ENGLISH -- SPELLING RULES

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SPELLING  RULES

1.) SPELLING RULES FOR THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE

a.) Add –ing to the base form of the verb.
read - reading, stand - standing, jump – jumping

b.) If a verb ends in a silent –e, drop the final -e and add –ing.
leave - leaving, take - taking, receive – receiving

c.) In a one-syllable word, if the last three letters are consonant-vowel-consonant combination (CVC), double the last consonant before adding –ing.
sit - sitting, run - running, hop - hopping

However, do not double the last consonant in word that end in w, x, or y.
sew - sewing, fix - fixing, enjoy – enjoying

d.) In words of two or more syllables that end in a consonant-vowel-consonant combination, double the last consonant only if the last syllable is stressed.
admit - admitting, regret - regretting

e.) If a verb ends in –ie, change the –ie to y before adding -ing.
die – dying

2.) SPELLING RULES FOR THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

a.) Add –s for most verbs
work - works, buy - buys, ride - rides, return – returns

b.) Add –es for words that end in –ch, -s , -sh, -x, or –z.
watch - watches, pass - passes, rush - rushes, relax - relaxes, buzz – buzzes

c.) Change the –y to –i and add –es when the base form ends in a consonant +y.
study - studies, hurry - hurries, dry - dries

Do not change the –y when the base form ends in a vowel +y. Add –s
play - plays, enjoy – enjoys

d.) A few verbs have irregular forms.
be - is, do - does, go- goes, have – has

3.) SPELLING RULES FOR SIMPLE PAST TENSE OF REGULAR VERBS

a.) If the verb ends in a consonant, add –ed.
return - returned, help - helped, cook – cooked

b.) If the verb ends in –e, add –d.
live - lived, create - created, die – died

c.) In one-syllable words, if the verb ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant combination (CVC), double the last consonant and add -ed.
hop - hopped, rub - rubbed

However, do not double one-syllable words ending in –w, -x, or –y.

bow - bowed, play - played, mix – mixed

d.) In words of two or more syllables that end in consonant-vowel-consonant combination, double the last consonant only if the last syllable is stressed.
prefer - preferred (The last syllable is stressed.) visit - visited (The last syllable isn’t stressed)

e.) If the verb ends in a consonant, + y, change the -y to -i and –ed.
worry - worried, copy - copied

f.) If the verb ends in a vowel +y, add -ed. (Do not change the –y to –i.)
play - played, annoy - annoyed

Exception: pay - paid, lay - laid, say – said

4.) SPELLING RULES FOR THE COMPARATIVE (-ER) & SUPERLATIVES (-EST) ADJECTIVES

A] Add –er to one-syllable adjectives to form the comparative. Add -est to one-syllable adjectives to form the superlative.
cheap - cheaper - cheapest, bright - brighter – brightest

B] If the adjective ends in –e, add –r or –st.
nice - nicer - nicest

c.) If the adjective ends in a consonant +y, change to y to i before you add –er or –est.
pretty - prettier - prettiest. Exception: shy - shyer – shyest

d.) If the adjective ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant combination (CVC), double the final consonant before adding –er or –est.
big - bigger - biggest

However, do not double the consonant in words ending in –w or –y.

slow - slower - slowest, coy - coyer – coyest

 5.) SPELLING RULES FOR ADVERBS

a.)    Add –ly to the corresponding adjectives
nice - nicely, quiet - quietly, quick - quickly, beautiful - beautifully

2. If the adjective ends in consonant +y, change the y to i before adding –ly
   easy - easily

3. If the adjective ends in –le, drop the -e and add –y.
   possible - possibly

However, do not drop the –e for other adjectives ending in –e.
extreme - extremely, Exception: true – truly

d.) If the adjective ends in –ic, add -ally.
basic - basically, fantastic - fantastically, terrific - terrifically

Words ending in OUR have been changed to OR in America (see colour)

Words ending in IOUR have been changed to IOR in America (see behaviour)

            Many words ending in YSE or ISE have been changed to YZE or IZE in America (see analyse, categorise, standardise)

            Many words ending in  ISATION have been changed to IZATION in America (see categorisation, standardisation)  

            Words containing a double consonant before ING and ED have been changed to one consonant (see travelling)   

favour [UK]                                        = favor [US] (rule)

