2. What is the need to learn spellings?
• English spellings can be confusing
especially for the non-native speakers
and writers. In the following slide
presentations, you will find some rules
and regulations to help you.
Unfortunately there are exceptions to
these rules , but this summary should
be helpful.
3. What are spellings?
• “Spelling is the process of
representing language by means of a
writing system” ( National Council of Teachers of English,
1996. p. 51).
• Spelling is the writing of one or
more words with letters. it attempt to
transcribe the sounds of the language
into alphabetic letters.
4. Spelling knowledge
• PHONOLOGY – how words sound
• MORPHEMES – how words are
constructed from meaningful
elements
• HOMONYMS – words that sound
similar, but have different
meanings and spellings
5. Spelling knowledge
• HOMOPHONE – a word (type of
homonym) that is pronounced the same
as another word. The words may be
spelled differently or the same.
• CONTRACTION -- A word or phrase that
has been shortened by leaving out some
of the letters is called a contraction
6. Homonyms
• HOMONYMS – words that sound
similar, but have different meanings
and spellings
Examples: affect-effect;
they're-their-there; fell-fail, cite-sight-
site, marry-Mary-merry, pair-pare-
pear, there-their-they're
7. Homophones
• HOMOPHONE – a word (type of
homonym) that is pronounced the
same as another word. The words
may be spelled differently or the
same.
Examples: foul (odor) / fowl (bird)
, rose (flower) / rose (past tense of “rise”),
8. Contraction and model assimilations
• CONTRACTION - An apostrophe is used to show
that the letters have been omitted (won’t - will not),
(o’clock - of the clock).
example: : *ain’t, can’t, couldn’t, won’t, wouldn’t,
shan’t, shouldn’t, *mayn’t, (mightn’t, mustn’t)
• MODAL PLUS "HAVE" ASSIMILATION: coulda,
mighta, shoulda, woulda
• MODAL PLUS "TO" ASSIMILATION: gonna, hafta,
hasta, supposta, useta
10. Short vowel rule
To spell a short vowel sound,
only one letter is needed:
Examples: combat , shred , exit
, hot , super
11. Long vowel rules..
To spell a long sound you
usually must add a second
vowel, or you may use the
consonants y or w in place of
the vowel.
Examples: reach , loose , soup ,
seize , sky
12. vowel – consonant – e
rule
• The silent e makes the vowel
long.
Long a – Sneaky e
cake ape name
Long o – Sneaky e
bone hose nose
13. vowel – consonant – e
rule
• The silent e makes the vowel
long.
Long i – Sneaky e
bike dime pile
Long u – Sneaky e
cube rule rude
14. Some other spelling
rules….
• Almost no English words end in "v"
exception: spiv
• "q" is always written as "qu“ .It never
stands by itself.
Examples:
quick,
queen,
quarrel
15. • "i" comes before "e" when it is
pronounced " ee".
EXAMPLES: brief, field , priest.
• "i" before "e" except after " c “,
or when sounding like "a" as in
"neighbour, or weigh“.
EXAMPLES: receive, deceive, ceiling
17. "able" or "ible"
endings.
Use "able":
• After root words. e.g. available,
dependable.
• After root words ending in "e". e.g.
desirable, believable,
usable (drop the "e").
• After "i". e.g. reliable, sociable.
18. "able" or "ible" endings
• When other forms of the root word
have a dominant "a"
vowel. e.g. irritable, durable,
abominable.
• After a hard "c" or "g". e.g. educable,
navigable, practicable.
Exceptions: formidable, inevitable,
memorable, probable, indomitable,
insuperable.
19. "able" or "ible" endings
Use "ible"
• After non-root words. e.g.
audible, horrible, possible.
• When the root has an
immediate "ion“ form. e.g.
digestible, suggestible,
convertible.
20. "able" or "ible" endings
• After a root ending in "ns" or "miss".
e.g. responsible,
comprehensible, permissible.
• After a soft "c" or "g". e.g. legible,
negligible, forcible,
invincible.
• Exceptions: contemptible, resistible,
collapsible
flexible.
21. SOME PHONETIC VIOLATIONS
SAME PRONUNCIATION BUT
DIFFERENT SPELLINGS (DIFFERENT
MEANINGS): cite-sight-site, marry-
Mary-merry, pair-pare-pear, there-their-
they're
SAME SPELLINGS BUT DIFFERENT
PRONUNCIATIONS (SAME WORD
FAMILIES): nation-national, obscene-
obscenity, sign-signature, go-gone, ct.
soup-supper
22. • Keeping a constant spelling
may involve the use of so-
called “silent” letters.
• Sign resignation, signal,
signature.
23. • In some cases the “g” and
“k” are quite empty letters.
• “g” gnarled, gnat, gnome.
• “K” knee, knife, knock,
know.
24. We double "l, f, and s" after a
single
short vowel at the end of a word.
EXAMPLES: EXCEPTIONS:
miss us,
stiff, bus,
stuff. gas,
call, of,
tall, this,
toss yes,
plus,
nil,
pal.
25. For words ending in a single "l"
after a single vowel, double the "l"
before adding a suffix, regardless
of accent.
Examples:
Cancelled, traveller,
signalling, metallic.
"all" and "well" followed by
another syllable only have one "l".
Examples:
also, already,
although, welcome,
26. Silent e rule…..
• When a word ends in silent -
e, usually drop the -e if you
are
adding a suffix that begins
with a vowel, but retain the -
e
when you are adding a suffix
that begins with a consonant
27. Examples:
• Silent -e is an -e such as the one in
love, which you do not hear when love
is pronounced. Since love ends in
silent e and the suffix -able begins
with a vowel, drop -e when joining love
and -able:
love + able = lovable
• However, since the suffix -less begins
with a consonant, retain the -e in love
when joining love and -less:
love + less = loveless
28. In words ending in -ce or
-ge , -e is not dropped
when you add -
able or -ous:
Examples are:
courageous, manageable,
noticeable,
outrageous, peaceable,
serviceable, Traceable.
29. When a word ends in -y, usually
change the -y to -i when you are
adding a suffix if the -y is
preceded by a consonant, but do
not change it if the -y is preceded
by a vowel or if you are adding
the suffix -ing.
Examples
study+ -ed = studied
destroy + -ed = destroyed
study+ -ing = studying
destroy + -ing = destroying
30. A final Y changes to i when an ending is
added.
Supply become supplies
Worry become worried
Merry become merrier
……except when that ending is ing….
Crying, studying.
……..and when Y is preceded by a
vowel....
Obeyed , saying.
31. When a one-syllable word
ends in the cvc
combination, usually double
the final consonant when
adding a suffix that begins
with a vowel but
do not double it when
adding a suffix that begins
with a consonant.
32. Examples are........
Ship is a one-syllable word that
ends in the cvc combination.
ship + -ing = shipping
(a suffix begins with a vowel)
ship + -ment = shipment
(a suffix that begins with a
consonant
33. ASSIMILATION:
PALATALIZATION
• When a word that ends with a /t/
is followed by a –ual, -ial, or -ion
ending, the palatal vowel <y->
changes the /t/ sound into a /č/
sound.
addict addiction
act actual or action
part partial
predict prediction
34. ASSIMILATION: PALATALIZATION
• Because /k/ is a stop, and
vowels are continuants, an
affix beginning with a vowel
often changes /k/ to /s/.
critic criticize or criticism
fanatic fanaticism
romantic romanticism
