English spelling rules can sometimes be very complicated. We have received many emails asking for help on improving English spelling. Here is a short list of some very common spelling rules.
One of the most common spelling rules taught to elementary students is “I before E, except after C, unless it says A as in neighbor and weigh.” However, there are a number of other rules that you can use to help decode the spelling of an unfamiliar word. For example:
- The letter Q is always followed by U. In this case, the U is not considered to be a vowel
- The letter S never follows X. To make a word ending in “X” plural, you must add “ES”
- The letter Y, not I, is used at the end of single syllable English words. Examples of this rule include my, by, shy, and why.
- To spell a short vowel sound, only one letter is needed. Examples of this rule include at, red, it, hot, and up.
- Drop the E. When a word ends with a silent final E, it should be written without the E when adding an ending that begins with a vowel. In this way, come becomes coming and hope becomes hoping.
- When adding an ending to a word that ends with Y, change the Y to I if it is preceded by a consonant. In this way, supply becomes supplies and worry becomes worried.
- “All”, when written alone, has two L’s. When used as a prefix, however, only one L is written. Examples of this rule include also and almost.
- Generally, adding a prefix to a word does not change the correct spelling.
- Words ending in a vowel and Y can add the suffix -ed or -ing without making any other change.