ENGLISH SPELLINGS                       = AMERICAN SPELLINGS

 aeroplane (1 word) [UK]                   = airplane, aero plane [US]

analyse, analyze [UK]                         = analyze [US] (rule)

analysed, analyzed [UK]                    = analyzed [US] (rule)

behaviour [UK]                                   = behavior [US] (rule)

catalogue [UK]                                   = catalog [US]

categorise, categorize [UK]                = categorize [US] (rule)

categorisation, categorization [UK]    = categorization [US] (rule)

categorised, categorized [UK]            = categorized [US] (rule) 

centre [UK]                                         = center [US] (rule)   

cheque [UK]                                       = check [US]

colour [UK]                                         = color [US] (rule)

doughnut [UK]                                   = donut [US] (rule)

earnt, earned [UK]                              = earned [US]

equalling [UK]                                    = equaling [US] (rule)

gaol, jail [UK]                                     =  jail [US]

grey [UK]                                            = gray {US}

hiccough, hiccup [UK]                        = hiccup [US] (rule)

inharmonious/unharmonious [UK]      = inharmonious [US]

labour [UK]                                         = labor [US] (rule)

license (verb), licence (noun) [UK]     = license [US] (rule)

liquorice [UK]                                     = licorice [US]

manoeuvre [UK]                                 = maneuver [US]

metre [UK]                                          = meter [US] (rule)

minimalised, minimalized [UK]          = minimalized  [US] (rule)

neighbour [UK]                                   = neighbor [US]

TV programme/computer program [UK] =  TV/computer program [US]

pyjamas [UK]                                      = pajamas [US]

practise (verb), practice (noun) [UK] = practice [US] (rule) 

program (computer) [UK]                   = program (computer, TV or radio show, show list)  [US]

programme (TV or radio show, show list) [UK] = program (computer, TV or radio show, show list)  [US]

recognise, recognize [UK]                  = recognize [US] (rule)

specialised, specialized [UK]              = specialized [US] (rule)

specialising, specializing [UK]            = specializing [US] (rule)

standardise, standardize [UK]            = standardize [US] (rule) 

standardised, standardized [UK]       = standardized [US] (rule) 

tyres [UK]                                           = tires [US]

travelled [UK]                                     = traveled [US] (rule) 

travelling [UK]                                    = traveling [US] (rule)

English Spelling Rules Section 1 Word endings

• No English word ends in ’v’ except spiv. Use ve instead.

• No English word ends in ’j’. Use ge or dge instead.

• No English word ends in ‘i’. Use y instead. Exceptions: macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli (Italian) and taxi (short for taxicab)

• The word endings ‘dge’, ‘tch’, may only be used after a short vowel e.g. badge, hedge, lodge, fetch, Dutch, catch. Exceptions to this rule are: much, such, rich, which.

• We double ‘l’, ‘f’, ‘s’ and ‘z’, after a single vowel at the end of a short word.e.g. call, tell, toss, miss, stiff, stuff, fizz, jazz.

Exceptions to this spelling rule: us, bus, gas, if, of, this, yes, plus, nil, pal.

English Spelling Rules Section 2 Making plurals

• Regular plurals are made by adding ‘s’. e.g. dogs, horses, monkeys, cliffs.

• To form plurals of words with a hissing ending, add ‘es’.

Use suffix ‘es’ after s, x, z, sh, ch, ss in words like bonuses, boxes, fizzes, wishes, churches and misses.

• To make nouns ending in a single ‘f’ plural change the ‘f’ to ‘v’ before adding ‘es’ to form the plural. e. g. loaf, loaves; wolf, wolves, shelf, shelves. Exceptions to this rule: dwarfs, roofs, chiefs.

• Words ending in an ‘o’ preceded by a consonant usually end in suffix ‘es’ to form the plural

e.g. potato-es, volcano-es, torpedo-es. Some exceptions: pianos, solos, Eskimos.

 

English Spelling Rules Section 3 Adding suffixes

• Short words ending in both a single vowel and a single consonant always double the last consonant before adding a suffix (ending) beginning with a vowel. e.g. hop, hopped, hopping; flat, flatter, flatten; win, winner, winning; bit, bitty, bitten .

We sometimes refer to these base words as 1,1,1 words because they have ONE vowel, ONE consonant after the vowel, and ONE syllable. Examples of vowel suffixes are: ed, es, ing, en, y, al, able and ible.

