

pledge

pledging

bridge

bridging

dodge

dodging

ridge

ridging

lodge

lodging

judge

judging

judgment

grudge

grudging

smudge

smudging

trudge

trudging

nudge

nudging

fledge

fledgling

midget

podgy

budget

drudgery

LIST #17.  OE words

doe

shoe

foe

canoe

hoe

roe

toe

floe

oboe

sloe

mistletoe

LIST #18.  Change I to Y

die/dying

lie/lying

tie/tying

vie/vying

4. U and V.

Apart from you and flu, no English word ends in U. But there are a number of imported or exotic words (loan words) that end in U. See List #19.

No commonly used English word ends with V.

LIST # 19.   Imported words ending in U

menu

guru

fondu

juju

tutu

kudzu

emu

zebu

snafu (which was originally a military acronym: Situation Normal, All Fouled Up)

mumu

caribou

bayou

tabu (also spelled taboo)

bijou

jujitsu

beau (pronounced bo)

thou (pronounced thow)

5. The Following R.

When a single vowel is followed by an R, the vowel becomes long. This new vowel sound is unique because many of the vowels sound the same and can confuse the student.

The UR sound: fur, fir, her, worm, burn, bird, were, work. See List #20.

The OR sound: sword, born, worn. See List #21.

The AH sound: bar, arm. This vowel sound sometimes also occurs with a following L, as in palm and calm. See List #22.

When the Y is followed by R, we can have three sounds: pyrite, pyramid, myrtle. See List #23.

But there is an anomaly: bury is pronounced berry.

LIST #20.  The ER sound

UR

IR

ER

lurch

birch

perch

curt

dirt

pert

burst

birth

berth

fur

fir

her

blur

stir

term

hurt

shirt

herd

gurgle

squirm

external

turnip

third

permit

surgery

twirl

certain

murmur

flirting

concern

LIST #21.  The OR sound

OR

OR

ORE

or

uniform

ore

for

transform

store

born

tortoise

wore

corn

torture

pore

cord

northern

ore

cork

record

more

pork

forgot

chore

lord

scorpion

before

morning

corpse

foreman

ordinary

storage

ignore

Notes: Quarter and corps (pronounced core) are the oddities in this group.

The OR sound can also be produced by vowel combinations discussed elsewhere.

LIST #22.  The AR-AH sound

AR

AL

arc

arcade

target

palm

ark

barber

barley

calm

are

cardinal

garlic

alms

art

darling

partner

balm

arm

farmyard

remark

psalm

bar

hardware

gargle

qualm

car

partying

carnival

almond

arch

depart

farther

embalm

Some other words with that AH sound:

bra

ma

pa

spa

ah

hurrah

father

LIST #23.  Three YR sounds

byre

myrtle

pyramid

gyre

myrrh

gypsies

gyro

satyr

Kyrie

lyre

martyr

lyric

pyre

zephyr

syrup

pyrite

Valkyrie

Egypt

papyrus

styrene

thyroid

6. Soft and Hard G.

The G is similar to the C when it appears before soft and hard vowels. But there are exceptions. The difference between the C and the G is that sometimes the G is hard before the letters E and I, as in get and give.

Spelling Rule.  The G is soft before Y and sounds like J: gym, gypsy. See List #24.

Spelling Rule.  The G is usually soft before E and I, but at times it may be hard. Consider giraffe but girl and gentle but get. See List #25.

Spelling Rule.  The G is hard before A, O, U, or a consonant: gas, got, gun, green, glide, ghost. See List #26.

When adding a suffix that begins with A, O, or U, or a consonant to a word that ends in GE, we must retain the silent E to keep the G soft: manageable, encouragement. See List #27.

When a word that ends in G must be followed by E or I, we often insert a U between the G and the soft vowel to keep the G hard: guitar, guess. See List #28.

LIST #24.  Words using GY

clergy

edgy

gym

energy

elegy

gyp

eulogy

mangy

gyre

gypsum

rangy

orgy

gypsy

stagy

bulgy

LIST #25.  Hard and soft GE and GI

HARD

SOFT

HARD

SOFT

get

gem

give

gin

geld

gent

gig

ginger

geek

germ

gift

gibe

gecko

genes

gild

giro (sometimes spelled gyro)

guest

genie

gill

giant

geisha

genre

gilt

gipsy

geyser

geode

gird

gist

gerbils

gelato

girl

giraffe

anger

gender

girth

gibbering

finger

genial

gizmo

gigantic

gear

genius

gibbon

tiger

genome

girder

begin

gentle

girdle

corgi

gelatin

giggle

generic

gimmick

general

gigawatt

gesture

gizzard

Notes: Longevity has a soft G: lon-jev-i-ty.

Gynecologist has one hard G (the first one) and one soft G (the second one).

LIST #26.  Hard G

gun

gas

grin

gate

glut

got

leg

goat

pig

gum

LIST #27.  Soft G retaining the silent E before A and M

forgeable

engagement

stageable

management

bridgeable

ravagement

changeable

impingement

chargeable

enlargement

manageable

arrangement

enlargeable

encouragement

salvageable

abridgement

marriageable

knowledgeable

interchangeable

LIST #28.  GU words with hard G sound

guide

argue

sanguine

guild

fugue

league

guilty

guess

guildhall

disguise

guest

colleague

guinea

rogue

guilelessly

guitar

vague

guerilla

anguish

vogue

beguile

brogue

languid

morgue

penguin

plague

roguish

tongue

7. Double Consonants.

A very noticeable marker is the double consonant. The purpose of a double consonant is to warn us that the preceding vowel is short and the accent usually falls on the preceding syllable: alley but ally, ballot but ballet.

Spelling Rule.  When adding a suffix, double the final consonant only if the word ends in a single consonant preceded by a short vowel and the suffix is a vowel suffix. The accent must be on the final syllable of the root word: sitting, swimming, transmitting, runner. See List #29.

The problem with double consonants is that over the years they have become unreliable markers. The rules that govern when and when not to double a consonant are complex and have numerous exceptions. Double consonants are thus the most serious impediment to good spelling. Explain to your students that a double consonant at the beginning of a word is often a prefix: immobile, unnecessary, dissatisfied, innocent.

Many words also have double consonants that are not necessary: commit, affect, appear, attract, immune, necessary. See List #30.

There are about 150 commonly used words that have an unnecessary double consonant. There is also an equal number of words that should have double consonants.

LIST #29.  Double-consonant words

cabbage

alley

collie

wallaby

rabbit

ally

dollar

swallow

ribbon

ballet

follow

wallet

hobby

ballot

hollow

wallow

abbey

challenge

jolly

pullover

daddy

gallery

lollipop

bullet

ladder

gallop

pollen

bulletin

traffic

rally

trolley

bullion

baggage

valley

bullock

pull

stagger

belly

clammy

bully

wedding

cellar

flammable

effort

fellow

mammal

beggar

intelligent

stammer

hidden

jelly

dilemma

difficult

trellis

glimmer

trigger

umbrella

simmer

shoddy

yellow

comment

coffee

artillery

commerce

office

billow

common

soggy

pillow

communist

rubber

brilliant

dummy

stubborn

gorilla

summer

pudding

pillar

mummy

sudden

pillow

summit

buffalo

vanilla

summon

ruffian

village

rummage

suffer

villain

suffocate

luggage

collar

rubbish

nugget

college

symmetry

LIST #30.  Unnecessary double consonants

attract

committee

possess

dessert

assassin

occasion

arrange

accommodate

offend

appear

assessment

oppose

annoy

occurrence

paraffin

immune

address

parallel

aggressive

aggressive

personnel

affect

commence

recommend

accuse

commit

satellite

necessary

command

settee

immediate

connect

sufficient

arrest

collect

suggest

corruption

correct

supply

correct

collapse

support

allow

effect

suppose

addiction

assist

surrender

occur

embassy

surround

accordion

assemble

tattoo

accumulate

efficient

terrific

affect

arrive

torrential

announce

immense

irrigation

approach

interrupt

8. K, CK, IC, AC.

Students are often puzzled to find words ending in C, K, or CK that all make the same sound. The spelling rules are logical and easy to remember.

Spelling Rule.  The CK is used immediately after a short vowel: sack, lock, thick. See List #31

Usually, these are one-syllable words, but this group may also include multisyllable words when the syllable is closed or a suffix is added: mimic/mimicking, slack/slacker.

Spelling Rule.  The K is used after long vowels and words that have a consonant after the vowel: book, bank. This includes words that need a silent E: broke, take. See List #30.

Spelling Rule.  The C is used with multi-syllable words, especially words that end in IC and AC: panic, insomniac. Words ending in C sometimes add the K to keep the C hard when adding ing, ed, or L or AL because E and I are soft vowels: panic/panicking, picnic/picnicker. See List #31. BUT public/publicity.

Note that in the last few decades many exotic foreign words have been adopted into English. They often break the rules: Sputnik, kayak, batik. See List #32.

LIST #31.  Some words containing CK, K, and C

sick

sink

epic

sack

sank

antic

sock

soak

attic

suck

sunk

magic

magical

magicked

duck

punk

critic

critical

back

pink

mimic

mimicking

mimicked

neck

perk

civic

pick

park

panic

panicking

panicked

pack

bark

comic

comical

brick

bank

frolic

frolicking

frolicked

chick

blink

cubic

cubical

chuck

broke

picnic

picnicking

picnicked

kick

ink

cynic

cynical

lock

look

ethic

ethical

cocktail

hawk

mosaic

backpack

broke

logic

logical

wicked

book

garlic

garlicky

chicken

chink

lyric

lyrical

clock

cloak

public

gecko

monk

medic

medical

bucket

shrink

lunatic

cuckoo

hawk

music

musical

hockey

think

optic

optical

packet

rank

psychic

reckon

coke

topic

topical

attack

tank

toxic

barracks

rank

arctic

dock

duke

atomic

jockeys

joke

basic

speckled

speak

fabric

unlucky

like

apologetic

kickback

bake

agnostic

pockmark

poke

insomniac

reckless

dunk

fanatic

LIST #32.  Exotic words ending in K

schnook

aardvark

trek

kerplunk

geek

sputnik

kulak

punk

kapok

refusnik

anorak

beatnik

batik

chinook

mukluk

gemsbok

kayak

neatnik

9. CH and TCH.

Your students will grasp these rules very quickly.

