Read the rules and make sure to practice them at the Exercises
Section.
Another
good way to improve your spelling is reading.
That way you see the
words again and again and get familiar with their spelling. So visit
the English
Short Stories section, too.
Now, let's go over to some more general spelling rules:
Spelling rule #1: S or ES?
The
normal rule to make regular plurals in English, or to change a regular
verb to the he/she/it form (also known as the third person singular),
is to add S
to the end of the word.
For example:
One dog --> Lots of dogs
I work --> She works
A car --> Some cars
You like tea --> She likes coffee
But
sometimes we need to add ES instead. When the word ends in: CH, SH, X,
SS (and ZZ, but this isn't common), then we have to add ES.
For example:
I watch TV every night. --> He watches TV at the weekend.
I have one wish. --> The genie gave him three wishes.
Can you fix this? --> A mechanic fixes cars.
Give me a kiss! --> She gave her daughter lots of
kisses.
Spelling rule #1B: the problem with Y
Students are often confused by the letter Y.
Sometimes
it is removed from the end of the word before the word is changed into
a plural or third person singular form, and sometimes it isn't.
So what's the rule?
There are two types of letters in English. Vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and
consonants (all the other letters).
If a word ends in Y, and before the Y there is a consonant (for
example, fly, try, spy) then the Y is removed, and IES is added.
For example:
I want to fly a kite. --> A pilot flies a plane.
He was a spy. --> The spies were caught.
Try this exercise. --> Sarah tries very hard in her
lessons.
If the word ends with a vowel then Y (for example, play, tray,
toy) then simply an S is added.
For example:
I used to play with dolls. --> She plays with other
children.
He has a new toy. --> The dog has lots of toys.
Spelling rule #2: doubling consonants
Some words which end in consonants double the last letter when suffixes
(extra letters) are added to the end of the word.
For example:
hot --> hotter
swim --> swimming
However, this doesn't always happen.
So what's the rule?
If a word ends in a consonant
that has one vowel before it, then the last consonant is doubled.
For example:
travel --> traveller
(British English spelling)
big --> biggest
This does not usually happen with words with more than one syllable
ending in ER or OR. (Of course, there are exceptions!)
For example:
fur
/ furry / furred
plot / plotted
/ plotter
But:
miser
/ misery /
miserly
target
/ targeted
bigot
/ bigoted
travel
/ traveler
(American English spelling)
Be careful!
If a word has two vowels before the last consonant, or there are two
consonants at the end, the last letter isn't doubled.
For example:
old --> oldest
shoot --> shooter
Spelling rule #3: the disappearing E
If a verb ends in E, then the E is removed before adding ING to the end
of the word.
For example: