SPELLING RULES AND SILENT LETTERS Rev.
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Ten common spelling rules
Rule
1. ‘ie’ or ‘ei
 Write i before e, except after
c or when the sound is long
e diesel, field, fierce, friend ,
 Write ei when the hard e
sound comes after an /s/
sound
 Write ie after c for words
with a shen sound.
 Write ei when the vowels
sounds like an ay as in
'weigh'
2. words ending in -cede
3. ‘y’ to ‘i’ or not
 For words ending in y
preceded by a vowel, retain
the y when adding s or a
suffix.
 For words ending in y, retain
the y when adding ing.
 For words ending in y,
preceded by a consonant,
change the y to i before any
Examples Exceptions
 achieve, belief, believe, caffeine, ceiling, ceilidh
besiege, bier, brief, cashier, (Scot),codeine, concierge (F),
counterfeit, eiderdown ,
grievous, hygiene, lieutenant, either, friend, foreign,
mischief, niece, pierce, relief, forfeit, height ,heir, heiress,
review, relieve, reprieve, leisure, neither , protein,
retrieve, siege, shield, shriek, science, species, seize,
thief, tier, view seizure, sovereign, weir,
 conceive, deceit, deceive , weird
perceive, receipt, receive,
 ancient, conscience,
deficient, efficient,
omniscient, proficient
sentience, sentient,
sufficient,
 beige, deign, eight, feign,
feint, freight, neigh,
neighbor, reign, rein, sheik ,
skein, sleigh, veil, vein,
weigh, weight,
 accede, antecede, cede,  One word that ends in –
concede, precede, recede, sede: supersede
secede  Three words that end in –
ceed: exceed, proceed,
succeed
 abbey- abbeys, convey -  Words that end in ‘quy”
conveyor, employ > colloquy-colloquies,
employer , employment exequy-exequies,
obloquy- obloquies,
obsequy- obsequies
 try > trying, justify >
justifying, certify > certifying,
study > studying
 try > tried, justify > justifies,  dryness, shyness
certify > certifiable, mystify >
mystified, laboratory >
 other suffix
4. The final ‘e’
 DROP the e when the suffix
starts with a vowel.
 DROP the e when the word
ends in dge.
 DROP the final e when
adding -ing
5. ‘l’ or ‘ll’, ‘r’ or ‘rr’, ‘t ’ or ‘tt’
when adding -ing - ed and
some suffixes to verbs
 DOUBLE the ’l’ when it is
preceded by a single vowel
 DOUBLE the ‘r’ for verbs of
one syllable when the final
‘r” is preceded by a single
vowel.
 DOUBLE the ‘t’ for verbs of
one syllable with a single
vowel , or a short vowel
sound
 DOUBLE the r for words of
more than one syllable
when the stress does not
fall on the first syllable
laboratories
 admire-admirable, cure –
curable, defense- defensible,
divulge- divulging, sense –
sensible, use - usable
 cadge- cadging, hedge-
hedging, nudge-nudging ,
pledge- pledging
 avenge- avenging, care-
caring, cure- curing, emerge-
emerging, gauge- gauging,
write-writing
 cancel- cancelling, cancelled,
cancellation, enroll-
enrolling, enrolled (but
enrolment), fulfill - fulfilling,
fulfilled, fulfillment, level –
levelling*, levelled * (UK) but
one l (US) ,travel > travelling,
travelled, traveler
 star > starring, starred, starry
tar > tarring, tarred
war > warring, warred (but
warfare) scar > scarring,
scarred stir > stirring, stirred
 rot > rotting, rotted, rotten
fit > fitting, fitted, knot >
knotting, knotted
 concur > concurring,
concurred, concurrence
occur > occurring, occurred,
occurrence defer > deferring,
deferred, (but deference)
deter > deterring, deterring,
deterrent infer > inferring,
inferred, (but inference)
prefer > preferred,
preferring, (but preference)
refer > referred, referring,
referral
DO NOT DROP the e if the
word ends in ce or ge and the
suffix is –able or ible (e.g.