• Do NOT double the final consonant when the base word has two vowels or two final consonants, e.g. leaf, leafy; shout, shouting; fool, foolish; self, selfish; mend, mending.

• Drop the final ’e’ from a root word before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, but keep it before a consonant suffix.

• e.g. love, loving, lovely; taste, tasting, tasty; ride, bubble, bubbling, bubbly: drive, driving, driver; rattle, rattled, rattling.

• ‘Ful’ is a suffix added onto the end of a root (or base) word. It has only one ‘l’. e.g. hopeful, useful, cheerful. Because this suffix begins with a consonant, just add it to the base (root) word, without changing the root word. Notice that we keep the silent e in ‘hopeful’ and ‘useful’ above.

• Other consonant suffixes follow the same rule as above. They include ‘ment’, ‘ly’, ty, ‘ness’, ‘less’.

They are used to make words like statement, lonely, cruelty, lateness and homeless.

Remember to keep the final e of thee base word in word spellings like this.

• If a word ends in a consonant plus ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ before adding any suffix except ‘ing’. • e.g. lady, ladies; party, parties; heavy, heavier, heaviest; marry, married; funny, funnily;

but there are some exceptions, e.g. cry, crying; hurry, hurrying.

• If a base word ends with the letters oy, ay, or ey, DO NOT change the final y to i when adding any vowel suffix,

e.g. annoying, played, displayed, surveyed, boyish. Exceptions to this are the words said, paid and laid.

 

English Spelling Rules Section 4 Adding prefixes

• The letters ‘al’ are a prefix, followed by another syllable, in words like also, already, always, although. Although the word ‘all’ has two lls, the prefix ‘al’ has only one l.

• Other prefixes are: re, pre, de, in, im, un, en, under, over, dis, and mis, as in rethink, preset, deactivate, incapable, impossible, undecided, enslave, underachieve, overcook, discontinue and misdeed.

 

English Spelling Rules Section 5 Using ‘soft’ c and ‘soft’ g

• When ‘c’ is followed by ‘e’, ‘i’, or ‘y’, it says ‘s’. Otherwise it says ‘k’.

e.g. city, centre, ceiling, circle, cycle, receive, access.

• When ‘g’ is followed by ‘e’, ‘i’, or ‘y’ it says ‘j’. Otherwise it says ‘g’ as in gold

e.g. gentle, giant, gymnastic, gyroscope. Exceptions: get, begin, girl, give, gear, geese, gift, girth.

 

English Spelling Rules Section 6 Rules for using w and qu

• When ‘w’ or ‘qu’ comes before ‘a’ it often says (wo) or (kwa) as in wash, want, wander, wallet, quarrel and quads.

• When ‘w’ comes before ‘or’ it often says (wer) as in worm, word, work, worth, worship.

Exceptions include worry, worried, wore, worn.

• When ‘w’ or ‘qu’ come before ‘ar’, it often says (wor) or (quor) as in war, ward, warden, quarter, quart,

• The sound (kw) is written as ‘qu’. It never stands by itself. The letter u is a “silent” partner. It is not a “sounded vowel” when used after the letter q.

English Spelling Rules Section 7 Using i and e together to make one sound

• ‘i’ comes before ‘e’ when it is pronounced ‘ee’, except when it follows ’c’, e.g. brief, field, priest, receive, deceive, ceiling.

• ‘e’ comes before ‘i’ when sounded like (ay) as in neighbour and weigh.

The letters i and e are sometimes used together and sounded as separate vowels, e.g. in diet, quiet and client. Further information on teaching syllable division will be added soon.

English Spelling Rules Section 8 Using ti, ci or si to make the sound (sh)

• ‘ti’, ‘ci’, ‘si’, are three spellings most frequently used to say ‘sh’ at the beginning of all syllables except the first. • e.g. nation, patient, torrential, infectious, spacious, ancient, optician, financial, tension, session, admission, pension, division.

English Spelling Rules Section 9 Doubling l and t in multisyllabic words before suffixes

• In words ending in a single ‘l’ after a single vowel, double the ‘l’ before adding a suffix regardless of accent.

• e.g. cancelled, levelling, travelled, signalling, metallic.

• If a word of more than one syllable ends in a ‘t’, preceded by a single vowel, and has the accent (stress) on the last syllable, double the final consonant.

• e.g. permit, permitted; admit, admitted; regret, regretted; but do not double the final t in words like visit, visited; benefit, benefited because the stress is on the first syllable of the root or base word.

