Common English spelling patterns and simple rules explained in plain language for adult ESL learners.
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- What does the rule 'i before e except after c' mean?
- Write 'ie' in most words, such as 'believe', but write 'ei' after the letter c, such as 'receive'
- believe
- Follows the 'i before e' pattern: i comes before e
- receive
- Follows the 'except after c' pattern: e comes before i after the letter c
- Name a common exception to the 'i before e' rule.
- 'weird' is a common exception, since it uses ei with no c before it
- What is a silent e at the end of a word?
- A final e that is not pronounced but changes the sound of the vowel before it
- How does silent e change the word 'cap' into 'cape'?
- Adding a silent e makes the a say its long vowel sound instead of its short sound
- What happens to a silent e when you add an ending like -ing?
- The silent e is usually dropped, so 'make' becomes 'making'
- hope to hoping
- Drop the silent e before adding -ing: hope becomes hoping
- What is the doubling rule for one-syllable words before adding -ing or -ed?
- If the word ends in one vowel and one consonant, double the final consonant, such as 'run' becoming 'running'
- stop to stopping
- Double the final consonant before -ing because stop ends in one vowel and one consonant
- Why does 'walk' become 'walking' without doubling the k?
- Because 'walk' ends in two consonants, so the doubling rule does not apply
- What is the rule for changing a word ending in a consonant plus y to its plural form?
- Change the y to i and add -es, such as 'baby' becoming 'babies'
- city to cities
- Change the y to i and add -es because city ends in a consonant plus y
- Why does 'toy' become 'toys' instead of 'toies'?
- Because 'toy' ends in a vowel plus y, so you simply add -s without changing the y
- What happens to a word ending in y when you add -ed, such as 'study'?
- The y usually changes to i, so 'study' becomes 'studied'
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