Download Spelling Notes

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Spelling and Vocabulary Notes
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Make sense of unfamiliar words by looking at the context: the other words in the sentence and other
sentences in the paragraph that might give clues to the meaning of the word.
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Sometimes a sentence provides examples signaled by words such as
like
especially
includes
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these
for instance
this
for example
other
such as
Sometimes a sentence provides a comparison or a contrast signaled by words such as
Comparison Signals
 like
 as
 related
 similar to
 also
 resembling
Contrast Signals
but
unlike
rather than
although
however
on the other hand
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Sometimes a writer will restate the meaning of a difficult word within a sentence. These are sometimes
signaled by words such as: or, which is, that is, also called, also known as, and in other words.
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A suffix is a word ending that changes the use of a word. It is attached at the end of a base word or root. Most
suffixes determine a word’s part of speech.
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A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a word or word part to make a word with a different
meaning. The meaning of the prefix combines with the meaning of the base word or root.
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A root is a word part that cannot stand alone. It must be joined to other word parts to form words. A root is
the core of the word containing the most important element of the word’s meaning.
Prefix
In
+
+
Root
cis
+
+
Suffix
ion
=
=
Word
incision
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Words that contain the same root are called word families. The history or word origin of a specific word is its
etymology. Knowing the etymology of a word can assist in knowing the definition of a word.
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Words that have similar meanings are called synonyms.
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Sit
stand
Words that sound the same but are spelled differently, have a different meaning and origin are called
homonyms.
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lounge
Words that have different meanings are called antonyms.
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Sit
There
they’re
their
Words that are spelled the same but have a different meaning are called homographs.
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Bow = part of a ship
bow = to bend
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Any of two or more letters or groups of letters having the same pronunciation are called homophones.
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C in “civil” and S in “song”
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A word that “tells” about an action is a verb: operate.
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A word that “names” something is a noun: operation.
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“ate” is a verb ending.
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“ion” is a noun ending.
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A word that has 1 syllable, 1 vowel, and 1 final consonant is called a 1+1+2 word: set.
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A word that has a single Vowel in a final Accented syllable with one final Consonant is called a VAC word:
upset.
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Double the final consonant of a 1+1+1 word or a VAC word before a suffix that begins with a vowel.
o
Do not double the final consonant before a suffix that begins with a consonant.
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The vowels are “a, e, i, o, u” and sometimes “y” when it sounds like “i.”
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When spelling words like “receive,” the rule states…. “i” before “e” except after “c” unless it sounds like “a”
as in “neighbor.”
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When you add a suffix that begins with a vowel to a word that ends with a silent “e”, drop the final “e.”
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When you add a suffix that begins with a consonant to a word that ends in silent “e,” keep the final “e.”
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You can add a prefix directly to a base word to form a new word with a different meaning. The spelling of the
base word does not change when you add a prefix.
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A root can be joined with many different prefixes. Changing the prefix forms a new word with a different
meaning.
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The root “clude” means “to close.”
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•
•
•
+
+
clude
clude
=
=
to close out or shut out
to close in
Complete words may be combined to form other words in several different ways.
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When two words are simply connected, with no change in either word, the word formed is called a
compound word.
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Words joined by a hyphen are another kind of compound word.
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When an apostrophe is used to show that one or more letters have been omitted, the word is called a
contraction.
A word’s spelling may include a consonant pair in which one consonant is silent.
gn
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Ex
In
kn
mb
lm
wh
sw
wr
pb
lk
The word ending pronounced shun is usually spelled “tion.” Many verbs that end with “ate” can be changed
to nouns by adding the suffix “ion.” The hard “t” in “ate” becomes a soft “t” in “tion.”
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If the letter before a final “y” is a vowel, do not change the “y” when you add a suffix.
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If the letter before a final “y” is a consonant, change the “y” to “i” before you add any suffix except “ing.”
The “y” never changes before “ing.”
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Add “ly” to adjectives to form adverbs. Do not add “ly” directly to a noun.
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Add the ending “ally” to words that end with the letter “c” to form adverbs.
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Do not add “ly” directly after the letter “c.” For example, historically, not historicly.
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The “a” in ance/ant is difficult to distinguish from the “e” in ence/ent. The endings sound alike.
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The suffixes “ance” and “ant” are commonly added to complete words.
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The suffixes “ence” and “ent” are commonly added to roots. They are used after the letters “ci,” “qu,”
and “sc.”
Mnemonic device for assistance: Many words that begin with the letter “a” take the suffix
that begins with the letter “a.”
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Unstressed vowels cause spelling problems because they are difficult to hear and identify.
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A vowel in an accented syllable is pronounced more clearly.
Is the “e” more clearly pronounced in “com e dy” or “co me di an”?
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Many words have a form in which the accent shifts to a different syllable.
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A vowel that is difficult to identify in one form may be easier to hear in the other form.
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The suffix “able” means “able to learn.” It is commonly added to complete words to form adjectives.
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When “able” is added to words that end in “ce” or “ge,” the “e” must be kept to protect the soft sound
of “c” or “g.”
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The suffix “ible” is more commonly added to roots than to complete words. The “i” in “ible” gives
the letter “g” a soft sound: legible, tangible.
Mnemonic device for assistance: Many words that begin with “a” use the suffix that begins
with “a.”
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The suffix “ous” is added to words to form adjectives meaning “full of” or “having certain characteristics.”
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o
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The “us” spelling is not a suffix. It is a noun ending.
The suffix “ize” is added to words to form verbs meaning “to make or become.”
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Adventurous = full of adventure
Apologize = to make an apology
The “ise” ending is not a suffix.
A VAC word must have a final accented syllable.
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Some VAC words have a form in which the accent shifts to a different syllable when the suffix is
added. For these forms, do NOT double the final consonant of the base word when you add the
suffix: con-fer con-fer-ence
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Some double consonants occur because the last letter of the prefix is the same as the first letter of the base
word or root: misspelled.
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Most double consonants occur because the prefix is assimilated. The last letter of the prefix changes to match
the first letter of the base word or root: ad + tend = attend.
Mnemonic device for assistance: Associating the word in each pair will help you remember that
one of the double consonants belongs to the prefix, and one belongs to the root or base word.
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The letter “q” is always followed by the letter “u” in the English language.
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When “qu” is pronounced /k/, it can appear in the middle of a word or at the end of a word: mosquito,
antique.
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The spelling is always “que” at the end of a word.
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When “qu” is pronounced /kw/, it can appear in the middle of a word or at the beginning of a word:
equator, quarrel.
The letters “j” and “g” often sound alike.
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The letter “j” is used at the beginning and in the middle of words, not at the end.
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Unlike the letter “g”, “j” has a soft sound before the vowels “a, o, u.”
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The letters “ge” spell the soft sound of /j/ at the ends of words.
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The letters “dge” are used only in a one-syllable word with a short vowel.
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The letters “gh” are silent in a few familiar letter combinations:
ough
ight
eigh
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Spelling follows certain patterns in every language. Some French letter patterns appear in words commonly
used in the English language: “eur,” “eau,” final silent “t,” final silent “ue.”
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In both English and French, a soft “g” is usually followed by “e,” “i,” or “y.” The hard “g” is followed by
“a,” “o,” or “u.”