E.1.1 Use conventions of standard English spelling.

I before E

‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ or when sounding like ‘a’ as in ‘neighbor’ and ‘weigh’

“I” Before “E”	Except After “C”	Sounding Like “A”	Exceptions
believe	ceiling	beige	codeine
hygiene	conceit	rein	leisure
friend	receive	sleigh	caffeine

exceptions to ‘i’ before ‘e’

caffeine, neither, weird

Drop the Final E

drop the final ‘e’ if the suffix begins with a vowel, keep the ‘e’ if the suffix begins with a consonant

Drop the “e” Before a Vowel	Keep the “e” Before a Consonant	Exceptions
believe + able = believable	nice + ly = nicely	notice + able = noticeable
advise + ing = advising	amaze + ment = amazement	argue + ment = argument
guide + ance = guidance	rude + ness = rudeness	courage + ous = courageous

exceptions to drop the final ‘e’

due + ly = duly

peace + able = peaceable

true + ly = truly

Double the Final Consonant

verb ending in a consonant → double the final consonant when a single vowel precedes the final consonant and the last syllable of the word is stressed after the ending is added

words of two or more syllables → if the last syllable of the original word is stressed and a single vowel precedes the final consonant before adding the suffix, double the final consonant.

Double the Consonant	Do Not Double the Consonant	Exceptions: Both Forms Correct
blur + r + ing = blurring	bleed + ing = bleeding	traveling, travelling
plan + n + er = planner	plow + ed = plowed	canceled, cancelled
begin + n + ing = beginning	despair + ing = despairing	modeled, modelled

Double the Consonant Examples

blur + r + ing = blurring

plan + n + er = planner

begin + n + ing = beginning

Do Not Double the Consonant Examples

bleed + ing = bleeding

plow + ed = plowed

despair + ing = despairing

Exceptions to Double the Final Consonant Rules

Both Forms Correct:

traveling, travelling

canceled, cancelled

modeled, modelled

CHANGE THE FINAL “Y” TO “I”

When adding a suffix to a word ending in “y” preceded by a consonant, change the “y” to “i” and add the suffix. Do not change the “y” if the suffix begins with “i.”

Change the “y” to “i” Following a Consonant	Do Not Change the “y” Following a Vowel	Do Not Change If the Suffix Begins With “i”	Exceptions
beauty + ful = beautiful	day + s = days	cry + ing = crying	shy + ly = shyly
worry + ed = worried	obey + ed = obeyed	worry + ing = worrying	day + ly = daily
supply + er = supplier	relay + s = relays	supply + ing = supplying	memory + ize = memorize

Exceptions to CHANGE THE FINAL “Y” TO “I”

Exceptions

shy + ly = shyly

day + ly = daily

memory + ize = memorize

RULES FOR PLURALS

• For regular plurals, you only need to add “-s.” Examples: apple/apples, car/cars, nurse/nurses.

• Add “-es” for words ending in “-ch,” “-s,” “-sh,” “-x,” or “-z.” Examples: dash/dashes, lunch/lunches, boss/bosses.

• Change to “-ves” for some words ending in “-f” or “-fe.” Examples: elf/elves, life/lives, self/selves. Exceptions: chief/chiefs, proof/proofs.

Homophones

words that are pronounced the same but are spelled differently

Homophones

to/too/two

its/it’s

lead/led

bare/bear

their/there/they’re

Homographs

words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and may be pronounced differently or be used as different parts of speech

Homographs

bow: to bend at the waist (v); the front of a boat (n); a decoration (n); something that shoots arrows (n)

fair: reasonable (adj); an appearance (n); an exhibition (n)

lead: to show the way (v); a metal (n)

perfect: flawless (adj); to make flawless (v)

tear: to rip something (v); water from the eye (n)

Read the sample and answer the following question.

The explorers travelled across the desert, and it seemed that it’s heat would stop their progress.

1. Which of the following corrects an error in the sentence above?

   1. “Desert” should be “dessert.”

   2. “It’s” should be “its.”

   3. “Seemed” should be “seamed.”

   4. “Their” should be “they’re.”

“It’s” should be “its.”

Read the sample and answer the following question.

The explorers became thirstier and their vision blurred as they travelled further across the arid desert and tryed to make their way to the oasis.

1. Which of the following corrects a misspelling in the sentence above?

   1. “Blurred” should be “blured.”

   2. “Thirstier” should be “thirstyer.”

   3. “Their” should be “they’re.”

   4. “Tryed” should be “tried.”

“Tryed” should be “tried.”

1. Which of the following are spelled correctly, showing an exception to a spelling rule? (Select all that apply.)

   1. recieve

   2. beleive

   3. codeine

   4. feirce

   5. changeable

codeine and changeable

1. Which of the following uses the “double the consonant” rule correctly?

   1. “bleed” to “bleedding”

   2. “vomit” to “vomitted”

   3. “refer” to “referring”

   4. “plow” to “plowwed”

“refer” to “referring”