Spelling Rule.  TCH is used after a short vowel. TCH is used mainly in single-syllable words, but when it is used in multi-syllable words, it will be part of a short vowel syllable: itch, featherstitching. See Lists #33 and 34.

Spelling Rule.  CH is used after a long vowel or a consonant: each. voucher. inch. See list #34.

But there are a number of anomalies. See List #35

List #33.  TCH with a short vowel

etch

hutch

itch

ketch

batch

latch

bitch

letch

botch

match

butch

notch

catch

patch

ditch

pitch

Dutch

watch

fetch

witch

fitch

blotch

hatch

crutch

hitch

hopscotch

List #34.  CH with a long vowel or a consonant

Long vowel

Vowel with consonant

ouch

inch

coach

bench

couch

arch

leach

church

mooch

torch

peach

ranch

pouch

punch

poach

porch

beach

birch

vouch

bunch

touch

filch

teach

finch

roach

pinch

reach

gulch

mooch

larch

leech

lunch

lurch

lynch

march

mulch

munch

parch

perch

List #35.  Anomalies using CH

sandwich

bachelor

ostrich

duchess

detach

rich

attach

which

such

much

10. J, GE, DGE.

This is another common marker that confuses students because these letter combinations all sound more or less alike.

Spelling Rule.  Except for a few exotic imports, J is never used at the end of an English word: hadj or hajj, raj. Note that hadj and hajj are Arabic words. Raj comes from Hindi.

Spelling Rule.  Use GE if the word has the long vowel sound or if there is a consonant following the vowel: huge, range. See List #36.

Spelling Rule.  Use DGE if the word is a short vowel word and there is no consonant following the vowel: judge, badge. See List #36.

These words will usually be single-syllable words, but there are also a few multisyllable words: knowledge. curmudgeon. See List #36

When adding a suffix that begins with a hard vowel (A, O, U) or a consonant, we would normally retain the final silent E. But when the DGE is used, we drop the E because the digraph DG has the J sound: judgment. See List #37.

LIST #36.  DGE and GE

Short vowel

Long vowel or consonant + G

edge

age

siege

badge

cage

singe

budge

gage

stage

cadge

huge

surge

dodge

page

tinge

fudge

rage

usage

hedge

sage

verge

judge

urge

allege

ledge

wage

avenge

lodge

barge

change

nudge

beige

charge

ridge

bilge

dotage

sedge

hinge

deluge

wedge

bulge

emerge

bridge

damage

engage

dredge

forge

flange

drudge

gauge

fringe

fridge

gouge

garage

grudge

large

sponge

pledge

mange

lounge

smudge

merge

manage

trudge

purge

refuge

hodgepodge

List #37.  Words with DG that drop the E

judge

judging

judgment

abridge

abridging

abridgment

acknowledge

acknowledging

acknowledgment

edge

edging

budge

budging

cadge

cadging

lodge

lodging

lodgment

nudge

nudging

Note: Nearly all short DGE words drop the E when adding ING.

Part Two: Working with Consonants

Your students will understand the sounds of the consonants quickly and should have little difficulty using them once they learn the various ways they can be used.

11. Changing Y to I.

The following rules are used when forming plurals and when adding suffixes.

Spelling Rule.  If there is a vowel before the Y, just add the S or the suffix: boy/boys, play/playful. See List #38.

Spelling Rule.  If there is a consonant before the Y, change the Y to I before adding the plural ES or the suffix: baby/babies, sky/skies, happy/happily. See List #38.

If the suffix begins with I, retain the Y to avoid a double I. baby/babyish, pity/pitying.

When adding OUS, most words change the Y to I: victory/victorious, luxury/luxurious. But there is a group that changes the Y to E for no discernable reason: courtesy/courteous, beauty/beauteous. See List #39.

A few words ending in AY change the Y to I after the vowel when forming the past tense: lay/laid, say/said. See List #40.

LIST #38.  Some words that change the Y to I

Vowel before the Y

Consonant before the Y

boy

boys

baby

babies

toy

toys

daddy

daddies

coy

coyly

hanky

hankies

joy

joyful

happy

happily

play

player

sloppy

sloppiest

tray

trays

cry

cried

slay

slaying

merry

merrily

clay

clayey

sky

skies

key

keyed

bury

buried

buy

buyer

cozy

coziest

LIST #39.  EOUS

pity

piteous

plenty

plenteous

beauty

beauteous

bounty

bounteous

miscellany

miscellaneous

courtesy

courteous

LIST #40.  AY/AID

lay

laid

pay

paid

say

said (but pronounced sed)

12. QU plus a vowel.

This is an easy one for your students. Since there are no exceptions to the following rule, any word we run across where the Q stands alone is a foreign word, probably translated from Arabic or Chinese, which have different alphabets and sounds.

Spelling Rule.  In English spelling, the Q may not stand alone. Excluding names, the Q must always be followed by a U and a vowel. There are no exceptions. See List #41.

The QU has the KW or CW sound, but no commonly used English word starts with either of these combinations. Your dictionary may show the word cwm, but this is a Welsh word pronounced koom and meaning a small valley or a large hollow on the side of a hill. It was brought into English as the suffix combe, which is used in place names like Buncombe.

LIST #41.  QU

aqua

aquarium

acquire

quad

quay

quid

quip

quit

quiz

equal

equipment

quack

quake

queen

queue

quick

quite

quiet

quaint

quartz

quench

quilt

quota

sequel

sequin

square

squeak

squirt

unique

acquire

banquet

baroque

bouquet

equator

equinox

liquidate

quarrel

quarter

Note: In a few English words, the QU is pronounced K: mosquito, picturesque, antique, physique.

13. AL, TIAL, CIAL.

Many nouns can be made into adjectives by the addition of the suffix AL: logic/logical, coast/coastal. But sometimes it is necessary to preserve or create a soft S sound before the AL. So we insert an I before the AL. part/partial, race/racial.

Spelling Rule.  Most words in this group end in TIAL. This includes all words that come from a root that ends in T: torrent/torrential, president/presidential. See List #42.

Spelling Rule.  Words that come from a root that ends in a soft C use the CIAL ending: office/official, social, crucial. See List #43.

Spelling Rule.  Most words that come from a root that ends in ENCE or ANCE use TIAL: essence/essential, confidence/confidential. See List #44.

Note: There are some anomalies: palace/palatial, space/spatial, axe/axial, equinox/equinoctial.

LIST #42.  TIAL

initial

partial

spatial

martial

impartial

celestial

existential

palatial

inertial

evidential

potential

essential

substantial

residential

presidential

influential

differential

confidential

circumstantial

prudential

torrential

exponential

LIST #43.  CIAL

facial

racial

social

crucial

glacial

fiducial

special

official

judicial

artificial

financial

commercial

beneficial

prejudicial

provincial

superficial

sacrificial

LIST #44.  TIAL in words ending in ENCE or ANCE

sequence

sequential

substance

substantial

confidence

confidential

circumstance

circumstantial

residence

residential

essence

essential

preference

preferential

credence

credential

evidence

evidential

prudence

prudential

deference

deferential

existence

existential

influence

influential

reverence

reverential

penitence

penitential

difference

differential

pestilence

pestilential

14. EFY. IFY.

This is a very easy one. The verb suffix FY means “to make or to become.” Solidify, for example, means “to make solid.”

Spelling Rule.  The ending IFY is used in almost all the words in this group. Examples: identify, amplify. See List #45.

Note that the ending EFY is used with only three words: putrefy, stupefy, tumefy. These three exceptions can be traced back to Latin roots. Fortunately, they are rarely used words.

LIST #45.  IFY

deify

unify

citify

codify

modify

notify

pacify

purify

ratify

uglify

beautify

beatify

certify

dignify

falsify

glorify

horrify

justify

magnify

mummify

mystify

signify

specify

zombify

Note: These words lead to other words:

putrefy

putrefaction

stupefy

stupefyingly

tumefy

tumefaction

15. SEED, CEDE, CEED, SEDE.

There are few words that use these endings, but they are confusing because they come to us from different Latin roots.

Spelling Rule.  The spelling SEED is only used for seed, including its compounds and derivatives: seedling, linseed. See List #46.

Spelling Rule.  Almost all the other words use CEDE. Example: concede. See List #46.

Two other possible endings are CEED and SEDE. Only four words use CEED: exceed. Only one word uses SEDE: supersede. See List #46.

When the long EE sound is changed to a short E sound, it will be spelled with only one E: excess, success, procession.

Note that emceed is a new word. It is the past tense of emcee, which is formed from the abbreviation MC, or Master of Ceremonies. This word first appeared during the 1930s.

LIST #46.  SEED, CEED, SEDE, CEDE

Seed

Cede

Ceed

Sede

seed

cede

succeed

supersede

seeding

recede

exceed

reseed

secede

proceed

seedling

accede

emceed

linseed

antecede

aniseed

intercede

precede

concede

16. ER, OR, AR, RE, OUR.

These five endings pose no great problem because Noah Webster eliminated both the British RE (theatre/theater) and OUR (labour/labor) from American spelling, which solved the whole problem.

Spelling Rule.  The ER ending is mainly used for occupations or for persons who carry out an action: runner, baker. See List #47.

Note that some exceptions end in OR: jailor, chancellor. See List #47.

There are also a few words that still end in RE so that they will conform to the soft and hard C and G rules: acre, ogre. See List #48.

Spelling Rule.  The OR ending is used with root words that end in T or S: actor, divisor. See List #49.

Some words end in OUR, but they have different sounds: detour, your, devour, our.

Spelling Rule.  Many of the words ending in AR are adjectives: circular, regular. See List #50.

Note that comparative adjectives usually end in ER: sad/sadder, quick/quicker.

There are many nouns that also end in AR: dollar, seminar. See List #51.