English spelling rules are incorporated in the phonic progression on this site. They vary from American spelling rules, especially in the use of double consonants in multisyllabic words.

-oo-  becomes  -ee-

foot > feet; tooth > teeth.  Goose – geese

To form the plural of most nouns, simply add -s

cat > cats  dog > dogs

Surviving Old English plural forms:
deer > deer; sheep > sheep;

A becomes ‘e’ to make plural
ox > oxen; man > men; woman > women;

child > children; brother (in a religious sense) > brethren;

Some compound nouns: the main word carries ‘s’ 

Model I           passer-by > passers-by;

Model II           mother-in-law > mothers-in-law. Father-in-law – fathers-in-law,

sister-in-law – sisters-in-law,

Plural forms of not- fully naturalized foreign words:
chateau > chateaux; crisis > crises; formula > formulae; index > indices; stimulus > stimuli

Plural forms of metric abbreviations:
100 km (kilometres)
60 g (grams)
2.5 l (litres)

Note that with non-metric measurements plural s is optional: 60 lb or 60 lbs

To form the plural of nouns ending in s, sh, ss, z, x or ch,         

add -es  to facilitate pronunciation

gas > gases      dish > dishes   boss > bosses   box > boxes     watch > watches

To form the plural of nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to an I and

then add -es

lady > ladies    baby > babies  strawberry > strawberries        laboratory > laboratories

lay-by > lay-bys (BrE);  stand-by > stand-bys 

Family names:             Mr. & Mrs. Brady > The Bradys

To form the plural of a number of long established English nouns ending in f or fe
(but not ff or ffe!)
change the f  to a v and then add -es

half > halves    leaf > leaves    life > lives       knife > knives

Most other nouns ending in f or fe simply add -s as usual, but there are some cases in which the -ves plural formation is optional: 
belief > beliefs; chief > chiefs;            handkerchief > handkerchiefs safe > safes
(but note handkerchieves is an option in British English);

To form the plural of imported nouns ending in o and long established in English, add -es

cargo > cargoes           domino > dominoes                echo > echoes              embargo > embargoes
hero > heroes               potato > potatoes                    tomato > tomatoes      tornado > tornadoes
torpedo > torpedoes    veto > vetoes

For less naturalized nouns ending in o, add -s only:
kilo > kilos;    piano > pianos;    kimono > kimonos;    radio > radios

In a few cases the -es plural formation is optional.

archipelago > archipelagos/archipelagoes     fiasco > fiascos/fiascoes          halo > halos/haloes
mango > mangos/mangoes

A final silent e is usually dropped  before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel -able 

It is not so easy to predict when a final e should be dropped before adding the suffix -able.
Generally speaking, this is more common in American English.
In some cases it is optional:                e.g. likable or likeable

Words ending in -ce  and -ge usually keep their e to clarify the pronunciation of a preceding consonantal sound:
noticeable, peaceable, knowledgeable, manageable

The final e is also retained for words ending in -ee:
agreeable, foreseeable

-age

store > storage             acreage and mileage

Note that linage and lineage are entirely different words.

-ed       clone > cloned            

-est      cute > cutest

-ing      dive > diving       write > writing

You must retain the e when it is needed to distinguish meaning
(cf. dying & dyeing or singing & singeing). Sometimes the e is kept to clarify pronunciation of a preceding consonantal sound (e.g. ageing).

American English seems to be less particular about this (aging).

The final e is also kept for words ending in -ee, -oe, or -ye:
fleeing, canoeing, eyeing -ous

fame > famous            pore > porous 

Words ending in -ge keep their e to clarify the pronunciation of a preceding consonantal sound:
advantageous, courageous For words ending in -ce this final e becomes an i:
space > spacious

-y         ice > icy                                bone > bony

The final e is not dropped before adding the suffix -y if the preceding letter is u:
gluey (but note gluier). Note also pricey and spacey. 

Remember that holy and holey are very different words!

-ed       stop > stopped                 admit > admitted

In the following cases the stress in the final syllable is secondary:
kidnap > kidnapped    program > programmed 

The consonants h, w, x and y are never doubled (e.g. affix > affixing), and neither are silent consonants found in words of foreign origin:
crochet > crocheting;
ricochet > ricocheting.

-er       big > bigger        

-ing      begin > beginning            refer > referring 

-ish      red > reddish

ante-  or anti- ? 

