{"slug":"spelling-rules","title":"Spelling Rules","date":"2026-02-28T00:21:00.000Z","excerpt":"","tags":["language"],"order":21,"published":true,"content":"

Foundational consonant rules

Rule 1: C always softens to /s/ when followed by E, I, or Y. Otherwise, C says /k/.

center, accent, circus, accident, icy, agency, cynic

Knowing C says /s/ only before E, I, and Y also aids us when adding the common endings -ing, -ed, and -y to words that end with C. We must add K to protect the C from softening to /s/

panicking, mimicking, frolicked, trafficky

Interestingly, native English words prevent the need for adding K before the common endings -ing, -ed, and -y by having a spelling of /k/ which insulates the C: CK

pack + ing = packing
trick + y = tricky
peck + ing = pecking
luck + y = lucky

Rule 2: G may soften to /j/ only when followed by E, I, or Y. Otherwise, G says /g/.

germ, angelic, ginger, agile, biology, allergy

This rule is related to Rule 1. However, there is one key difference: G may say /j/ . . . but it does not always.

get, anger, gift, begin, gynecology

When G is not followed by an E, I, or Y, it must say /g/:

before the vowels A, O, U

gap, cardigan, goat, go, begun, configure

before a consonant

glad, granular

at the end of word

egg, crag, leg

Italian words insert a silent letter H to separate the G from an E or an I to retain the hard /g/ sound, forming the advanced phonogram GH

ghetto, spaghetti

French and Spanish words insert a silent letter U to separate the G from E or I to retain the hard /g/ sound, forming the phonogram GU

plague, guide, guerilla, guitar

This rule also helps to explain the multi-letter phonogram DGE. G is followed by an E, causing the G to say /j/

judge, bridge, edge, budget, gadget

Rule 3: English words do not end in I, U, V, or J.

English words also do not end in J. When the sound /j/ is heard at the end of a word, there are two common spellings:

The first is the multi-letter phonogram DGE

edge, dodge, knowledge

The second is G followed by a silent final E

large, age, change, marriage

Foundational vowel rules

English Words Do Not End in I

Rule 3: English words do not end in I, U, V, or J.

The relationship between I and Y

The I/Y relationship is first seen in their shared vowel and consonant /y/ sound:

Pronunciation	i	y
/ĭ/	mitt	myth
	Jim	gym
/ī/	kind	rhyme
	line	type
/ē/	piano	lady
	radius	ability
/j/ or /y/	union	yarn
	onion	yesterday
	opinion	lawyer
	brilliant	canyon

Because English words do not end in I, Y covers for I at the end of English words. Whenever the vowel sound /ī/ is heard at the end of the word, Y must be written instead.

cry, try, my

The rule also governs usage of the following phonogram pairs

Phonogram Pair	May use at the end word	May not use at the end of word
ay/ai	tray	disdain
ey/ei	they	vein
oy/oi	toy	toil

Vowels at the End of Syllables

Rule 4: A E I O U usually say their names at the end of a syllable.

fa mous	de sire	chi na	o pen	u nit
ba sin	be fore	spi der	ro bot	hu man

Conversely, vowels usually say their first or short sound when they are found in the middle of the syllable

ta per	tap per
be low	bel low
di ner	din ner
to paz	top ple
cu bic	cub by
cy cle	cyl in der

Rule 5: I may say short /ĭ/ at the end of a syllable

This rule is related to Rule 4

fam-i-ly, med-i-cine, def-i-nite, con-di-tion, di-vide, ad-di-tion, pos-i-tive

Rule 6: When a one-syllable word ends in a single vowel Y, it says /ī/.

by, my, try, why, fry, fly

This rule also does not limit the pronunciation of Y in multisyllabic words. Y does say /ī/ at the end of a few multisyllabic words and with the suffix -ify.

apply, deny, simplify, horrify

Rule 7.1: Multi-syllable words ending in \"y\" usually have the /ē/ sound.

baby, happy, berry, charity, ability, archeology

Rule 7.2: I says /ē/ at the end of a syllable that is followed by a vowel and at the end of foreign words.

stadium, radius, olympian, radiator, helium, piano
spaghetti, pastrami, Helsinki

Spellings for Long I and Long O

Rule 8: I and O may say /ī/ and /ō/ when followed by two consonants.

Long /ō/	Short /ŏ/	Long /ī/	Short /ĭ/
bold	bond	pint	print
poll	pond	rind	rink

Spellings for /ā/ and /ä/

Rule 9: AY usually spells the sound /ā/ at the end of a base word.

may, portray, pay, dismay

There are only ten commonly known words which use the phonogram to spell the long sound /ā/ at the end of the word. These are: they, convey, obey, hey, ley, osprey, prey, purvey, survey, and whey.