LIST #47.  ER and OR

ER

ER

OR

OR

butcher

writer

governor

donor

eater

teacher

juror

author

lawyer

jumper

emperor

jailor

baker

banker

sponsor

warrior

driver

maker

assessor

conqueror

drinker

porter

purveyor

tailor

absolver

abstainer

survivor

aggressor

auctioneer

biographer

councilor

mortgagor

bartender

blender

professor

ambassador

carpenter

carrier

supervisor

chancellor

climber

comforter

dweller

embalmer

fertilizer

fielder

grumbler

hacker

importer

informer

moocher

modernizer

adviser

conjurer

LIST #48.  RE

acre

ogre

lucre

mediocre

wiseacre

massacre

LIST #49.  TOR and SOR

TOR

TOR

SOR

SOR

actor

reactor

assessor

sensor

tutor

realtor

compressor

processor

bettor

senator

sponsor

aggressor

cantor

visitor

confessor

depressor

doctor

adjustor

oppressor

possessor

editor

agitator

precursor

professor

mentor

ancestor

successor

supervisor

orator

creditor

predecessor

repossessor

suitor

defector

divisor

microprocessor

victor

dictator

adaptor

director

auditor

educator

aviator

imitator

creator

impostor

curator

inflator

donator

inventor

ejector

mediator

erector

operator

janitor

sculptor

monitor

vibrator

LIST #50.  AR in adjectives

near

clear

solar

linear

circular

vulgar

angular

bipolar

insular

jocular

regular

secular

similar

tubular

cellular

binocular

columnar

globular

peculiar

molecular

Note: These words sound alike but have different meanings:

sailer - sailor

censer – censor

quitter – quittor

lumber – lumbar

hanger – hangar

For more words that sound alike, see the section on homophones and List #151.

LIST #51.  AR in nouns

jaguar

vinegar

altar

grammar

hangar

calendar

cougar

collar

caterpillar

scholar

dollar

grammar

vicar

pillar

caviar

nectar

mortar

cellar

cedar

guitar

17. RY, ARY, ERY, ORY, URY, IRY, RRY.

These seven endings can be quite confusing. Explain to your students that they are all variations of the RY suffix. Examples: hairy, solitary, watery, armory, treasury, wiry, cherry, cheery.

Spelling Rule.  Most of the words in this group use the root word followed by RY: silver/silvery, burglar/burglary. See List #52.

Note: The silent E is sometimes dropped: injure/injury, wire/wiry.

The vowel before the RY is sometimes dropped: anger/angry, hunger/hungry. See List #53.

Many of the words that end in ARY are adjectives: solitary, temporary. See List #54.

Spelling Rule.  Many of the words that end in ERY are nouns that describe a workplace: surgery, tannery. See List #55.

Root words ending in ER add a Y to become adjectives: water/watery, blubber/blubbery. See List #56.

Most words that end in ORY follow a T or an S: victory, advisory. See List #57.

There are only a few words that end in URY: luxury, perjury. See List #58.

There are only a few words that end in IRY: inquiry, airy. See List #59.

Not many words use the double R, which occurs after a short vowel: carry, sorry. See List #60.

LIST #52.  RY

airy

buttery

furry

hoary

teary

armory

blurry

eatery

fakery

finery

floury

flowery

poetry

savory

smeary

sugary

vapory

watery

winery

bigotry

archery

brewery

bribery

cannery

silvery

burglary

injury

hairy

belfry

bravery

starry

LIST #53.  Dropped vowels

anger/angry

hunger/hungry

psalter/psaltery

enter/entry

scare/scary

winter/wintry

chanter/chantry

launder/laundry

register/registry

ancestor/ancestry

minister/ministry

LIST #54.  ARY in adjectives

wary

scary

weary

bleary

dreary

sugary

dietary

primary

unitary

contrary

culinary

honorary

literary

ordinary

salutary

sanitary

solitary

tertiary

vinegary

ancillary

auxiliary

budgetary

customary

exemplary

fiduciary

imaginary

legendary

mandatary

mercenary

momentary

necessary

planetary

residuary

secondary

sedentary

temporary

tributary

visionary

voluntary

LIST #55.  Workplace words ending in ERY

surgery

tannery

bakery

eatery

winery

brewery

cannery

grocery

hosiery

joinery

piggery

pottery

slavery

tannery

colliery

creamery

delivery

hatchery

refinery

saddlery

chandlery

costumery

millinery

perfumery

LIST #56.  ERY in adjectives

watery

blubbery

every

fiery

cheery

fakery

finery

misery

papery

jittery

bravery

dithery

flowery

peppery

powdery

quavery

quivery

rubbery

shivery

showery

silvery

spidery

blistery

blustery

feathery

flickery

fluttery

glittery

leathery

savagery

shimmery

slippery

slithery

thundery

twittery

whispery

LIST #57.  ORY with T or S

With T

With T

With S

victory

accusatory

cursory

factory

statutory

illusory

history

signatory

elusory

oratory

repertory

sensory

rectory

refectory

advisory

auditory

purgatory

delusory

lavatory

predatory

accessory

adulatory

migratory

compulsory

crematory

mandatory

precursory

directory

promissory

dormitory

supervisory

LIST #58.  URY

fury

augury

perjury

mercury

luxury

jury

usury

floury

injury

treasury

century

bury

penury

Note that “bury” is pronounced berry.

Note also that “penury” is pronounced pen-yury.

LIST #59.  IRY

airy

inquiry

hairy

dairy

fairy

miry

wiry

LIST #60.  RRY

starry

carry

scurry

hurry

slurry

sherry

berry

furry

merry

blurry

curry

sorry

cherry

worry

quarry

marry

ferry

18. LY, LLY, ALLY.

The LY suffix is used to change an adjective into an adverb: quick/quickly, slow/slowly.

Spelling Rule.  In the majority of cases, we simply add LY to the root word: firm/firmly, astonishing/astonishingly. See List #61.

If the root ends in L, we retain the L when adding LY: final/finally, graceful/gracefully, cool/coolly. See List# 62.

Spelling Rule.  If the root word ends in AL, the suffix must be ALLY: final/finally, emotional/emotionally. See List #63.

Words ending in IC must use ALLY to retain the hard C: music/musically, dramatic/dramatically. See List #64.

Note that in most cases the silent E is retained: close/closely, wide/widely. See List #65.

Words ending in LE simply change the E to a Y: terrible/terribly, horrible/horribly. See List #66.

Spelling Rule.  Change the Y to I before adding the suffix: happy/happily, pretty/prettily. See List #67.

But there is a small group of single syllable words that do not change the Y to I: shy/shyly, sly/slyly. See List #68.

LIST #61.  Words that end in LY

firmly

astonishingly

shortly

lately

quickly

slowly

loudly

silently

LIST #62.  LL retaining the second L

lawfully

gracefully

evilly

foully

awfully

civilly

woefully

irefully

artfully

sinfully

joyfully

usefully

coolly

woefully

fitfully

bashfully

cruelly

basically

manfully

dutifully

tinselly

fretfully

LIST #63.  Words that end in ALLY

finally

really

royally

casually

loyally

totally

orally

locally

annually

dismally

brutally

genially

equally

legally

frugally

fatally

actually

globally

morally

usually

dually

regally

ritually

specially

LIST #64.  C before the suffix

focally

locally

rascally

basically

magically

medically

stoically

topically

clinically

critically

ironically

mythically

vocally

fiscally

ethically

publicly

comically

cynically

logically

musically

optically

radically

typically

chemically

cosmically

cyclically

heroically

myopically

physically

vertically

statistically

LIST #65.  Words that end in ELY

barely

basely

finely

gamely

lamely

lately

lonely

lovely

nicely

palely

rudely

safely

comely

cutely

wisely

acutely

homely

hugely

likely

lively

insanely

merely

namely

ornately

purely

rarely

politely

immensely

sorely

widely

LIST #66.  Words that end in BLY

terribly

horribly

doubly

feebly

rumbly

wobbly

curably

lovably

legibly

pliably

adorably

bearably

ably

nobly

bubbly

pebbly

humbly

nimbly

affably

amiably

movably

notably

dribbly

credibly

visibly

trembly

volubly

deniably

flexibly

LIST #67.  Words that end in ILY

happily

prettily

drily

gaily

icily

bodily

cagily

cozily

angrily

crazily

gaudily

giddily

juicily

luckily

daily

hazily

busily

cozily

easily

gamily

dizzily

fancily

huskily

jollily

merrily

nastily

noisily

LIST #68.  Words that keep the Y before LY

coyly

dryly

spryly

shyly

slyly

wryly

gayly

19. ABLE, IBLE.

The suffix IBLE is a variant of ABLE. These suffixes are used to create adjectives: depend/dependable, sense/sensible.

Spelling Rule.  Add ABLE to the whole root word: eat/eatable, wash/washable. See List #69.

Spelling Rule.  Words that end in S or T will usually use IBLE: reverse/reversible, convert/convertible. Note that words ending in a soft C or soft G will usually use IBLE: forcible, tangible. See List #70.

Spelling Rule.  Words ending in a silent E usually drop the silent E, especially when it follows a soft C or soft G: reduce/reducible, submerge/submergible. See List #70.

Spelling Rule.  If the root ends in a soft C or soft G, it must retain the silent E if the suffix is ABLE: notice/noticeable, knowledge/knowledgeable. See List #71.

Spelling Rule.  If the root word ends with Y, we must change the Y to I and use ABLE: rely/reliable, envy/enviable. See List #72.

Spelling Rule.  If the root word ends in a hard C or hard G, it must use ABLE: implacable, navigable. See List #73.

If the root word can accept the suffix ATE or ATION, we must use ABLE: tolerate/toleration/tolerable, tax/taxation/taxable. See List # 74.

If the root word can accept the suffix ION but not ATION, we must use IBLE: collect/collection/collectible. See List #74.

