New Words for Old
Many words are formed by adding an ending to the root or basic part of the word.
Compare:
| walk | walks | walking | walked |
| love | loves | loving | loved |
| notice | notices | noticing | noticed |
| change | changes | changing | changed |
Rule: if the root ends in e, the e is usually dropped when a suffix beginning with a vowel is added.
Compare:
| stay | stays | staying | stayed |
| hurry | hurries | hurrying | hurried |
| try | tries | trying | tried |
Rule: if the root ends in ay, ey, oy, uy, the spelling is regular. If it ends in y alone, we change y to i except in the -ing form (because of the pronunciation).
A few forms are irregular because otherwise confusion would result:
| stay | stays | staying | stayed |
| die (pass away) | dies | dying | died |
| dye (colour) | dyes | dyeing | dyed |
| swinging (sixties) | |||
| swingeing (blows) |
Similar rules apply to nouns:
| cat | cats |
| dove | doves |
| guy | guys |
| lady | ladies |
Adjectives & Adverbs
The rules also apply to adjectives expressing "more" and "most".
Compare:
| soft | softer | softest |
| true | truer | truest |
| grey | greyer | greyest |
| pretty | prettier | prettiest |
Note: Adjective dry forms Adverb dryly or drily.
Note, too, these exceptions:
| gay | gaily | gaiety |
| day | daily |
Keeping e
| verb or noun | adjective |
|---|---|
| change | changeable |
| manage | manageable |
| service | serviceable |
| peace | peaceable |
Rule: where ge is pronounced as j and ce as s, the e is kept.
Note that this rule does not apply to parts of verbs : managing, servicing, etc.
In the case of certain short, common words, e is sometimes kept to make the meaning or pronunciation clear.
Some examples are:
- blameable
- sizeable
- unshakeable
- saleable
- nameable
In a few cases, either spelling is acceptable. Words with two es keep both: agreeable, forseeable
- givable/giveable
- likable/likeable
- lovable/loveable
Following American usage, judgment is sometimes found instead of judgement.
Exercises
Exercise 1.
Below are the correct spellings of twelve of the most commonly mis-spelled words in English. Ask a friend to read them out to you and check how well you score.
- accommodation
- definitely
- difference
- foreign
- medicine
- occasion
- occurrence
- possessive
- privilege
- separate
- skilful
- unnecessary
Exercise 2. Instructions
Look at the pairs of words below. Decide which rule applies to each. Here is a reminder of the rules
Dropping E: if the root ends in E, the E is usually dropped when a suffix beginning with a vowel is added.
Y becomes I: if the root ends in AY, EY, OY, or UY the spelling is regular. If it ends in Y alone, we change Y to I except it the ING form (because of the pronunciation).
Keeping E: where GE is pronounced as J or CE as S, the E is kept. (Remember that this rule does not apply to parts of verbs: managing, servicing etc.)