Looking at some of the basic spelling rules used in the English language.

1. English Basics
Spelling Rules

2. Spelling Rules
When adding ing or y to words
ending with e, first leave out the e:
Save – saving Love – Loving
Shine – Shiny Stone - Stony

3. Spelling Rules
Put i before e except immediately
after c:
Ceiling – receipt -niece – chief
Note the following exceptions:
weight – height – seize – reign
neighbour

4. Spelling Rules
The second l of full is dropped
when full is added to another
word:
cheerful – hopeful – thankful

5. Spelling Rules
The sound j.
In Jane we get the true sound for
j, but g and d can sound the same,
As for instance in:
En_ine – Engine mana_ger – manager
Sol_ier – Soldier Ju__e – Judge
_in_er - Ginger

6. Spelling Rules
Some letters can hold their
tongues and be silent:
k l t p n w

7. Spelling Rules
Sir George is a knight and lives in a castle.
A knife is used for cutting.
Knitting is done with needles.
Do you know the answer?
Knock on the door.
In string you may find a knot.
The knuckle is part of your hand the knee is part of
your leg.
Dates grow on a palm tree.
The opposite of a rough sea is a calm sea.
Kev writes with chalk

8. Spelling Rules
The yellow part of an egg is the yolk.
The young of a cow is a calf.
In church you may hear psalms and hymns.
One of the seasons of the year is autumn.
Land surrounded by water is known as an island.
A referee blows a whistle (here the t is silent – the
h should influence the pronunciation).
In the olden days swords were used as weapons.

9. Spelling Rules
Which are the silent letters in:
heard search hour fight
island carriage meant scene
tongue honour sign sword
weather school write
Wednesday

10. Spelling Rules
Friendly h.
h likes to play with his friends w, t, s and c.
Sometime, as in:
patch ditch Dutch stitch
In the examples above the t is not pronounced –
but it is written in!
When h plays with w as in:
when where which
You should be able to hear both the w and the h.
You don’t always when some people speak!

11. Spelling Rules
Friendly n.
n has two great friends, g and k:
bang bank sang sank
sing sink sling slunk

12. Spelling Rules
e the magician.
When she follows a word she can change it:
win – wine mat – mate
but when she is followed by a greater
magician (any other vowel) she disappears:
like – liking bottle – bottling
but a lesser magician – like a consonant –
cannot harm e the magician
use – useful

13. Spelling Rules
q, the prisoner, must never go out
alone. Warden u must always be
with him:
quick equal liquid quantity

14. Spelling Rules
Plurals with s. Sometimes they
hiss, and sometimes they buzz:
hats (the s has a hissing sound)
dogs (the s has a buzzing sound)
boys and toes sound as if they
end with a z.

15. Spelling Rules
Jolly old pals together, g, h and t.
Supply the missing word they all end in ght:
They hurried and only just C____ the train.
Her parcel was heavy but mine was l____
Baby’s w_____ was seven pounds at birth.
As a result of the f____ he had a black eye
Have you b_____ your lunch with you?
Her h____ was 5 feet 3 inches
The shortest distance between two points is a S_______
line.

16. Spelling Rules
A and An.
An is used before words beginning with a vowel or a silent h:
an apple an odd an eager an iris
an uncle an honest an honourable an heir
A is used before all other words
a crab a pail a horrible a face a car
Some words beginning with the letter u sound as if they begin
with you (as in unicorn – you-nicorn). Such words must be
preceded by a:
a unit a union a university
Words beginning with x sound as if they begin with a
vowel, we therefore use an before them:
an x-ray

17. Tricky Words
Words ending in able
- Likeable - probable - valuable
Words ending in ible
- Horrible - possible - visible
a or e
pleasant assistant but
innocent impudent intelligent
distance attendance but
evidence presence