Rule 10: When a word ends with the phonogram A, it says /ä/.

zebra, stamina, alpha, area, arena, banana, beta, dilemma, trauma, tuna

The Phonogram QU

Rule 11: Q always needs a U; therefore, U is not a vowel here.

queen, quit, quality

Silent final e

Type 1: Long Vowels

Rule 12.1: The vowel says its name because of the E.

cape, pipe, type, bone, cute

This also may occur with two consonants separating the vowel from the silent E

paste, clothe, change, waste, strange

Type 2: V and U

Rule 12.2: English words do not end in V or U.

have, live, valve, additive, adjective
true, blue, argue, value, rescue, venue

Type 3: C and G

Rule 12.3: The C says /s/ and the G says /j/ because of the E.

choice, force, voice, commerce, absence, abundance
change, cage, barge, orange, avenge, language

Type 4: Syllables

Rule 12.4: Every syllable must have a written vowel.

table, bicycle, bundle, waffle, google, freckle, maple, isle, turtle, puzzle, acre, centre

Type 5: Distinguish Singular from Plural

Rule 12.5: Add an E to keep singular words that end in the letter S from looking plural.

house, mouse, purse, goose, moose, purchase
tease, please, amuse

Type 6: To Make the Word Look Bigger

Rule 12.6: Add an E to make the word look bigger.

awe, ewe, rye, owe, tie, are

Type 7: Voiced and Unvoiced TH

Rule 12.7: TH says its voiced sound /TH/ because of the E.

breathe, bathe, loathe, soothe

Type 8: Clarify Meaning

Rule 12.8: Add an E to clarify meaning.

or	ore
teas	tease
hears	hearse

Type 9: Unseen Reason

Rule 12.9: Unseen reason

one, come, some, giraffe, where, were

Adding suffixes

Adding Suffixes to Silent Final E Words

Rule 13: Drop the silent final E when adding a vowel suffix only if it is allowed by other spelling rules.

This rule leads us to two questions that must be asked when adding a suffix to silent final E words:

Are we adding a vowel suffix?
In the following examples, notice why the E is needed and that it is always retained when adding a consonant suffix:
- like + ly = likely
- achieve + ment = achievement
- force + ful = forceful
- puzzle + ment = puzzlement
- amuse + ment = amusement
- awe + some = awesome
Is dropping the E allowed by other spelling rules?
i.e: C says /s/ before E, I, and Y. G may say /j/ before E, I, and Y

In each of these words, both of the key questions may be answered with “yes.” The added suffix begins with a vowel, and the E is not needed for a C or G. So the E may be dropped

like + ing = liking
have + ing = having
puzzle + ing = puzzling
owe + ing = owing
hope + ing = hoping
achieve + ed = achieved
tease + ing = teasing
teethe + ing = teething
.
notice + ing = noticing
service + ed = serviced
encourage + ing = encouraging
charge + ing = charging
advantage + ed = advantaged

In the following words, E cannot be dropped

notice + able = noticeable
service + able = serviceable
charge + able = chargeable
advantage + ous = advantageous
courage + ous = courageous

Words ending in one vowel and one consonant

Rule 14: Double the last consonant when adding a vowel suffix to words ending in one vowel followed by one consonant, only if the syllable before the suffix is accented.

Rule 14 does not apply to base words ending with multi-letter vowel phonograms such as: ee, ea, ai etc., followed by one consonant.

sleep +ing = sleeping
treat + ed = treated
restrain + ing = restraining
appear + ance = appearance

Double the last consonant only after one consonant that is seen and heard. Do not double the last consonant if the word ends in more than one consonant.

pick + ing = picking
sing + ing = singing
arrest + ing = arresting
comb +ed = combed

Do not double the last consonant if the word ends in X. The phonogram X represents two heard consonant sounds: /k/ and /s/.

tax + ing = taxing
fix + ed = fixed
relax + ing = relaxing

The multi-letter phonogram QU represents the sound /kw/. Q always needs a U; U is not a vowel here. Since the U is not a vowel but part of a multi-letter phonogram, double the last consonant before adding a vowel suffix if the word conforms to Rule 14.

quit +ing = quitting
quiz + ed = quizzed

Likewise, the phonograms AW, OW, and EW are multi-letter vowel phonograms. W is not a consonant in these phonograms, just as U is not a vowel in the phonogram QU. Therefore, do not double the last consonant when adding a vowel suffix.

show +ing = showing
allow +ance = allowance
saw + ing = sawing
few + est = fewest

