Word Spelling Formulas

Put I before E except after C or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh.

An ancient species of man had a conscience like a glacier.

A base word of one syllable ending in the sounds of /f/, /l/ or /s/ after one short vowel sound regularly end in ff, ll or ss

FLOSS Rule

The plurals of letters, figures, signs and words in isolation are spelled by adding an apostrophe and an s to the singular

letter +/s/ = letter's figure +/s/ = figure's sign +/s/ = sign's word +/s/ = word's b's 3's

A base word of more than one syllable ending in /s/ after one short vowel sound regularly end in ss

address

When any suffix is added to a base word, the spelling of the suffix does not change

b.w. + suf = b.w. + suf brimful & careless

A base word ending in y after a consonant changes y to i before any suffix except one beginning with i

carry + ed = carried carry + ing = carrying

The regular plural of a noun is spelled by adding s to the singular

....pits, pins, trees

A base word ending in one consonant after one accented vowel doubles the final consonant before a suffix which begins with a vowel

1S b.w. =vc' + v suf = 1S b.w. vccv suf (boxed, taxing) 2S b.w. vc* + v suf = 2S b.w. vcv suf (opening) 2S b.w. vc' + v suf = 2S b.w. vccv suf (beginning)

When a suffix beginning with a consonant is added to a base word, the spelling of the base word does not change

b.w. _+ c. suf = b.w. + suf hopeful & bigness

a noun ending in ce, dge, ge se or ze spells its plural by dropping the e and adding es.

b.w. ce + s = b.w. ce es laces b.w. dge +s = b.w. dge es badges b.w. ge+s = b.w. ge es cages b.w. se +s = b.w. se es cheeses b.w.ze + s = b.w ze es prizes

A base word ending in silent e drops the e before a suffix beginning with a vowel

b.w. ce + v suf = b.w. vcv suf (hoping)

A few nouns ending in 0 spell their plurals irregularly by adding es. The nouns which add es are all learned words and must be memorized

b.w. o +/s/ = b.w. os pianos b.w. o +/s/ = b.w. oes potatoes

When any suffix is added to a base word which ends in more than one consonant, the spelling of the base word does not change(+). The pronunciation of the vowel in the base word is obvious.

b.w. vvc + c suf = bw vvcc suf (keenness) b.w. vvc + v suf = b.w. vvcv suf (cooker)

A noun ending in /s/, /ks/ , /z/, /ch/ or /sh/ spells its plural by adding es to the singular

b.w./s/ + s = b.w. s es glasses b.w. /ks/ +s = b.w. x es boxes b.w. /z/+s = b.w. z es buzzes b.w. /ch/ +s = b.w. ch es churches b.w./sh/ + s = b.w sh es ashes

The possessive of an indefinite pronoun does require an apostrophe.

everybody's

A few nouns spell their plurals without adding s

men, women & children, oxen, geese, teeth, mice....

The possessive of a plural noun is spelled by adding an apostrophe to a plural ending in s.

of b.w. + /s/ = b.w. s = b.w.s' (caps')

A possessive of a singular noun is spelled by adding an apostrophe and an s to the singular.

of b.w. = b.w.'s

The possessive plural noun that does not end in s is spelled by adding an apostrophe and an s to the plural.

of b.w. c = b.w. c's(men's)

When a prefix is added to a base word, the spelling of the base word does not change.

pref c + b.w. + pref v b.w. (misspell) pref c + b.w. + prefix c b.w. (rerun)

the spelling of a prefix which ends in a consonant does not change, but the final consonant may have been dropped or changed to match or blend better with the first letter of the base word, for euphony

pref c + c b.w. = prefix cc b.w. (in + regular = irregular) pref c + c b.w. = pref cc b.w. (in + pure = impure)

The spelling of a prefix which ends in a vowel is unchanged before any word

preview

The possessive of a personal pronoun ending in s does not require an apostrophe. The meaning of the word indicates possession.

yours, hers, its, ours, my, mine.....