LIST #69.  ABLE

doable

actable

drinkable

eatable

mixable

ownable

seeable

sewable

arguable

bankable

farmable

feedable

addable

buyable

dryable

fixable

flyable

payable

rowable

bearable

sowable

skiable

taxable

savable

chewable

cashable

foldable

LIST #70.  IBLE with S, T, G, or C

corruptible

convertible

legible

invincible

fusible

ignitible

eligible

fencible

visible

comestible

fungible

forcible

feasible

compatible

dirigible

producible

possible

digestible

frangible

reducible

sensible

deductible

tangible

crucible

reversible

ingestible

illegible

inducible

invisible

resistible

incorrigible

irascible

accessible

revertible

negligible

immersible

combustible

submergible

impossible

exhaustible

intelligible

implausible

suggestible

comprehensible

LIST #71.  ABLE words that retain the E

forgeable

stageable

chargeable

manageable

unbudgeable

exchangeable

camouflageable

discourageable

adduceable

balanceable

displaceable

serviceable

embraceable

enforceable

influenceable

irreplaceable

pierceable

placeable

renounceable

replaceable

serviceable

sliceable

bridgeable

changeable

enlargeable

salvageable

marriageable

rechargeable

interchangeable

knowledgeable

danceable

defaceable

divorceable

effaceable

enticeable

forceable

noticeable

peaceable

pronounceable

reinforceable

retraceable

unpronounceable

traceable

LIST #72.  Words that change the Y to I and ABLE

deniable

dutiable

reliable

variable

notifiable

notifiable

verifiable

certifiable

rectifiable

satisfiable

enviable

pitiable

unifiable

modifiable

pacifiable

remediable

falsifiable

qualifiable

specifiable

vitrifiable

LIST #73.  Hard C or hard G plus ABLE

amicable

navigable

revocable

huggable

applicable

fatigable

extricable

litigable

irredicable

delegable

evocable

propagable

medicable

singable

eradicable

hangable

communicable

indefatigable

educable

allocable

despicable

replicable

practicable

impeccable

implacable

explicable

incommunicable

LIST #74.  TION or SION with ABLE or IBLE

citation–citable

admission-admissible

notation–notable

fusion-fusible

adoration–adorable

evasion-evadible

education–educable

deduction-deductible

fixation–fixable

reduction-reducible

salvation–salvable

vision-visible

adoration–adorable

tension-tensible

mutation-mutable

division-divisible

taxation–taxable

infusion-infusible

damnation–damnable

accession-accessible

gradation–gradable

erosion-erodible

isolation– isolable

coercion-coercible

ignition-ignitable

eruption-eruptible

operation-operable

omission-omissible

expiation/expiable

20. TION, SION, SSION, TIAN, CIAN, CION, SHION, XION, SIAN, CEAN.

These suffixes—all pronounced shun— are usually used to turn a verb into a noun. The syllable can be spelled in ten different ways, but, interestingly, there is no commonly used word, apart from the word shun itself, that uses SHUN as an ending.

Spelling Rule.  The majority of words in this group use the TION ending: attention, fraction. See List #75.

Spelling Rule.  The suffix SION is a variation of TION and is usually used after roots ending in D. and S with a silent E: pretend/pretension, averse/aversion. See List #76.

Words ending in double S will be spelled SSION: confess/confession, express/expression. See List #76.

Words ending in MIT will also use the double S: admit/admission, permit/permission. See List #77.

Words ending in CEDE and CEED will also use the double S: secede/secession, proceed/procession

Spelling Rule.  The CIAN ending is almost always used to indicate a trade, skill, or profession: magician, technician, beautician.

The TIAN ending is similar to CIAN, but usually indicates a place of origin or a belief: Martian, Dalmatian, Christian. See List #78.

Fewer than half a dozen words use XION: crucifixion, transfixion.

Three other rare spellings are ocean, cetacean, cushion, fashion, suspicion, coercion. See List #79.

LIST #75.  TION

action

auction

potion

lotion

option

diction

duration

reflection

notation

ruination

function

gyration

ovation

gyration

location

junction

jubilation

ovulation

hibernation

motion

mention

nation

ignition

bastion

emotion

portion

quotation

inaction

edition

fiction

selection

solution

quotation

taxation

caption

fraction

traction

vocation

LIST #76.  D, S, SS

D

S

S

S

SS

elide

elision

erase

confession

elude

elusion

tense

tension

accession

erode

erosion

effuse

effusion

regression

evade

evasion

averse

aversion

obsession

explode

explosion

submerse

submersion

recession

persuade

persuasion

precise

precision

remission

abrade

abrasion

suffuse

suffusion

concussion

allude

allusion

converse

conversion

digression

decide

decision

convulse

convulsion

discussion

delude

delusion

disperse

dispersion

impression

deride

derision

televise

television

expression

divide

division

transfuse

transfusion

oppression

invade

invasion

circumcise

circumcision

possession

ascend

ascension

profession

corrode

corrosion

regression

pretend

pretension

LIST #77.  MISS

submit — submission

emit — emission

transmit — transmission

omit — omission

manumit — manumission

admit — admission

remit — remission

permit — permission

commit — commission

LIST #78.  CIAN, TIAN

magician

musician

Venetian

logician

optician

Egyptian

physician

tactician

titian

politician

technician

tertian

cosmetician

electrician

Martian

obstetrician

pediatrician

gentian

theoretician

arithmetician

fustian

pediatrician

dietician

Christian

mortician

beautician

Dalmatian

academician

logistician

Lilliputian

statistician

diagnostician

LIST #79.  Other spellings

complexion

ocean

effluxion

cetacean

fluxion

crustacean

crucifixion

panacean

transfixion

cushion

fashion

scion

coercion

suspicion

21. LE, EL, AL, IL, OL, UL, YL.

When explaining these ending to your students, point out the difference between ANGEL and ANGLE. (They should not be eating angle-hair pasta!)

Spelling Rule.  If the main part of the word ends in a soft C or a soft G, it cannot be followed by LE or AL. It must use EL: cancel, angel. See List #80.

Spelling Rule.  If the main part of the word ends in a hard C or a hard G, it cannot be spelled EL. It must use either LE or AL: miracle, bugle, frugal. See Lists #81, 82, and 83.

Spelling Rule.  The majority of words ending in AL are adjectives: colossal, vertical. Note that words ending in a silent E will loose the E before AL: tide/tidal, brute/brutal. See Lists #83, 84, and 85.

Spelling Rule.  Most words ending in CLE or CKLE are nouns: vehicle, buckle. See Lists #86 and 87.

Note that the following consonants are usually followed by LE: B, D, F, G, P, Z. Examples are table, paddle, shuffle, giggle, apple, puzzle.

The following consonants are never followed by LE: M, N, R, V, W: normal, enamel, signal, tunnel, choral, barrel, arrival, shovel, renewal, towel.

The YL is found mainly on scientific words: ethyl, pterodactyl. See List #88.

Very few words end in UL (if we exclude diphthongs and words ending in FUL): consul. See List #88

If we exclude diphthongs, fewer than two dozen words end in IL: anvil, pupil. See List #88.

Many of the words that end in OL are chemical terms: ethanol, petrol. See List #88.

LIST # 80.  Soft C and soft G ending with EL

cancel

angel

parcel

cudgel

chancel

ensorcel

List #81.  Hard C ending with LE

uncle

canticle

muscle

cycle

oracle

tabernacle

carbuncle

article

cuticle

tentacle

chronicle

debacle

recycle

obstacle

particle

treacle

clavicle

barnacle

binnacle

follicle

pinnacle

vehicle

corpuscle

popsicle

spectacle

monocle

pentacle

receptacle

circle

manacle

miracle

icicle

List #82.  Hard G ending with LE

angle

bangle

bungle

burgle

tangle

finagle

gurgle

haggle

juggle

jungle

ogle

quadrangle

beagle

boggle

dangle

draggle

gaggle

gargle

mingle

jingle

mangle

mingle

rectangle

shingle

bugle

eagle

goggle

jangle

octangle

wriggle

List # 83.  Hard C ending with AL

decal

focal

rascal

bifocal

ethical

logical

musical

optical

anatomical

biblical

ironical

mythical

tactical

tropical

legal

regal

conjugal

madrigal

local

vocal

comical

cubical

lyrical

magical

radical

topical

chemical

clinical

physical

poetical

vertical

classical

List #84.  Hard G ending with AL

frugal

fungal

prodigal

centrifugal

cynical

fiscal

medical

typical

cyclical

surgical

graphical

paralegal

regal

madrigal

legal

conjugal

LIST #85.  AL words that drop the silent E

tidal

brutal

ducal

fatal

usual

anodal

urinal

primal

accusal

disposal

algal

final

tonal

tubal

bridal

clonal

spinal

spiral

exposal

figural

basal

modal

clonal

global

tribal

perusal

LIST #86.  Words ending with CLE

cycle

uncle

muscle

oracle

cuticle

pentacle

chicle

circle

article

bicycle

tricycle

chronical

icicle

coracle

chronicle

receptacle

List 87.  Words ending with CKLE

shackle

buckle

knuckle

truckle

crackle

chuckle

pickle

nickel

speckle

trickle

spackle

prickle

tickle

suckle

heckle

fickle

tackle

freckle

sickle

cockle

LIST #88.  Words ending with YL, UL, IL, OL

YL

UL

IL

OL

alkyl

karakul

anvil

petrol

ethyl

annul

civil

argol

hexyl

mogul

devil

vitriol

vinyl

bulbul

evil

thiazol

butyl

consul

fossil

retinol

isopropyl

lentil

menthol

pterodactyl

nostril

naphthol

pencil

alcohol

peril

ethanol

basil

cholesterol

gerbil

April

vigil

tranquil

utensil

stencil

pupil

Brazil

22. IZE, ISE, YZE.

Explain to your students that while these endings are suffixes, not all words with these endings have suffixes. The difference is where the speaker puts the accent when saying the words. Good pronunciation is a great help here.

Spelling Rule If the ending is an unaccented final syllable, that syllable will probably be a suffix and will be spelled IZE: criticize, specialize. See List #89.

Note that YZE is mainly restricted to scientific words: hydrolyze analyze. See List #90.

Spelling Rule If the final syllable is accented, that word is probably a whole word and will be spelled ISE: revise, surprise. See List #91.

