English Spelling Rules

English Spelling Rules


Writing (and therefore spelling) is a representation of the spoken word. The spoken word is not a representation of writing. Because accents and pronunciation can change easily and quite quickly, whereas what is written in books and dictionaries remains "fixed" for years, as well as for various historical reasons, there is often little correspondence between spoken English (pronunciation) and written English (spelling). English spelling therefore often appears to be totally illogical. The following rules can help you to decode the mysteries of English spelling. But remember, even the best rules have their exceptions.

• Adding -er/-est
  quick, quicker, quickest, happy, happier, happiest, hot, hotter, hottest...
  
• Adding -ing/-ed
  work, working, worked, stop, stopping, stopped...
  
• Adding -ly
  loud, loudly, happy, happily, terrible, terribly...
  
• Adding -s
  dog, dogs, church, churches, wife, wives...
  
• -ible or -able
  accessible, visible, dependable, networkable...
  
• -ie- or -ei-
  friend, fiend, feint, freight...
  
  
  English and American English
  colour, color, practise, practice, tyre, tire...
  

Adding -er/est


We make the comparative or superlative forms of short adjectives by adding -er or -est.
Spelling Rule
Just add -er or -est to the end of the adjective, for example:

• quick > quicker > quickest
  
• great > greater > greatest
  
• full > fuller > fullest
  

Exceptions

If the adjective ends in:	do this:	and add:	For example:
consonant -y	change the -y to an -i	-er -est	happy > happier > happiest
consonant -e	remove the -e		late > later > latest
consonant vowel consonant	double the last letter		hot > hotter > hottest
Note: adjectives ending in -l are regular, except: cruel > crueller > cruellest

Adding -ing/-ed


Often we need to add -ing or -ed to a verb to make other forms of the verb, for example:
I was talking when John arrived.
Spelling Rule
Just add -ing or -ed to the end of the base verb:

• work > working > worked
  
• play > playing > played
  
• open > opening > opened
  

Exceptions

If the base verb ends in:	do this:	and add:	For example:
consonant vowel consonant and a stressed syllable	double the final consonant	-ing -ed	stop > stopping > stopped begin > beginning tap > tapping > tapped But, for example: open > opening > opened (because no stress on last syllable of open)
consonant -e	remove the -e	-ing -ed	phone > phoning > phoned dance > dancing > danced make > making rake > raking > raked dye > dying > dyed
-ie	change the -ie to -y	-ing	lie > lying die > dying
	nothing	-d	lie > lied die > died

Adding -ly


We often make an adverb by adding -ly to an adjective, for example: quick > quickly.
Spelling Rule
Just add -ly to the end of the adjective:

• coy > coyly
  
• loud > loudly
  
• beautiful > beautifully
  
• senseless > senselessly
  
• intelligent > intelligently
  

Exceptions

If the adjective ends in:	do this:	and add:	For example:
-ll	nothing	-y	full > fully
consonant -le	remove the final -e	-y	terrible > terribly
-y (except 1-syllable adjectives)	remove the -y	-ily	happy > happily
Note: 1-syllable adjectives ending in -y are regular, except: day > daily gay > gaily

Adding -s


We add -s to words for two reasons:

1. to make plural nouns (boy > boys)
   
2. to form the 3rd person singular of the present simple tense (I work > you work > he works)
   

Spelling Rule
Just add -s to the end of the word, for example:

• dog > dogs
  
• play > plays
  
• demand > demands
  

Exceptions

If the word ends in:	do this:	and add:	For example:
-ch -s -sh -x -z	nothing	-es	church > churches mass > masses brush > brushes fax > faxes box > boxes chintz > chintzes
-f -fe	remove the -f or -fe	-ves	wife > wives calf > calves except: beliefs, chiefs, dwarfs, griefs, gulfs, proofs, roofs
consonant -y	remove the -y	-ies	spy > spies baby > babies
Note: words that end in -o normally just add s, except: buffalo > buffaloes cargoes (or cargos) domino > dominoes echo > echoes go > goes grotto > grottoes halo > haloes hero > heroes mango > mangoes mosquito > mosquitoes motto > mottoes (or mottos) potato > potatoes tomato > tomatoes tornado > tornadoes torpedo > torpedoes veto > vetoes volcano > volcanoes

-ible or -able


Many words end in -ible and -able. Sometimes it is difficult to remember which spelling to use.
The -ible ending is for words of Latin origin. There are about 180 words ending in -ible. No new words are being created with -ible endings. Here are the most common examples:

accessible admissible audible collapsible combustible compatible comprehensible contemptible credible defensible destructible digestible divisible edible fallible

flexible gullible horrible illegible implausible inaccessible incontrovertible incredible indefensible indelible inedible insensible intelligible invincible invisible

illegible irresistible irreversible ostensible permissible plausible possible responsible reversible sensible susceptible suggestible tangible terrible visible

The -able ending is for:

• non-Latin words, for example: affordable, dependable, washable
  
• new words, for example: networkable, windsurfable
  

Rule
This rule can help you decide the correct spelling. It works most of the time. But remember, if you are not sure about a word, it is probably best to use a dictionary. Here is the rule:

• If you remove -able from a word, you are left with a complete word.
  
• If you remove -ible from a word, you are not left with a complete word.
  

-ie- or -ei-


Sometimes it is difficult to remember whether a word is spelled with -ie- or -ei-. There is a very simple rule about this:

• I before E
  Except after C
  

Rule	Examples
I before E	achieve, believe, brief, chief, friend, grief, hygiene, patience, pierce, priest, thief
Except after C	ceiling, conceit, conceive, deceit, deceive, perceive, receipt, receive

Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule.
1. When the sound rhymes with "may", the spelling is -ei-:

• beige, feint, freight, inveigle, neighbour, sleigh, vein, weigh, weight
  

2. Here are a few more common exceptions:

• either, neither, caffeine, codeine, counterfeit, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure, protein, their, weird, seize, seizure
  

English and American English Spelling


Here are the principal differences in spelling between English and American English.

	English	American English
Final -l is always doubled after one vowel in stressed and unstressed syllables in English but usually only in stressed syllables in American English, for example:	rebel > rebelled travel > travelled	rebel > rebelled travel > traveled
Some words end in -tre in English and -ter in American English, for example:	centre theatre	center theater
Some words end in -ogue in English and -og in American English, for example:	analogue catalogue	analog catalog
Some words end in -our in English and -or in American English, for example:	colour labour	color labor
Some verbs end in -ize or -ise in English but only in -ize in American English, for example:	realise, realize harmonise, harmonize	realize harmonize

Common Differences

English	American English
all right	all right, alright (disputed)
analyse	analyze
centre	center
cheque	check
colour	color
counsellor	counselor
criticise, criticize	criticize
defence	defense
doughnut	donut
favour	favor
fibre	fiber
flavour	flavor
fulfil	fulfill
grey	gray
honour	honor
humour	humor
jewellery	jewellery, jewelry
judgement, judgment	judgment
kerb	curb
labour	labor
license, licence (verb) licence (noun)	license (verb) license (noun)
litre	liter
metre	meter
mould	mold
neighbour	neighbor
offence	offense
practise (verb) practice (noun)	practice (verb) practice (noun)
pretence	pretense
programme	program
pyjamas	pajamas
realise, realize	realize
savour	savor
speciality	specialty
theatre	theater
travelled travelling	travelled, traveled travelling, traveling
tyre	tire
valour	valor