Choose the prefix ante- if your word has connotations of before  or ahead, and anti-
if it means opposite or against 

ante- does not usually have to be followed by a hyphen:
antecedent, antedate, antenatal, anteroom   

Even with anti- most words require no hyphenation:
antibiotic, anticlockwise, anticyclone, antidepressant, antifreeze

anti- is always followed by a hyphen before an i or a capital letter to avoid a vowel clash::
anti-inflammatory       anti-French      anti-aircraft fire,          anti-establishment,      anti-government, anti-gravity,            anti-personnel mines, etc.

 fore-  or for- ? 
Choose the prefix fore-  if your word has the meaning of before or ahead; otherwise you need for- 

forefather, foresight, forecast, forerunner, foreshadow, forestall, foretaste, foretell, forewarn, etc.

forbid, forfeit, forget, forgive, forgo, forlorn, forsake, forswear, etc.

 

 -able  or -ible ? 

The suffix –able is far more common than -ible

Most roots, including all modern ones, add -able:
drink > undrinkable       read > readable        wash > washable

You'll find -ible only in a few old words that are derived directly from (or modeled on) Latin:

flex > flexible   comprehend > comprehensible           respond > responsible
Lat. edere (to eat) > edible

 -ance  or -ence  &  -ant  or -ent ? 

Here we present a few useful rules for when to add the suffixes -ance  or -ence and -ant  or -ent.
However, because these rules are not 100% reliable, it's safest to consult a dictionary!

-ance is always added to a hard c or g:
elegance, significance.
If the preceding c or g is soft choose -ence:
innocence, intelligence.

Note the unique spellings of allegiance and vengeance

If other forms of the word end in an a-suffix, then your choice is likely to be -ance/-ant:
dominate > dominance           ignoramus > ignorant              vigilante > vigilance  violate > violence Verbs ending in -ear, -ure and -y have noun forms ending in -ance:
appear > appearance                endure > endurance    defy > defiance  

Verbs ending in -ere will have noun-forms ending in -ence:
interfere > interference           persevere > perseverance

The core syllables -cid-, -fid-, -sid-, -vid-, -flu-, -qu- and -sist- are usually followed by -ence:
incidence, confidence, subsidence, evidence, influence, consequence, insistence   

 assistance, resistance

To form nouns from verbs ending in a stressed -er or -ur, add -ence:
confer > conference                concur > concurrence

(Note here the typical doubling of the r in a stressed syllable before the addition of a suffix beginning with a vowel.)  

To form nouns from verbs ending in an unstressed -er, add -ance:
utter > utterance          hinder > hindrance    differ > difference

 -ce  or -se ? 

During centuries of separation from the motherland, American English retained the

original -se ending in certain words borrowed from French. 

British English  modified it to -ce

AmE: defense, license (noun & verb), offense, pretense, vise (tool)

BrE: defence, licence (noun form only [cf. to license]), offence, pretence, vice

Note that even in British English any related adjectives have to be spelt with an s:
defensive, offensive

Note from the example of licence/license above that British English, perhaps under the influence of advice (n.) and to advise, sometimes utilizes -ce/-se to help distinguish between a noun and a verb:

 -ch  or -tch ? 
Choose -ch  if it is to be preceded by either a consonant  or two vowels.
If it is to be preceded by a single vowel,
you need -tch filch, bench, church   approach, touch, coach

One exception to this rule, namely the letter h:
aitch catch, fetch, watch

A handful of very common words are exceptions to this rule and so you should try to memorize them:

attach, detach, enrich, much, rich, sandwich, spinach, such, which

-ction   or   -xion ? 

The ending –ction is far more common than -xion

reaction, reduction, etc. -xion is only found in a few words like complexion, crucifixion, effluxion, flexion, fluxion, prefixion, retroflexion and transfixion connection, deflection, inflection, reflection In BrE only, you may come across the following variants:
connexion,       deflexion,         inflexion and    reflexion.

 -er  or -or ? 

The ending –er is far more common than -or

-er is added to most verbs (and certainly all modern ones) for someone or something that performs an activity:
player, baker, singer,etc.

A few -er nouns are created from nouns or adjectives:
law > lawyer   prison > prisoner         foreign > foreigner

a resistor is an electronic component. -or is found in words of French or classical origin: mayor, donor.  Many end in -ator, -itor, -ctor, -essor and -utor:
curator, auditor, director, professor, tutor   

 -ise  or -ize ? 

