Download Spelling Help - West Byfleet Junior School

Spelling Terms to Know
Consonant — All the letters in the alphabet except for vowels
Letter Blends — A sound made by the combination of 2 or more letters
"ch," or "ow".
"br,"
Prefix — A unit of letters such as "un," "in," or "mis" that are attached to the
beginning of a root word to change its meaning.
able=unable
spell=misspell
Suffix — A unit of letters such as "ing," "ness," or "ed" that are attached to a root
word to modify its meaning, part of speech, or tense.
will = willing
ready = readiness
wait = waited
Root Word — A word that stands on its own and has meaning but can also be
modified with suffixes and prefixes to make new words.
sane + in = insane.
fix + ing = fixing
Syllable — Words are made up of chunks of sounds or syllables. Each "beat" is
one syllable. To figure out the number of syllables, clap your hands for each
"beat" in a word.
1 "cat" and "break"
2: "broken" and "diner"
3: "Internet”
Vowel — The letters A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y, which make the most
prominent sound in a syllable.
Spelling Rules to Learn
1. Plurals: Turning one into many
Generally, when pluralising a word, just add an "s."
apple = apples
cat = cats
The exceptions are:
Words ending in "y" — if there's a consonant before the letter "y," change the "y"
to an "ie" before adding an "s":
baby = babies
lady = ladies
Exception to this exception:
If there is a vowel before the "y," just add an "s":
monkey = monkeys
Words ending in "s," "ch," "sh," or "x" — add an "es" to these words:
fox = foxes
dress = dresses
wish = wishes
latch = latches
Words ending in "f" or "fe" — generally, the plural of these words will end in
"ves":
life = lives
leaf = leaves
To check if the word in question is an exception, say it out loud. If it still has the
"ef" sound when pluralized, it keeps the "f" when spelled:
safe = safes
chef = chefs
2. The Apostrophe Mark
Words get an apostrophe for two reasons:
To show ownership, use an apostrophe and the letter "s."
Billy's toy — The toy belongs to Billy, so the apostrophe goes after his
name.
The girls' house — The house belongs to all the girls, so the apostrophe
goes after "girls." It does NOT get another "s."
Exception: if the plural form of a word doesn't end in "s," as in women,
then add the "s": women's rights.
To show that two words have been combined and letters have been left out, put
an apostrophe where the letters were removed:
it's = it is
haven't = have not
she will = she'll
3. Ending words with "ick" or "ic"
When a word ends with an "ick" sound, it will be spelled "ick" if the word has 1
syllable:
trick, pick, stick
Spell it "ic" if it has 2 or more syllables:
clinic, sarcastic, panic
Exceptions are almost all cases of compound words (two words combined to
form one word), such as:
candlestick or seasick
If you can separate an "ick" word into two separate smaller words, then it is
probably an exception.
4. Adding suffixes to words ending in "e" and "y"
When adding a suffix to a word, there are a few simple patterns that will help.
Words ending in a silent "e"
When the suffix begins with a vowel, drop the "e":
like = liking
noise = noisy
Exception: When the word ends with a "ce" or "ge," keep the "e" when you're
adding "able" or "ous" to the word:
service = serviceable
courage = courageous
When the suffix begins with a consonant, keep the "e":
like = likeness
noise = noiseless
use = useful
Words ending in "y"
When there is a consonant before the "y," change the "y" to an "i" before adding
a suffix:
beauty = beautiful
worry = worrisome
Exception: When the suffix starts with an "i" keep the "y":
worry = worrying
cry = crying
When there is a vowel before the "y", don't change the "y"; just add the suffix:
say = saying
turkey = turkeys
enjoy = enjoyment
5. Adding suffixes to words ending with a consonant: The rules of doubling
If the word is one syllable long and ends in a consonant with one vowel before it,
double the last letter:
bed = bedding
drop = dropped
hot = hottest
If the word is one syllable long and ends in a consonant with two vowels before it,
then you don't double:
feel = feeling
real = realist
void = voided
If the word is one syllable long and ends with two consonants in a row, do not
double the final consonant:
back = backing
wash = washer
crush = crushed
For words with two or more syllables, figure out if the last syllable is stressed.
You can do this by saying the word out loud to see what part of the word you
naturally emphasize most. If the last syllable is stressed, then it follows the same
rule as for single-syllable words. If the last syllable is not stressed, don't double
the final consonant.
6. "I" before "E"
When a word contains an "ee" sound that's spelled with an "i" and an "e" it
almost always follows this classic rule:
I before E except after C…
But there are exceptions when the vowel sound created is an "a" which makes
the entire mnemonic or memory trick:
I before E except after C, or when sounding like A as in neighbor or weigh.