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📏 Patterns, not guessworkClear rules with examples and the exceptions to watch for, from first grade to adult.
When the sound is “ee”, write ie; after the letter c, write ei.
Exceptions to learn by heart: weird, seize, either, neither, protein. When the sound is “ay”, write ei: neighbor, weigh, eight.
If a word ends in a silent e, drop the e before adding a suffix that starts with a vowel (-ing, -ed, -able, -ous).
Keep the e before a consonant suffix: hopeful, lovely, statement. Keep it after soft c or g: noticeable, courageous.
One syllable, one short vowel, one final consonant: double the consonant before a vowel suffix.
In longer words, double only if the stress is on the last syllable: begin → beginning, admit → admitted, but open → opened.
When a word ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i before most suffixes.
Keep the y before -ing (carrying) and after a vowel (play → played, enjoy → enjoyment).
Add -s to most nouns. Add -es after s, x, z, ch and sh.
Words ending in f or fe often change to -ves: leaf → leaves, knife → knives. Some plurals are irregular: mice, children, teeth.
Use c before a, o, u; use k before e, i, y; use ck right after a short vowel at the end of a word.
After a long vowel or a consonant, use k: cake, milk, bank.
C and g usually make soft sounds (s, j) before e, i and y.
That is why we keep the e in noticeable and manageable: it keeps the c and g soft.
In English words, q is nearly always written qu.
A few borrowed words skip the u, such as Qatar or qi.
In one-syllable words with a short vowel, double a final f, l, s or z.
Exceptions: if, bus, yes, gas, pal.
Add a prefix in front of a word without changing either part, even if that makes a double letter.
This is why misspell has two s’s and unnecessary has two n’s.
Use -able when the root is a whole word; use -ible when it is not.
Not a perfect rule (flexible, collapsible), but it works for most common words.
Each syllable has at least one vowel sound, and y can act as a vowel.
Clapping the syllables, then spelling one chunk at a time, is the best way to tackle a long word.
Hear a word, type it, check it. Ten words a round, free, no sign-up. No sound? Use “Show it for 3 seconds” (look, cover, write, check).
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Practise these again:
No. English borrows words from many languages, so every rule has exceptions. Rules still help with most common words; learn the exceptions as a short list.
For young spellers, the 1-1-1 doubling rule and the silent-e rule fix the most mistakes. For older spellers, prefixes and suffixes, and -able versus -ible, matter most.
Learn one rule a week, sort word cards into rule groups, and hunt for examples while reading.
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