SOME HELPFUL RULES
1 i before e except after c, if the sound is ee .
e.g. believe, achieve, chief, siege, deceit, receipt, ceiling
Exception to the rule: seize, counterfeit, weir(d), species.)
Note: The rule does not apply when ie or ei is not pronounced ee.
2 Verbs ending in –eed and –ede
With suc-, ex- and pro-
Double ee must be. e.g. succeed, exceed, proceed
Otherwise: intercede, precede, recede, concede.
3 c or s?
Usually the noun has c; the verb s.
e.g. prophecy (noun) to prophesy (verb)
advice (noun) to advise (verb)
In some cases either c or s is used for both the noun and the verb e.g. practice, license.)
4 Doubling the letter before –ing, -ed, and other suffixes which start with a vowel,
e.g., -er -est, -able) The final consonant is doubled before –ing, ed, etc.
(a) in words containing a single short vowel (e.g. tap, hop):
e.g. hopping (short) as opposed to hoping (long)
Distinguish: shinning (up a tree), shining (sun) starring, staring; scarred, scared
dinner, diner (A diner eats a dinner.)
(b) in longer words where the stress falls on a short vowel at the end of the word:
e.g. begin(ning), occur(red), (p)referred, committed, admitted, fulfilling, regrettable,
forgettable
but not when the stress is else where: e.g. offer(ing), happening, benefited, galloped
preference (Exceptions: handicapped, kidnapped.)
5 Plurals
The general rule is to add an “s”, or after s, x, ch, sh, z, to add “es.”
(a) If the noun ends in a consonant followed by a y drop the y and add “ies”:
e.g. fairy – fairies; monastery—monasteries; lady —ladies; ally—allies; story—stories
If the noun ends in a vowel followed by y, simply add s.
e.g. donkeys, valleys, monkeys, chimneys, alleys, boys, trays
(b) Nouns ending in o, except for those listed below add s: e.g dynamos, photos
Exceptions: tomatoes, potatoes, heroes, mosquitoes, echoes, mottoes,
torpedoes, cargoes, volcanoes, vetoes, embargoes, tornadoes, dominoes,
buffaloes, desperadoes, haloes, noes.)
(c) Nouns ending in f and fe. There is no rule, though attention to the pronunciation
helps e.g. calves, wives, knives, halves, shelves, thieves, loaves, roofs, proofs, chiefs
Some have either: e.g. hoofs/hooves, wharfs/wharves
(d) Some nouns keep their foreign plurals:
e.g. crisis—crises; oasis—oases
criterion—criteria; phenomenon—phenomena
terminus—termini (or uses); larva—larvae
medium—media (but mediums to contact)
(e) Hyphenated compounds usually add the s to the main noun part:
e.g. passers-by, sons-in-law
(f) A few nouns have the same form in singular and plural:
e.g. sheep, aircraft
6 Words with prefix dis- or mis-
Do not add extra letters when a word contains the prefix dis- or mis-:
e.g. dis + appear = disappear dis + appoint = disappoint
A double s will appear only when the word to which the prefix is added starts with an s:
e.g. service disservice
spell misspell
satisfied dissatisfied
7 Suffixes –ful, -fully; -al, -ally
(a) Adjectives formed with the suffix –ful or –al (e.g. careful, actual) have one l.
(b) When forming adverbs add –ly as usual:
e.g. careful carefully
beautiful beautifully
real really
accidental accidentally
actual actually
(c) Adjectives ending in –ic form adverbs in –ically (except, publicly):
e.g. basically, terrifically, fantastically
8 Words ending in a silent e
(a) These usually keep the e before suffixes which begin with a consonant:
e.g. hopeful, arrangement, sincerely, completely
(Exceptions: argument, truly, duly, wholly.)
(b) If the suffix begins with a vowel the e is usally dropped:
e.g. come—coming; argue—arguing; inquire—inquiry; subtle—subtly
(Verbs ending in –oe do not drop the e: e.g. canoeing, hoeing.)
C After words ending in –ce or –ge the e must be kept so that the c/g
remains a “soft” sound (i.e. as in Cecil or George, not “hard” as in catgut):
e.g. noticeable, serviceable, manageable, courageous, singeing (burning
(Contrast the pronunciation of singing, navigable, practicable.)
9 Words ending in –y
(a) Words ending in –y preceded by a consonant change the y to i before any
suffix except – ing
e.g. cry cried crying
try tried trying
dry dries, drier drying
satisfy satisfied satisfying
hungry hungrier, hungrily
necessary necessarily
(Exceptions: shyly, slyer, spryest, dryness)
(b) Verbs like lie, die, tie, become lying, dying, tying. (To dye [clothes] becomes dyeing.)
10 Words ending in -ic These add a k before –ing, -ed, -er:
e.g. picnic picnicking
panic panicking
mimic mimicked
traffic trafficker
11 Prefixes fore-, for, ante, anti
(a) The prefix fore- means in front or beforehand: e.g. forewarn, forecast,
forestall, foreground (Contrast: forbid, forbearance.)
(b)Ante- means before; anti- means against: e.g. antenatal, anteroom; antidote, antiseptic