♣ Spelling Short and Long Vowels

1. To spell a short vowel sound, only one letter is needed:

                   at           red            it            hot           up

2. To spell a long vowel sound you must add a second vowel. The second vowel may be:

• next to the first, in the V V C pattern (boat, maid, cue, etc.)

• separated from the first one by a consonant in the V C V pattern - the second usually e. (made, ride, tide, etc.).

          (V = vowel    C = consonant)

3. If the second vowel is separated from the first by two consonants, it does not affect the first one.

     This is the VCCV pattern in which the first vowel remains short.

     Thus, doubling a consonant can be called "protecting" a short vowel. It prevents an incoming vowel from affecting the first one to change its sound from short to long: 

          maid,  made,  but  madder.                    dine,  diner,  but dinner.
           long     long              short                        long     long           short

Exceptions:
come, some

♣ Spelling the Sound  / k /

The sound /k/ can be spelled in any one of four ways:

                1. c             2. cc              3. k            4. ck

1. The single letter, c , is the most common spelling. It may be used anywhere in a word:

2. The double, cc , is used to protect the sound of a preceding short vowel:

3. The letter, k , is used if the sound /k/ is followed by an (e, i, or y).

4.The spelling, ck, is used  to protect the sound of a preceding short vowel, if the sound /k/ is followed by an (e, i, or y).

Note:  The letters, k , and, ck ,  are used to spell /k/ at the end of a monosyllable.

                  1. The digraph, ck , ALWAYS follows a short vowel:

                  2. The letter, k , follows any other sound:

♣ Spelling the Sound  / j / = //

The sound, /j/ is spelled in three ways:

                          1. j          2. g           3.dge

1. The letter j is usually used if the sound // is followed by an (a, o, or u).

2. The letter g is usually used if the sound // is followed by an (e, i, or y).

2. The spelling , dge , is used if the sound // comes after a short vowel. (This is because the letter j, is never doubled).

♣ Spelling the Sound  / ch / = / /

The sound /ch/ has two spellings:

                        1. tch after a short vowel:

                        2. ch anywhere else:

Exceptions:
Which, rich, much, such, touch, bachelor, attach, sandwich, and ostrich.

♣ Spelling the Sound  / kw /

This sound is ALWAYS spelled with the letters, qu, never anything else:

Note: There is no / q / in English not followed by / u /, (even if it is in a final position).

There is only ONE exception to this rule. It's the name of the Arab country Qatar

♣ Using -le

There are two rules concerning the words ending in -le:

           1. If the vowel in the word is short, there must be two consonants or a doubled letter between the vowel and the -le.

            2. If the vowel in the word is long, one consonant is enough.

♣ Odd English Spelling

1. The consonants, v , j , k , w , and x are NEVER doubled.
2. Normal English words never end with the letter v. A final sound / v / is ALWAYS spelled with ve.

♣ Adding Endings (Suffixes)

There are two kinds of suffixes:

                               1. suffixes that begin with a vowel          2. suffixes that begin with a consonant.

As usual, the spelling problems occur with the vowels.

1. Words that end in the letter y must have the y changed to i before adding any suffix:

2. Words that end in a silent e must have the e dropped before adding a vowel suffix.

   (The silent e is no longer needed to make the preceding vowel long as the incoming vowel will do the trick).

 3. Words that end in an accented short or modified vowel must have the final consonant doubled.

     (This is to protect the vowel sound when adding a vowel suffix).

Note that this doubling is not done if the accent is not on the last syllable. If the word ends in a schwa, there is no need to "protect" it.

4. Normally you drop a silent e before adding a vowel suffix. However, if the word ends in -ce or -ge and the incoming vowel is an a, o, or u, you cannot cavalierly toss out that silent e. It is not useless: it is keeping its left-hand letter soft, and your a, o, or u will not do that. Thus:

Gorgeous George bludgeoned a pigeon noticeably! Tsk.

5. Adding consonant suffixes is easy. You just add them. (Of course you must change a final y to i before you add any suffix.)

/sh/

When this sound occurs before a vowel suffix, it is spelled ti, si, or ci.

When /ee/ precedes a vowel suffix, it is usually spelled with the letter i:

Spelling Determined by Word Meaning

1. Mist and missed sound alike, as do band and banned. To determine the spelling, remember that -ed is a past-tense tending.

1. The mist drifted into the harbor.
2. I nearly missed my bus.
3. The movie was banned in Boston.
4. The band played on.

2. The endings of dentist and finest sound alike. Deciding which one to use can be tricky. One rule helps but doesn't cover all cases:

1. --ist is a suffix meaning someone who does something:
      artist    -   machinist    -   druggist
2. --est is the ending used on superlative adjectives:
      finest    -   sweetest    -   longest

3. The sounds at the end of musician and condition sound alike. but....

1. cian always means a person, where...
2. tion or sion are never used for people.

How do you tell whether to use tion or sion?

1. If the root word ends in /t/, use -tion: complete, completion
2. If the root word ends in /s/ or /d/, use sion: extend, extension
   supress, supression
3. If the sound of the last syllable is the "heavy" sound of /zhun/ rather than the light sound, /shun/, use s: confusion, vision, adhesion

Exception: The ending, --mit becomes -mission:

The Hiss

1. The letter s between vowels sounds like a z:

2. The light "hissy" sound is spelled with either ss or ce. Predictably, ss, like any proper doubled consonant, follows accented short vowels. Soft c is used anywhere else. (A soft c is one that is followed by e, i, or y).
 

3. The plural ending is always spelled with a single letter s unless you can hear a new syllable on the plural word. In that case, use -es:

No compendium of spelling rules would be complete with the most important rule of all:
WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK (or look it up)

But ask first - it's quicker.