The verbal suffix –ize is far more common than -ise

criticize, demoralize, realize, vandalize 

In BrE, under the influence of neighboring French, the -ise ending is a widespread alternative, but if chosen it should be used consistently: criticise, demoralise, realise, vandalise, etc. 

 -or  or -our ? 
Words of primarily French origin ending in -our in British English  end in –or in American English BrE: colour, favour, honour 

AmE: color, favor, honor

British English also often uses -or:

error, terror, stupor

Note that even British English drops the u before the addition of a suffix to certain words:
vapour > vaporize;      honour > honorific/honorary

 -re  or -er ? 
While British English retains the -re  ending in words of French origin,
American English generally prefers -er

BrE: centre, metre, theatre

AmE: center, meter, theater

 -yse  or -yze ? 
The verbal suffix -yse  is British and -yze is American

BrE:    analyse, paralyse

AmE:  analyze, paralyze

 

 -ae/oe   or   -e ? 
ae  and oe  in words of Greek or Latin origin are retained  in British English  and replaced
with a simple e  in American English

BrE:  archaeology, gynaecology, haemoglobin, diarrhoea, foetus, oesophagus

AmE:  archeology, gynecology, hemoglobin, diarrhea, fetus, esophagus

Even in British English there is a slow trend toward simplification: For example, the form encyclopedia is now much more common than encyclopaedia.

 -ie-  or -ei- ? 

In the case of 'ee' /i:/ sounds i goes before e except after c

believe, chief, siege    ceiling, receive, deceit

Beware of words that have varied pronunciation:
either, neither, heinous

Some common names:            Keith, Sheila, Neil, Madeira

Latin words like species Others: caffeine, protein, inveigle, seize, weird

 q_? 
q is almost invariably followed by u quack, quality, queen, question, quiz, quote Acronyms & non-English words: Qantas (Australian Airline),
Al Qaeda (Islamist terror franchise), Qatar (Gulf state), etc.

alright / all right all right is widely regarded as the correct form

already / all ready

Are you all ready to leave? It's already 8 o'clock. altogether / all together There are altogether two occasions per year when the family are all together.

anyone / any one Anyone can use the library and borrow any one of 10,000 books.

cannot / can not cannot is the correct form in British English, while can not is generally preferred in American English. Note that even BrE sometimes allows you to use can not for emphasis:

She can not only speak French but German too!

sometime / some time

She'll do it sometime when she gets some time.

Rule #1: “I before E except after C”;

This rule, designed to help us remember how to spell words such as receive and chief, seems so promising in its simplicity at first.

• achieve, believe, bier, brief, hygiene, grief, thief, friend, grieve, chief, fiend, patience, pierce, priest
• ceiling, conceive, deceive, perceive, receipt, receive, deceit, conceit

Rule #2: “Dropping Final E”

When adding an ending to a word that ends with a silent e, drop the final e if the ending begins with a vowel:

• advancing
• surprising

However, if the ending begins with a consonant, keep the final e:

• advancement
• likeness

Rule #3: “Dropping Final Y”

When adding an ending to a word that ends with y, change the y to i when it is preceded by a consonant.

• supply becomes supplies
• worry becomes worried
• merry becomes merrier

This does not apply to the ending -ing, however.

• crying
• studying

Nor does it apply when the final y is preceded by a vowel.

• obeyed
• saying

Rule #4: “Doubling Final Consonants”

When adding an ending to a word that ends in a consonant, we double that consonant in many situations. First, we have to determine the number of syllables in the word.

submit

submitting, submitted.

flap

flapped

Rule #5: “Adding Prefixes”

• unnecessary, dissatisfied, disinterested, misinform

Changing a Final Y to I

Change a final y to i before a suffix, unless the suffix begins with i.
EXAMPLES:
defy + ance = defiance           party + es = parties                  pity + ful = pitiful
try + es = tries                         try + ing = trying                     copy + ing = copying
occupy + ing = occupying
COMMON EXCEPTIONS: journeying, memorize

Doubling a Final Consonant

Double a final single consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel when both of these conditions exist:
(a) a single vowel precedes the consonant;
(b) the consonant ends an accented syllable or a one-syllable word.

EXAMPLES:
stop + ing = stopping              admit + ed = admitted                        occur + ence = occurrence
stoop + ing = stooping            benefit + ed = benefited         delight + ful = delightful