Download `ie` rule - Penweddig

Here are 9 of the most common spelling
patterns for you. Ask your teacher for
more help when you need it!
‘ie’ rule
1.
LEARN THIS: i before e except after c
when ie sounds like me
There is a long ‘e’ sound in these words so ‘i’ comes before ‘e’
belief
niece
achieve
There is a ‘c’ before the long ‘e’ sound in these words, so ‘i’ comes after ‘e’
conceit
receive
ceiling
These words do not have a long ‘e’
height
leisure
their
EXCEPTIONS: Here are the exceptions to this rule:
seize
2.
caffeine
protein
counterfeit
‘le’ endings
People often make the mistake of putting ‘el’ instead of ‘le’ at the end of words:
REMEMBER: use ‘le’ at the end of words (unless you want to hear the ‘e’ sound)
Here are some examples of ‘le’ words:
middle
uncle
possible
people
little
bible
sensible
candle
kettle
example
horrible
responsible
3.
Doubling consonants
tt
ll
rr
dd
mm
cc
The general rule is this:
If there is a short vowel before the t, l, r, d, m, or c sound in a word, double
the consonant.
REMEMBER:
a short vowel sounds like:
a
(as in apple)
e
(as in elephant)
i
(as in ink)
o
(as in orange)
u
(as in under)
4.
‘The Doubling’ rule
When words have:
has one short vowel
short vowel
syllable
One
final consonant
e.g. wet
You double the final consonant and add the suffix
(ending).
wet
shop
wettest (or wetter)
shopping (or shopped)
slim
slimmer (or slimmest)
chat
chatty
sun
sunny
dip
dipped
has one syllable
has one final consonant
5.
The ‘silent e’ rule
When you add a suffix (ending) that begins with a vowel to a word with
a silent e at the end, drop the silent e.
love
space
loved
spacing
(-ed suffix)
(-ing suffix)
spice
spicy
(-y suffix)
invite
invitation
(-ation suffix)
Exceptions to the ‘silent rule’
Words ending in ce or ge keep their silent ‘e’ when you add –able or –ous to them:
change
changeable
courage
courageous
Some words keep the silent ‘e’:
dyeing
singeing
acreage
(to dye clothes)
(to singe or burn something)
(tells you how many acres are in an area)
The ‘y to an i’ rule
6.
If the word has a consonant + y, change the y to an i when you add a suffix:
WARNING – Do not change when adding ing !
baby
babies
beauty
beautiful
cry
crying
busy
busily
7.
The ‘l’ rule
If a word has two syllables, and a vowel before the ‘l’, double the ‘l’ when adding
a vowel suffix:
can/cel
cancelled
ex/pel
expelling
tra/vel
travelling
Exceptions to the ‘l’ rule
There are a few exceptions to this rule, which you need to learn:
e.g.
legal
legalise
8.
The ‘exc’ rule
Most words that begin with the sound of the letter ‘x’ have ‘exc’ at the beginning:
DON’T FORGET THE C!
excite,
except,
excellent,
excess
‘ce’ and ‘se’ endings
9.
Both ‘ce’ and ‘se’ make an ‘s’ sound at the end of a word – but ‘ce’ is more usual:
experience
nonsense
absence
increase
Some words change from ‘ce’ to ‘se’ when they are used as a verb rather than a noun:
NOUN
VERB
practise
practice
Example
Jane decided that she needed to practise her
tables.
The practice begins at six.
REMEMBER:
Ask yourself whether the word is describing an action (verb) or is naming
something (noun)