But there are many exceptions to the rule. Words that end in ISE mainly come from three groups:

a. Words that end in WISE: unwise, otherwise.

b. Words that end in VISE or CISE: advise, excise.

c. Words that end in RISE or MISE: comprise, surmise.

LIST #89.  IZE

iodize

ionize

agonize

anodize

atomize

ebonize

itemize

odorize

realize

activize

botanize

canonize

demonize

deputize

equalize

eulogize

humanize

idealize

maximize

memorize

moralize

motorize

sanitize

satirize

elegize

idolize

oxidize

stylize

alkalize

amortize

civilize

colonize

digitize

energize

vaporize

finalize

immunize

legalize

minimize

mobilize

organize

polarize

criticize

LIST #90.  YZE

analyze

catalyze

electrolyze

paralyze

breathalyze

dialyze

hydrolyze

LIST # 91.  ISE

unwise

advise

endwise

devise

edgewise

revise

likewise

televise

sidewise

supervise

clockwise

improvise

otherwise

surprise

excise

arise

incise

demise

exercise

surmise

exorcise

apprise

reprise

crosswise

sunrise

comprise

lengthwise

streetwise

Note: Anomalies include assize, capsize, prize, seize, baize, concise, promise, precise, premise.

23. ICAL, ACLE, ICLE.

The difference between ACLE and ICLE depends on the origin of the word, usually a Latin root word. There is no rule that divides words with these endings into two groups, so your students will just have to memorize them.

Spelling Rule.  Words ending in ICAL are almost always adjectives: musical, clinical. See List #92.

Spelling Rule.  Words ending in ACLE and ICLE are almost always nouns: obstacle, cubicle. See List #93.

No commonly used English word ends in CUL, and only a tiny handful end in COL, CIL, or CEL: protocol, pencil, cancel. See List #94.

LIST # 92.  ICAL adjectives

musical

clinical

comical

logical

conical

cubical

cynical

ethical

lyrical

magical

medical

musical

optical

radical

stoical

topical

typical

chemical

biblical

clerical

critical

cyclical

inimical

mystical

mythical

nautical

theoretical

surgical

tactical

tropical

vertical

LIST #93.  ACLE and ICLE nouns

oracle

chicle

coracle

icicle

barnacle

article

binnacle

cubicle

debacle

cuticle

manacle

radicle

miracle

vehicle

obstacle

canticle

pentacle

clavicle

pinnacle

follicle

receptacle

particle

spectacle

popsicle

tabernacle

chronicle

tentacle

testicle

treacle

ventricle

LIST #94.  COL, CIL, CEL

COL

CIL

CEL

col

pencil

parcel

glycol

stencil

cancel

caracol

council

carcel

protocol

codicil

marcel

excel

chancel

tercel

24. ANT, ENT, ANCE, ENCE, ENSE.

Hundreds of words end in ENT or ANT. Generally speaking, the majority of the words that end in ENT tend to be adjectives, whereas a large number of words that end in ANT tend to be nouns. But this is by no means a general rule.

Spelling Rule.  After a hard C or a hard G, the suffix will be ANT: applicant. fumigant. See List #95.

Spelling Rule.  After a soft C or a soft G, the suffix will be ENT: magnificent, urgent. See List #96.

Generally, the suffix ANT indicates a person or thing that does something and will probably be a noun: contestant, occupant. But there are numerous exceptions. These two are adjectives: significant, resistant. See List #97.

Generally, the suffix ENT indicates a quality or characteristic. It will probably be an adjective: excellent, efficient. But there are numerous exceptions: shipment, tenement. See List #98.

Note that not every word that ends in ENT or ANT has a suffix: cement, current, plant, currant.

Many words end in ENSE. They tend to be a mixture of nouns and adjectives: license, intense. See List #99.

Many words end in ENCE. They tend to be nouns: absence, difference. See List #99.

LIST #95.  CANT, GANT

CANT

GANT

cant

significant

elegant

scant

communicant

arrogant

decant

supplicant

fumigant

recant

mendicant

litigant

vacant

lubricant

termagant

intoxicant

desiccant

congregant

applicant

extravagant

One anomaly is sergeant.

LIST #96.  CENT, GENT

recent

adolescent

agent

accent

complacent

urgent

ascent

quiescent

regent

descent

subjacent

pungent

decent

fluorescent

tangent

docent

magnificent

indigent

decent

obsolescent

diligent

percent

translucent

insurgent

crescent

luminescent

divergent

indecent

acquiescent

detergent

innocent

munificent

intelligent

LIST #97.  ANT words, mostly nouns

occupant

claimant

significant

resistant

contestant

aspirant

chant

implant

errant

debutant

extant

oxidant

mutant

emigrant

infant

odorant

pedant

immigrant

pliant

pageant

tenant

habitant

vacant

peasant

truant

merchant

adamant

servant

coolant

applicant

buoyant

vagrant

defiant

assailant

currant

warrant

migrant

assistant

elegant

tolerant

LIST #98.  ENT words, mostly adjectives

different

present

innocent

prominent

excellent

efficient

eloquent

insolent

recent

lenient

prudent

intelligent

eminent

resident

evident

confident

silent

consistent

sufficient

continent

patient

imminent

competent

tenement

transient

permanent

persistent

incident

shipment

accident

accent

accomplishment

achievement

adjacent

agreement

advertisement

LIST #99.  ENSE, ENCE words, mostly nouns

sense

fence

dense

hence

tense

whence

offense

silence

intense

absence

license

science

defense

reference

incense

essence

expense

existence

immense

patience

nonsense

opulence

dispense

audience

pretense

commence

condense

prudence

suspense

sentence

recompense

insolence

commonsense

impudence

Part Three: Working with Vowels

Because of the wide variety of spellings for similar sounds, vowels are the main problem for anyone learning how to spell English words. This is especially true when the same vowels arranged in the same order can produce different sounds, as in you, though, bough, and cough. There should be no great problem with the consonants, but the English vowel sounds and diphthongs can be a major stumbling block for any student because all the vowels can have more than one sound.

The logical way to tackle this problem is to concentrate on the sounds of the vowels and diphthongs. The students should study groups of words that sound alike and are spelled alike. (word families) This is the most efficient way to acquire long-term memory.

Try this sentence on your students. It is a twenty word sentence with eleven A sounds and six different spellings.

They say that the vain and lazy Dane was slain when it rained for eight days straight during his reign.

Any student who can correctly spell every word in this sentence clearly understands how varied English spelling is.

THE VARIOUS SOUNDS OF A.

The letter A has four basic sounds (the short sound and the A+E, AI, AR sounds), but these sounds can be spelled in well over a dozen different ways, as explained below.

25. The short A and A + silent E.

The short A is the most common A in English. It is usually the first vowel taught to beginning students with sentences such as The cat sat on the mat. See List #100.

Combining the short A with the silent E, produces a long vowel sound and therefore creates a new word. For example, pan (short A) becomes pane (long A). See List #101.

LIST #100.  Short A

and

angle

after

path

thank

sank

ant

candle

rather

daft

rattle

package

bat

handle

advance

craft

ghastly

mask

bag

tangle

draft

avalanche

than

wax

cat

dangle

graft

banana

raffle

contrast

can

scramble

raft

bastard

raspberry

slam

crab

strangle

shaft

drama

chat

rabbit

camp

apple

branch

example

baffle

mast

damp

grapple

chant

flabbergast

brass

dazzle

drank

cattle

piano

panorama

catch

van

fat

axle

plant

rascal

dabble

stamp

flag

mangle

slant

strata

glass

paddle

flat

ramble

bath

paddle

match

past

glad

trample

ask

saddle

backtrack

trap

grand

black

straddle

bask

class

straggle

hand

sack

blast

ham

cash

tax

jack

cask

jam

lack

cashbox

saddle

cast

land

pack

castleman

grass

task

smack

clasp

pan

smack

flash

vast

fast

plan

snack

flask

flashing

rat

track

gasp

mass

smash

rang

tracker

grasp

smashed

pass

sad

tracking

last

disaster

tackle

The short A is not a big problem and has only a few oddities:

1. Giraffe has the short A but an unnecessary E at the end.

2. Avalanche also has an unnecessary E at the end.

3. Lather has the short A, but father has the AH sound.

4. Armada has two A’s that have the AH sound. The third A is short.

5. Staff and graph both have the short A sound.

6. Cast and caste (both pronounced kast) both have the short A sound.

7. Salmon has the short A sound and the L is silent.

8. Salami has two A sounds.

LIST #101.  A + silent E

fad/fade

wag/wage

cradle

promenade

gave

ladle

cap/cape

tap/tape

stable

vase

grade

table

dam/dame

stag/stage

fable

ape

hate

gable

at/ate

slat/slate

able

bale

lake

cable

fat/fate

sham/shame

fate

baby

lane

wave

gal/gale

scrap/scrape

fame

bake

made

wake

gap/gape

rat/rate

fake

blade

male

trade

glad/glade

rag/rage

face

blame

name

tame

hat/hate

plan/plane

date

brake

page

take

lath/lathe

pan/pane

crave

brave

place

stale

mad/made

pal/pale

crater

cage

quake

spade

man/mane

nap/nape

crate

cake

race

snake

mat/mate

cave

came

safe

same

Oddity: Have. The silent E is not needed.

26. AI, AY, EI.

This long A sound can be spelled in five ways. Here are the three most common.

a. The majority of words containing the AY sound use the A plus the silent E: made, rate.

b. The second most common group uses the AI: maid, rain.

c. The third common group uses AY: may, ray.

Spelling Rule.  The AI spelling is used in the middle of a word. The AI must be followed by at least one consonant, as in paid and raid. There are very few anomalies. See List #102.

Spelling Rule.  The AY spelling is used at the end of a word: delay, replay. See List #103.

There are very few words that start with AI or AY. aid, aide, ailing, aim, aye, and the Persian word ayatollah.

When adding suffixes, the Y is not usually changed to I, except for three words: say/said (BUT remember that “said” is pronounced sed), pay/paid, lay/laid. See List #103.

Another, less common, way to create the AY sound is by using EI: eight, vein. See List #104.

There are also a few words that use EY, or the ET for the AY sound at the end of a word: fey, bouquet. See List #105.