The R-controlled phonograms AR, ER, IR, and UR represent one distorted vowel sound followed by one consonant sound. Since one vowel and one consonant are both seen and heard, double the last consonant before adding a vowel suffix.

star + ing = starring
stir + ed = stirred
blur + y = blurry

Adding vowel suffixes to single Y words

Rule 15: Single vowel Y changes to I when adding any ending, unless the ending begins with I.

busy + ness = business
try + es = tries
cry + er = crier
worry + some = worrisome
ornery + est = orneriest
happy + ness = happiness
puppy + es = puppies
baby + es = babies
salary + es = salaries
cuddly + er = cuddlier

This rule only applies to a single vowel Y. The multi-letter phonograms OY, AY, and EY are two-letter vowels. The Y does not change to I when adding a suffix to words ending with a multi-letter phonogram.

boy + s = boys
stray + ed = strayed
survey + ed = surveyed
annoy + ed = annoyed
play + er = player
attorney + s = attorneys

Rule 16: Two I’s cannot be next to one another in English words.

We do not change Y to I in the following words:

study + ing = studying
cry + ing = crying
worry + ing = worrying
clarify +ing = clarifying
baby + ish = babyish
simplify + ing = simplifying

Summary: Adding a suffix to any word

Silent Final E:

Are we adding a vowel suffix?
Is dropping the E allowed by other spelling rules?
- (Remember: C says /s/ before E, I, and Y. G may say /j/ before E, I, and Y.)
- If yes: Drop the E and add the suffix.

One Vowel + One Consonant:

Are we adding a vowel suffix?
Is the syllable before the suffix accented?
- If yes: Double the last consonant and add the suffix.
- If no: Just add the suffix.

Single Vowel Y:

Does the word end with a single vowel Y?
Does the suffix begin with any letter except I?
- If yes: Change the Y to I and add the suffix.
- If no: Retain the Y and add the suffix.

Latin spelling of /sh/: TI, CI, SI

Rule 17+18: /sh/ is spelled SH at the beginning of words and the end of syllables, including \"-ship,\" while in later syllables, TI, CI, or SI (followed by a vowel) are used at the start of the syllable.

Start of words:
- SH says /sh/ at the beginning.
- Examples: ship, shadow.
End of syllables:
- SH says /sh/ at the end of syllables.
- Examples: finish, establish.
Middle of words:
- Usually, /sh/ is spelled TI, CI, SI (with a vowel after) in the middle. These start the middle syllables.
- Examples: nation (ti), social (ci), pension (si).
\"-ship\" ending:
- \"-ship\" always uses SH.
- Examples: friendship, relationship.

Past tense verbs

Pronunciation of ‘-ed’

Rule 19, Rule 20: trivial

Patterns of irregular verbs

https://www.davidappleyard.com/english/irregular-verb-conjugations.html

Forming plural nouns and singular verbs

Rule 21, Rule 22: trivial

Clearing confusion about “AL-” and “-FUL”

Rule 23: AL- is a prefix written with one L when preceding another syllable.

almost, also, always, although

Rule 24: -FUL is a suffix written with one L when added to another syllable.

truthful, regretful, eventful, useful

Remember: single vowel Y changes to I when adding any ending unless the ending begins with I

beauty + ful = beautiful
bounty + ful = bountiful
mercy + ful = merciful

However, when forming compound words, the two base words do not change

body + work = bodywork
cry + baby = crybaby
any + one = anyone

The final spelling rules

Rule 25: DGE is used only after a single vowel which says its short (first) sound.

badge, ledge, bridge, lodge, judge

Since English words do not end in I, U, V, or J, is a common spelling of the sound /j/ at the end of words.

When the sound /j/ is heard at the end of the word and is preceded by a consonant or a long vowel sound, it is spelled G followed by a silent final E.

large, gorge, charge, rage, huge, age

Rule 26: CK is used only after a single vowel which says its short (first) sound.

back, lock, neck, truck

Rule 27: TCH is used only after a single vowel which does not say its name.

match, etch, glitch, splotch, hutch, butcher

Rule 28: AUGH, EIGH, IGH, OUGH. Phonograms ending in GH are used only at the end of a base word or before the letter T. The GH is either silent or pronounced /f/.

laugh, weigh, igh, tough
caught, weight, night, bought

In seven words the GH is pronounced /f/:

enough, rough, laugh, draught, cough, trough, tough

Rule 29: Z, never S, spells /z/ at the beginning of a base word.

zipper, zoo, zebra

Rule 30: We often double F, L, and S after a single vowel at the end of a base word. Occasionally other letters also are doubled.

off, ball, loss
ebb, odd, egg, inn, watt, jazz