Special Education

Teaching Students with Learning and Behavioural Differences
A Resource Guide for Teachers

Appendix 5: Spelling Rules Worth Teaching

  1. q is always written as qu. It never stands by itself: e.g., quick, queen, quarrel.
  2. No English word ends in v or j.
  3. Regular plurals are made by adding s; e.g., animals, horses, monkeys, cliffs.
  4. To form plurals of words with a hissing ending (s,x,z, sh and ch), add es. (Buses, foxes, buzzes, wishes and churches, for example.)
  5. Words ending in an o preceded by a consonant usually add es to form the plural; e.g., potato-es, volcano-es. (Exceptions: pianos, solos, Eskimos.)
  6. Nouns ending in a single f, change to a v before adding es to form the plural; e.g. leaf, leaves, wolf, wolves (Exceptions: dwarfs, roofs, chiefs.)
  7. ck may only be used after a single vowel that does not say its name, and at the end of a syllable or root word; i.e., it follows a short vowel, E.g., track, pick, rocket, wreckage.
  8. One-syllable words ending in both a single vowel and a single consonant always double the last consonant before adding an ending.
    stop stopped stopping
    flat flatter flattest
    swim swimmer swimming

    (Exceptions: fix, box, fox, mix, -x is the same as ch, that is, it counts as a double consonant ending.)

  9. Words ending in a single l after a single vowel double the l before adding a suffix regardless of accent; e.g., cancel-l-ed, travel-l-er, signal-l-ing, metal-l-ic.
  10. If a word of more than one syllable ends in a t preceded by a single vowel and has the accent on the last syllable, double the final consonant.
    permit permitted
    admit admitted
    regret regretted
    but visit visited
    benefit benefited

    (Don't double the t.)
  11. Drop the final e from a root word before adding an ending beginning with a vowel, but keep it before a consonant.
    love loving lovely
    drive driving driver
    settle settling settled
    grace gracing graceful
  12. "All" and "well" followed by another syllable only have one l; e.g., also, already, although, welcome, welfare.
  13. "Full" and "till" joined to another root syllable drop one l; e.g., useful, cheerful, until.
  14. The sound ee on the end of a word is nearly always y. (Exceptions: committee, coffee.) y and not i is used at the end of an English word. (Exceptions: macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli [Italian] and taxiÑshort for taxicab.)
  15. If a word ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i, before adding any ending except ing.
    party parties
    heavy heaviness
    marry married
    funny funnily
    carry carried
    but cry crying
    hurry hurrying
  16. When c is followed by e, i, or y, it says s; otherwise it says k.
    centre ceiling
    circle cycle
    cottage cave
    cream curious
    clever
  17. i, ci, and si, are three spellings most frequently used to say sh at the beginning of all syllables except the first
    national patient
    palatial infectious
    gracious ancient
    musician financial
    session admission
    mansion division

    (Exceptions: ship as a suffix, e.g., worship.)

  18. i comes before e when it is pronounced ee, except when it follows c, or when sounded like a as in neighbour or weigh; e.g., brief, field, priest, receive, deceive, ceiling.
  19. A silent e on the end of a word makes the vowel in front say its own alphabetic name. e.g. hate, ride, cube, bake, shire, mere, lobe. (Exceptions: done, come, some, give, have.)
  20. When w comes before or it often says wer as in "worm"; E.g. worship, worst, worth, work, worried.
Used with the permission of Bomford, Winram and Lane, School District No. 62 ( Sooke )