LIST #102.  AI

paid

raid

aim

air

said

bait

jail

braid

fair

plait

brain

gain

grain

lair

kaiser

afraid

faint

chains

pair

mosaic

dainty

daisies

failed

cairn

archaic

maiden

obtain

praise

chair

liaison

retail

vainly

assail

dairy

samurai

bailiff

braised

claimed

fairy

villain

contain

derail

exclaim

flair

failure

gaining

mailbox

stair

nailing

ordain

painful

affair

plainly

praised

prepaid

impair

ptomaine

refrain

rainbow

affair

LIST #103.  AY

delay

replay

away

clay

gray

sway

slay

today

allay

array

decay

delay

essay

relay

spray

today

subway

waylay

midday

dismay

betray

affray

hooray

sashay

astray

defray

mislay

parlay

giveaway

disarray

soothsay

takeaway

hideaway

mainstay

stairway

horseplay

quay (BUT pronounced kee)

LIST #104.  EI

rein

vein

veil

skein

freight

reign

deign

feign

neigh

eight

weigh

weight

neighbor

sheik

beige

sleigh

feign

LIST #105.  EY, ET at the end of a word

fey

ballet

obey

beret

prey

bidet

they

buffet

survey

cabaret

purvey

bouquet

convey

cabriolet

whey

cachet

trey

chalet

crochet

croquet

duvet

parquet

27. AU, AW, OU, ALL.

The AWE sound can be spelled in a number of ways.

Spelling Rule.  The AU spelling will be found in the middle or at the beginning of a word: cause, audience. See List #106.

The AU spelling only appears at the end of a few words that are mainly of French origin: plateau, bureau, trousseau.

Spelling Rule.  The AW spelling will be found at the end of a word or syllable: straw, outlaw. See List #107.

The AW sometimes appears before a final N or L: lawn, drawl. See List #107.

Very few words begin with the digraph AW: awkward, awful.

There are also two small groups of words that produce the AW sound using the spellings AUGH (daughter) and OUGH (fought). See List #108.

There is a small group of words that use the double L after the A: fall, call. See List #109.

LIST # 106.  AU

auditor

sauce

haul

audible

maul

daub

augment

taut

fraud

auspice

cause

pause

author

fault

vault

audio

daunt

gaunt

auger

haunt

jaunt

auto

launch

paunch

auburn

staunch

faucet

august

faun

gaudy

aurora

caulk

jaunt

autocracy

mauve

sauna

autograph

bauble

caucus

authority

audience

aura

auction

LIST #107.  AW, often followed by L or N.

jaw

trawl

lawn

paw

shawl

dawn

law

drawl

fawn

haw

awl

pawn

raw

crawl

sawn

saw

yawl

spawn

yaw

prawn

bylaw

straw

drawn

jigsaw

squaw

brawn

outlaw

flaw

yawn

thaw

awe

gnaw

awful

claw

awning

draw

awkward

macaw

awesome

LIST #108.  AUGH, OUGH

aught

ought

caught

fought

daughter

bought

distraught

thought

fraught

brought

haughty

sought

taught

wrought

naught

besought

naughty

slaughter

LIST #109.  A before LL

all

stall

fall

befall

call

squall

tall

install

ball

appall

gall

recall

hall

thrall

wall

nightfall

small

overall

28. AR.

The AR can be used anywhere in a word and is usually spelled with the letters AR: artist, barn, guitar. See List #110.

The AR spelling usually gives us the AH sound: arm, charm. BUT the AH sound is sometimes spelled with the letter L, which is silent: palm, calm. See List #110.

In most of the southeastern part of England, it is fashionable to pronounce many words with the AH we hear in car and star, (pahssport, bahth, Irahn). This way of speaking was originated by the upper class and the landed gentry during the 19th century as a way of distinguishing themselves from the lower classes. It was quickly copied by the middle class and soon became the accepted way to speak in certain parts of England and on the BBC. Throughout the rest of England, in North America, and in much of the English-speaking world, the spelling rule is followed: when the A is in a closed syllable, it is short, as in cat and hat. When the vowel is followed by a double consonant, it has to be a short vowel. The only time the A has the AH sound is when it is followed by R, or sometimes the L. There are very few exceptions.

LIST #110.  AR and AL

artist

barn

guitar

calm

arm

charm

ajar

balm

army

barge

char

palm

argue

cards

spar

embalm

armor

alarm

scar

napalm

arcade

darning

star

psalm

ardent

farmer

tsar

qualm

arsonist

apartment

bazaar

artist

dartboard

cigar

archer

barking

radar

armada

barley

caviar

armadillo

carpet

29. AIR, ARE, EAR, ERE, ERR, EIR.

The AIR sound can be spelled in six ways.

The largest group of words use AIR to get the AIR sound: airplane, affair. See List #111.

A similar group of words use ARE: care, stare. See List #112.

A few words use EAR: bear, pear. See List #113.

Some words use ERE: there, where. See List #113.

And two words use EIR: heir, their.

LIST #111.  AIR

airplane

dairy

affair

airport

fair

hair

pair

unfair

cairn

chair

dairy

impaired

airier

fairest

mohair

chairman

repair

unfair

airfare

despair

prairie

corsair

despair

solitaire

upstairs

airborne

éclair

LIST #112.  ARE

care

aware

stare

beware

glare

cookware

fare

compare

bare

daycare

dare

declare

hare

ensnare

mare

fanfare

pare

flare

rare

hardware

share

nightmare

wares

prepare

spare

square

LIST #113.  EAR, ERE

bear

there

pear

derriere

tear

where

wear

somewhere

bearer

elsewhere

forbear

anywhere

bearable

nowhere

swimwear

ere

unbearable

30. AL, ALL.

When the A is followed by a single or double L, there are two possible sounds and four spellings.

1. The regular short A sound with one L: alphabetical, California.

2. The regular short A sound with two L’s: rally, ballad.

3. The AUL sound with one L: also, walk.

4. The AUL sound with two L’s: ball,. fall. See List #114.

LIST #114.  ALL (double L)

allow

ballot

call

ally

mallet

gall

allay

gallop

stall

alley

pallet

appall

alloy

tallow

squall

dally

shallow

all

shall

valley

wall

rally

allege

hall

tally

sallow

tall

ballet

pall

galley

fall

ballad

ball

hallow

small

allied

befall

pallid

recall

mall

THE VARIOUS SOUNDS OF E.

E is the most often used letter in the English language and can produce a wide variety of sounds and spellings.

The short E should be no problem for your students. Examples: get, set. ten, men.

31. IE, EI.

Words using IE and EI should not be a problem if the student is taught to listen to the sounds of the words. You should teach your students this old rhyme:

I before E.

Except after C.

Or when sounding like AY in neighbor and weigh.

Or when sounding like EYE in seismic and height.

Spelling Rule.  Use I before E if the word has the long E sound. But it must be a true diphthong: niece, believe. See List #115.

There are a few anomalies like friend and sieve.

Spelling Rule.  Except after C: ceiling, deceive. But this does not include plurals or comparatives.

There are a few anomalies: conscience, efficient.

Spelling Rule.  Or when sounding like AY. There are a number of words that are spelled with EI but sound like AY: eight, freight. See List #116.

Spelling Rule.  Or when sounding like EYE. Many of these words have been borrowed from the German: Fahrenheit, poltergeist. See List #117.

There are a number of anomalies: sovereign, counterfeit.

LIST #115.  The EE sound spelled IE or EI.

IE

IE

IE

EI

field

pier

grief

ceiling

shield

cashier

fief

receipt

wield

siege

pierce

receive

believe

thief

achieve

deceit

chief

yield

belief

deceive

mischief

tier

priest

conceit

hygiene

bier

chief

perceive

piece

diesel

shriek

conceive

niece

reprieve

seize

relief

relieved

brief

.

LIST #116.  The AY sound spelled EI

eight

veil

freight

surveillance

deign

heinous

weigh

eighty

beige

eighteen

neighbor

inveigh

vein

inveigle

feign

lei

weight

seine

neigh

sheik

reign

chow mein

reins

feint

reindeer

obeisance

skein

dreidel

sleigh

geisha

LIST #117.  EI pronounced like the long I

height

heist

Rottweiler

seismic

apartheid

feisty

eidetic

gneiss

stein

poltergeist

Einsteinium

kaleidoscope

Fahrenheit

sleight

edelweiss

Pleistocene

zeitgeist

Geiger counter

sleight

gesundheit

32. EA, EE.

It is fascinating to see just how many ways there are to produce the long E sound in English spelling. A teacher could spend an entire class period just counting the ways.

Spelling Rule.  The EA and the EE are mostly used in the middle of a word: beat, beet. See List #118.

Not many words start with EA: eat, each. Nor do many words end with EA: tea, sea. See List #119.

Very few words begin with EE: eel, eerie.

Many words end with EE: knee, pedigree. See List #120.

In a number of words, the long E sound is produced by a single E: zero, region.

Some words (most from the French) are spelled EE but pronounced with the long A: toupee. See List #121.

Sometimes the long E is produced by a single E supported by the silent E at the end of the word: extreme, complete.

LIST #118.  EE, EA

EE

EA

beet

beat

agreement

appeal

beehive

beady

cheeky

cheating

discreet

displease

feeble

features

geese

greasy

heel

healing

jeering

jeans

kneeling

kneading

leeway

leader

meetinghouse

mealtime

needlework

neatness

overseer

upstream

peeling

peaceful

queen

queasy

refreeze

reseal

screech

scream

tweeting

tweaking

unfeeling

wheat

veneer

yeast

wheedling

zookeeper

LIST #119.  Words that start or end with EA

eat

pea

earn

area

each

lea

early

idea

ears

sea

earth

urea

ease

tea

earnest

apnea

east

flea

earl

azalea

easy

plea

cornea

eaves

guinea

nausea

eager

panacea

eagle

diarrhea

easel

miscellanea

Easter

bougainvillea

LIST #120.  Words that end with EE

bee

fee

see

tee

flee

free

glee

knee

thee

tree

agree

payee

three

apogee

coffee

decree

degree

goatee

pedigree

settee

amputee

evacuee

foresee

Frisbee

jubilee

nominee

oversee

referee

chimpanzee

List #121.  Words from the French ending in EE

melee

puree

soiree

toupee

33. Y, EY, I, EE, IE as word endings.

All these have the same basic EE sound

Spelling Rule.  The EE ending is usually produced by Y: the final syllable of baby, easy.

Almost any word can be made into an adjective by adding the Y: blood/bloody, careful/carefully.

Some words use EY. They will usually have the EE sound (money) but also sometimes the AY sound (prey).See List #122.

Some words end in I. These are often Italian words like salami and ravioli. But also: tsunami, bikini. See List #123.

Most of the EE words describe a person or position: referee, trainee. And some words end in IE: goalie, zombie. See List #124.

LIST #122.  Two basic sounds of EY

key

trolley

they

abbey

paisley

fey

alley

odyssey

obey

boney

journey

prey

cagey

chimney

convey

dopey

valley

bey

honey

turkey

purvey

money

pulley

disobey

nosey

mousey

survey

barley

monkey

donkey

medley

galley

lackey

hockey

kidney

jersey

jockey

LIST #123.  Two sounds of I

ski

psi

yeti

rabbi

mini

radii

taxi

alkali

semi

alumni

deli

cacti

khaki

fungi

okapi

bikini

salami

safari

macaroni

pastrami

spaghetti

confetti

ravioli

chili

LIST #124.  EE, IE referring to a person

emcee

trustee

goalie

payee

absentee

zombie

adoptee

employee

newbie

advisee

enrollee

bookie

amputee

licensee

cabbie

awardee

appointee

devotee

consignee

draftee

franchisee

escapee

retiree

evacuee

refugee

evictee

referee

grantee

invitee

honoree

trainee

THE VARIOUS SOUNDS OF I

The letter I has a number of sounds and there are many ways to spell those sounds. Students should have no trouble with the short I, as a large number of words use it: in, it, tin, bin. The short I is usually in a closed syllable: dig, spring.

34. LONG I.

There is a small group of words that have the long I sound. In most of these words the I is followed by N or L.: wild, mind. See List #125.

LIST #125.   The long I sound

child

wild

mild

mind

blind

behind

kind

hind

rind

grind

find

bind

Rhine

rhinoceros

35. IR.

When the I is followed by an R, it has the UR sound: fir, stir. But, when the R is preceded by a diphthong, words ending in IR will not always have the UR sound. See List #126.

LIST #126.  Different spellings of IR sounds

fir

air

heir

weir

sir

fair

their

nadir

stir

hair

tapir

thirty

lair

elixir

whir

flair

Kashmir

bestir

pair

souvenir

36. I + silent E.

When the I is followed by a silent E, it will have the long I sound: fire, stripe. But there are a few words in which the silent E is used but is not really needed and does not produce the long I sound: imagine, primitive. See List #127.

LIST #127.  Various sounds of I + silent E

imagine

primitive

noise

engine

give

poise

famine

olive

raise

marine

active

chaise

cocaine

motive

cruise

examine

native

praise

genuine

captive

valise

moraine

festive

malaise

opaline

massive

mortise

promise

bruise

porpoise

practice

37. IGH. IGN.

A small group of words use the GH or the GN to get the long I sound: sigh, sign. See List #128.

LIST # 128.   IGH, IGN

sigh

sign

nigh

align

high

assign

thigh

benign

design

cosign

realign

38. The Y sound.

There are a number of commonly used words where the Y has the long I sound: hyena, nylon. See List #129.

LIST #129.  Y as the long I sound

ply

tying

pry

cycle

try

lying

sty

type

cry

byline

dye

flying

bye

gynecology

fry

hypothesis

sly

lifestyle

why

hydraulic

psychiatry

hyper

dehydration

nylon

formaldehyde

hyena

dynamics

hydro

pyromaniac

THE VARIOUS SOUNDS OF O

The O is one of the most frequently used letters in English spelling. It can be found in over a dozen combinations.

Many words use the short O: hotpot, obnoxious.

39. THE LONG O.

At the end of a word, the O will have the long sound: zero. buffalo. See List #130.

LIST # 130.  The long O sound

zero

audio

buffalo

cargo

domino

cameo

ago

ditto

ego

tango

tyro

limbo

typo

albino

halo

grotto

veto

tuxedo

echo

potato

zero

tomato

also

fiasco

lasso

indigo

hippo

stucco

banjo

poncho

polio

weirdo

motto

kimono

piano

pseudo

video

ghetto

radio

stereo

The double OO has four sounds. See List #131.

a. zoo, too

b. book, look

c. door, floor

d. blood. flood

LIST #131.  Four OO sounds

zoo

book

floor

blood

boom

cook

boor

flood

cool

foot

poor

fool

good

doom

brook

boot

hood

food

hook

goof

nook

tool

soot

loom

took

moon

wood

noon

wool

roof

crook

room

hoof

root

look

tooth

troop

The long O can be spelled in a variety of ways. Be prepared to take a lot of time and insist on careful pronunciation.

40. O + E, OA, OW, OE.

The most common spelling uses the silent E: hope, rope. But almost as many words use the OA combination or the OW to get the same or a similar sound: boat. soap, row, throw.

Spelling Rule.  The OA is usually used in the middle of a word: goat, road. See List #132.

Spelling Rule.   The OW is usually used at the end of a word. It does not change with suffixes or compounds: yellowish, blowing. See List #133.

A small group of words use the OE to get a similar sound: toe,. foe. See List #134.

LIST #132.  OA

goat

road

boat

coat

coal

coax

foal

foam

goal

goat

load

loaf

oak

oath

roam

soak

soap

toad

boast

cloak

coast

croak

float

foam

gloat

groan

moan

loan

poach

roast

soak

soap

toad

toast

LIST #133.  OW

low

throw

blow

widow

yellow

window

mow

pillow

row

borrow

sow

fellow

tow

follow

crow

hollow

flow

meadow

glow

shadow

grow

willow

know

rainbow

show

shallow

slow

sparrow

stow

swallow

arrow

bungalow

below

hedgerow

elbow

overthrow

LIST #134.  OE

toe

foe

doe

hoe

roe

aloe

sloe

pekoe

mistletoe

oboe

floe

41. The OR/ORE sound

Spelling Rule.  The most common spelling is the plain OR: order, actor.

Spelling Rule.  The ORE spelling is also common, but it is used only at the ends of words: before, store. See List # 135.

LIST #135.   ORE

ore

bore

store

core

before

fore

more

gore

lore

pore

sore

tore

wore

adore

chore

score

shore

snore

spore

store

swore

ashore

before

encore

ignore

anymore

deplore

explore

eyesore

implore

onshore

restore

folklore

pinafore

sycamore

seashore

carnivore

fourscore

semaphore

sophomore

42. OU.

This diphthong can be very confusing. It has many different sounds. Among them are you, out, source. See List #125.

Spelling Rule.  The OU spelling is usually used in the middle of a word: hour. astound.

OU is almost never used at the end of a word with few exceptions: you, caribou. See List #136.

A few words begin with OU: out, ounce. See List #137.

LIST #136.  OU sounds

you

caribou

contour

source

coup

acoustics

flour

blouse

four

loupe

carousel

foul

account

pour

bayou

gourmet

hour

mouth

court

could

loud

county

gourd

uncouth

noun

doubt

mourn

ghoul

about

bought

group

impound

fought

cougar

bound

brought

douche

couch

sought

dour

foul

courtly

detour

cloud

mourning

famous

found

ought

nougat

mount

bivouac

mouse

youth

noun

List #137.  OU at the beginning of a word

ouch

out

ounce

our

ours

ourselves

ousted

outbid

outhouse

Spelling Rule.  The OW is usually used at the end of a word: how, now, cow. Very few words begin with OW: owe, own. See List #138.

LIST #138.  OW at the beginning of a word

owl

owlish

owe

owed

owner

owing

43. OY, OI

Spelling Rule.  The OY is used at the end of a word: boy, enjoy.

Spelling Rule.  When the OI is used in the middle of a word, it must be followed by at least one consonant: point, boil. See List #139.

Note that OID is a suffix meaning “like”: asteroid, spheroid.

Very few words begin with OI: oil, ointment.

When adding suffixes to OY words, the Y is not usually changed to an I: employer, toying.

LIST #139.  OI

koi

oil

boil

coil

coin

foil

join

loin

roil

soil

toil

void

avoid

broil

coin

droid

foist

groin

hoist

moist

point

spoil

poise

anoint

voice

boiler

foist

poison

quoits

toilet

appoint

anoint

choice

rejoice

noise

devoid

LIST #140.  Four words from the French, one two-syllable OI word

coif (a French word, the OI is pronounced WAH)

soiree (a French word, the OI is pronounced WAH)

chamois (a French word sometimes pronounced shammy )

memoir (a French word, the OI is pronounced WAH)

heroic (here the OI is two syllables)

choir (rhymes with wire)

44. OUGH

Many words have this archaic ending that can produce five different sounds, which is all very confusing to students. Examples: thought, through, although, bough, and cough. See List #141.

LIST #141.  Five ways to pronounce OUGH

bough

dough

rough

thought

through

sough

though

tough

ought

slough

borough

enough

fought

doughty

although

cough

sought

drought

furlough

trough

brought

thorough

bought

besought

wrought

THE VARIOUS SOUNDS OF U.

Both the long and the short U sound can be spelled in a number of ways. Students often confuse the long U with the long OO sound.

45. THE SHORT U.

The short u can have two sounds: but, cut, and also bull, pull. See List #142.

LIST #142.  Short U (note the double l)

but

bull

buck

pull

bun

cull

bud

full

bug

gull

buff

hull

budge

mull

bum

null

bun

dull

bus

lull

but

scull

buzz

skull

46. U+ silent E.

A number of words use the silent E with the U to get a slightly different sound: pure, cure. See List #143.

Usually the U + silent E produces a long U sound: flute, include. See List #144.

LIST #143.  URE, UE, EW

pure

fracture

cue

dew

cure

failure

hue

few

sure

feature

due

new

lure

fixture

sue

knew

azure

gesture

argue

pew

allure

lecture

ensue

stew

assure

leisure

issue

drew

demure

measure

pursue

curfew

endure

mixture

queue

mildew

insure

pasture

rescue

nephew

ensure

picture

revue

aircrew

figure

posture

subdue

preview

future

procure

tissue

purview

injure

rupture

value

interview

manure

seizure

barbecue

review

mature

texture

avenue

screw

nature

torture

fescue

secure

venture

statue

suture

vulture

virtue

capture

aperture

revenue

denture

exposure

devalue

blue

true

LIST #144.  U+ silent E

cube

puce

nude

huge

duke

mule

plume

dune

cure

lube

truce

ruder

refuge

fluke

rule

spume

tune

pure

muse

mute

flute

fuse

include

47. UI.

A small group of words use the UI to get a long U sound: fruit, juice. See List #145.

LIST #145.  UI

fruit

suit

cruise

juice

bruise

sluice

recruit

48. EU, EW, EAU.

Sometimes these combinations make the long U sound: feudal, jewel, beauty. See List #146. Words that end in EAU usually come from the French.

LIST #146.  EU, EW, EAU

EU

EW

EAU

French words

lieu

feud

jewel

beauty

beau

euro

deuce

shrew

beautiful

gateau

pseudo

queue

screw

bureau

rheumatism

eulogy

crew

tableau

eunuch

eureka

new

chateau

milieu

neuron

few

plateau

neuter

pneumonia

dew

sleuth

voyeur

drew

amateur

liqueur

grew

masseur

neutral

pew

Another EAU word is bureaucracy.

49. OUS, EOUS, IOUS, UOUS.

Roughly half of the most commonly used English words that end in US have one of these endings. They all have the US sound. See List #147.

Spelling Rule.  If the root ends in a consonant, use the simple OUS: marvel/marvelous.

Spelling Rule.  If the root word ends in a silent E, drop the E: nerve/nervous, fame/famous.

Spelling Rule.  If the root word ends in a soft G followed by a silent E, the E is retained to protect the G, but it is still silent: courage/courageous, outrage/outrageous.

A small group of words use the EOUS spelling for no logical reason: bounteous, beauteous.

Spelling Rule.  If the root ends in a soft C followed by a silent E, the E is changed to I and has the SH sound: grace/gracious, space/spacious.

A number of words with Latin roots use IOUS with the SH sound: conscious, ambitious, obnoxious.

Spelling Rule.  If the root ends in Y, change the Y to I. The new word will have the long E sound: vary/various, envy/envious.

Spelling Rule.  If the root ends in U, the U is retained and is always pronounced clearly: virtue/virtuous, impetuous.

If the root ends in F, it will change to a V: grief/grievous, mischief/mischievous,. Note that mischievous has only three syllables, not four: MIS/che/vus

LIST #147.  Varieties of OUS

OUS

IOUS

EOUS

UOUS

VOUS

jealous

anxious

gaseous

arduous

nervous

bilious

hideous

fatuous

grievous

odorous

copious

igneous

tenuous

mischievous

ominous

curious

piteous

sinuous

onerous

devious

gorgeous

innocuous

ruinous

dubious

nauseous

vacuous

zealous

envious

beauteous

sensuous

covetous

furious

bounteous

tortuous

cumbrous

noxious

courteous

unctuous

cumulus

obvious

erroneous

virtuous

decorous

tedious

righteous

ambiguous

desirous

various

miscellaneous

congruous

enormous

vicious

spontaneous

impetuous

fabulous

factious

instantaneous

tempestuous

generous

glorious

extraneous

strenuous

grievous

ambitious

courageous

sumptuous

humorous

luscious

outrageous

continuous

infamous

pervious

aqueous

tumultuous

libelous

precious

curvaceous

conspicuous

luminous

gracious

plenteous

ingenuous

marvelous

spacious

simultaneous

contemptuous

dangerous

conscious

mellifluous

nervous

ambitious

promiscuous

famous

obnoxious

contiguous

mischievous

salacious

deciduous

previous

voluptuous

delicious

assiduous

rebellious

serious

superstitious

notorious

hilarious

ferocious

studious

victorious

ANNOYING SPELLINGS

Over the centuries, the English language has acquired an extraordinary number of words from a wide variety of other languages. It is safe to say that our dictionaries contain words borrowed from almost every language under the sun—from French, German, Arabic, and ancient Greek to the multiple languages of China, of India, and Australian aborigines.

It is therefore not surprising that English contains a large number of words with awkward and sometimes illogical spellings. Since English is the only major language that has no official Academy or Committee (like the Académie Française) that controls the language, these irregular spellings and oddities simply continue to exist, much to the annoyance and confusion of students both domestic and foreign who are trying to learn correct English.

There are too many irregularities for me to list them all. They range from unnecessarily doubled consonants to strange vowel sounds. Below are lists of words that begin with an unnecessary consonant that makes it is impossible for students to look these words up in the dictionary if they don’t know what the first letter is. See List #148.

For good measure, I have also listed words that contain the unlovely and archaic ough, augh, and igh spellings that should have been abandoned centuries ago. See Lists #149 and 150.

50. Silent First Letters

List #148.  Silent first letters

G

H

K

M

P

W

gnu

hour

knack

mnemonic

pneumatic

wrap

gnaw

honor

knit

psychic

wrest

gnash

heir

knob

psychedelic

wreath

gnome

herb

knot

pterodactyl

wrath

gnocchi

honest

knowledge

pterosaur

wrack

gnat

knee

pneumonia

wriggle

gnarl

knickers

psychology

wren

gnawn

knead

psychopath

whole

gneiss

knoll

ptarmigan

wrestle

gnosis

knight

pseudo

wring

gnostic

knell

wrangle

knock

wretch

knuckle

writhe

knew

wrung

knout

write

knapsack

wrench

know

wreak

kneel

wretched

wreck

wrinkle

wrong

wrist

writ

wrought

wry

51. The GH Words

List #149.  GH words (with varied pronunciations)

OUGH

AUGH

IGH

bough

although

aught

high

nigh

sough

ought

caught

sigh

bight

plough

bought

naught

night

plight

slough

fought

taught

light

sprightly

drought

thought

fraught

right

neigh

cough

brought

haughty

tight

deign

rough

sought

daughter

flight

feign

tough

borough

slaughter

fight

reign

enough

furlough

distraught

knight

weigh

trough

thorough

laugh

sight

inveigh

dough

through

draught

slight

sleigh

doughy

hiccough

delight

neighbor

though

Note that some of these words are obsolete or spelled more simply in the U.S.: plough/plow, hiccough/hiccup, draught/draft.

List #150.  EIGHT and AIGHT

freight

straight

eight

height

sleight

52. Confusing Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike but have different meanings: affect/effect, past/passed. They’re mostly pairs, but there are also a few triplets: to/too/two. English has about 400 homophone pairs whose definitions need to be clearly explained to your students: its is a possessive adjective, whereas it’s is a contraction of “it is.” See List #151.

List #151.  Common homophones and their parts of speech

affect / effect

affect: verb / effect: noun

past / passed

past: adverb / passed: verb

than / then

than: conjunction or preposition / then: adverb

which / witch

which: pronoun / witch: noun

here / hear

here: adverb / hear: verb

are / our

are: verb / our: possessive adjective

buy / by

buy: verb / by: preposition

weather / whether

weather: noun / whether: conjunction

you’re / your

you’re: contraction of “you are” / your: possessive pronoun

bear / bare

bear: noun or verb / bare: adjective or verb

one / won

one: number or pronoun / won: verb

brake / break

brake: noun or verb / break: noun or verb

complement / compliment

complement: verb / compliment: verb

aloud / allowed

aloud: adverb / allowed: past tense verb

its / it’s

its: possessive adjective / it’s contraction of
“it is”

right / write

right: adverb / write: verb

piece / peace

piece: noun / peace; noun

capital / capitol

capital: adjective / capitol: noun

principal / principle

principal: adjective and noun / principle: noun

new / knew

new: adjective / knew: past tense verb

hear / here

hear: verb / here: adverb

deer / dear

deer: noun / dear: adjective or noun

cereal / serial

cereal: noun / serial: adjective or noun

course / coarse

course: noun / coarse: adjective

die / dye

die: verb / dye: verb

fair / fare

fair: adjective / fare: noun

flour / flower

flour: noun / flower: noun

heal / heel

heal: verb / heel: noun

hole / whole

hole: noun / whole: adjective

hour / our

hour: noun / our: possessive adjective

idle / idol

idle: adjective / idol: noun

patience / patients

patience: noun / patients: plural noun

canvas / canvass

canvas: noun / canvass: verb

mantle / mantel

mantle: noun / mantel: noun

seen / scene

seen: past participle / scene: noun

sweet / suite

sweet: adjective / suite: noun

feint / faint

feint/ noun or verb / faint: noun or verb

size / sighs

size: noun / sighs : verb

sun / son

sun: noun / son: noun

see / sea

see: verb / sea: noun

know / no

know: verb / no: interjection, adjective, or adverb

counsel / council

counsel: verb / council: noun

pray / prey

pray: verb / prey: noun

profit / prophet

profit: noun / prophet: noun

waist / waste

waist: noun / waste: verb

wave / waive

wave: verb / waive: verb used in legal business

there / their / they’re

there: adverb / their: possessive adjective / they’re contraction

to / too / two

to: preposition / too: adverb / two: number

pear / pare / pair

pear: noun / pare: verb / pair: noun

sent / cent / scent

sent: verb / cent: noun / scent: noun

peek / peak / pique

peek: verb / peak: noun / pique: verb

eye / aye / I

eye: noun / aye: adverb or noun / I: first person singular pronoun

holy / wholly / holey

holy: adjective / wholly: adverb / holey: adjective

Dear Reader

I sincerely hope that you have found this book helpful and that it has made the task of teaching English spelling a little less frustrating. If there is anything that you strongly disagree with, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If you really like the book and want other teachers or parents to discover it, please consider writing a review on Amazon.com or for your local newspaper. It would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

John Fulford.