allege - allegeable, change-
changeable, embrace –
embraceable, forge-forgeable
, notice - noticeable, salvage-
salvageable, service-
serviceable,
 DO NOT DOUBLE the l
when it is preceded by a
double vowel (e.g. conceal
> concealing, concealed;
reveal – revealed,
revealing
 DO NOT DOUBLE the r for
verbs of one syllable when
the final r is preceded by a
double vowel (e.g. fear
>fearing, feared)
 DO NOT DOUBLE the t for
verbs of one syllable with
a double vowel or a long
vowel sound (e.g. treat >
treating, treated; greet >
greeting, greeted)
 DO NOT DOUBLE the r for
words of more than one
syllable, when the stress
falls on the first syllable
(e.g. prosper > prospered,
prospering)
  DOUBLE the ‘t’ for verbs of
more than one syllable when
the stress does not fall on the
first but falls on the last
syllable.
6. Dropping letters
Many words drop a letter
when adding a suffix, but it is
not always the final letter
7 . Word endings such as
able/ible, ant/ance; ent/ence
8. To form plurals
 For most words add s
 Add es if a word ends in ch,
sh, ss, x ,z or zz
 Add es for most words
ending in o
9. A word retains its original
spelling with the addition of
prefixes dis-, mis-, over-
10. A word retains its original
spelling with the addition of
suffixes –ness and -ly
 abet > abetting, abetted
,allot > allotting, allotted
commit > committing,
committed emit > emitting,
emitted forget > forgetting,
forgotten (but forgetful)
argue > argument; proceed >
procedure; humour > humorous;
disaster > disastrous; repeat >
repetition; administer >
administration
negligible, incredible, invisible,
sensible, admirable, preventable,
suitable, dependable
attendance, ignorance, nuisance,
importance sentence, difference
,independence, intelligence
 arm-arms, bar-bars, cake-
cakes, dot-dots
 church-churches, flash -
flashes, brass - brasses, hoax
- hoaxes, quiz – quizzes, fizz-
fizzes
 tomato > tomatoes, hero >
heroes, go > goes, do > does,
echo > echoes
 disadvantages, dishonest,
dissatisfaction,
 mislaid , mismatch,
mispronounce,
 overachiever, overact,
overrated
 darkness, exclusiveness,
fearlessness hopelessness,
illness, kindness
 breathlessly, gladly, kindly,
lovingly, perfectly, promptly,
There is no reliable rule
covering these words, so they
simply have to be memorized
There is no reliable rule
covering these words, so they
simply have to be memorized
Refer to Rules in Changing
Singular Nouns to Plural
Nouns: Rule #5:a,b,c,d
 Most words of musical
origin: altos, duos,
pianos, radios, solos
sopranos, tempo
 Most loan words from
Spanish: aficionado,
albino, arroyo, avocado,
bravo, bronco, burrito,
patio, poncho, rodeo,
taco
 Others: studios, videos,
typos
Words ending in ‘y’ change y
to I before adding ‘-ness’ and
‘-ly’
 dizziness, duskiness,
edginess, emptiness,
happiness, itchiness,
laziness

11. Silent letters  Silent b
Some words include letters
which are not pronounced
when the word is spoken.
The letter C has no sound of its  Silent c
own. It makes two sounds: K & S
 Pronounced as K when
followed by A,O or U: cat,
cast, cotton, cover, cut,
curl
 Pronounced as S when
followed by E, I, or Y:
cent, city, cyst
 CL, CR, CT has the sound
of K :clamp, crocodile
conduct, stomach, ache,
orchid, chemical, chasm,
chaos, saccharine, picnic,
traffic
 CC is pronounced as K:
account, accurate,
accuse, broccoli, hiccup,  Silent d
occupy, raccoon, tobacco
 Silent e
proudly, quickly, sadly,
sincerely, slowly, softly,
suddenly
aplomb, bomb, climb, comb,
crumb, debt, debtor, doubt,
doubtful, dumb, jamb, lamb,
limb, numb, plumb, plumber,
subpoena, subtle, subtlety,
subpoena, succumb, thumb,
tomb, womb
abscess, acknowledge,
acquire, acquaintance,
acquiesce, acquit,
adolescent, ascend, ascent,
blackguard, conscience,
conscious, crescent, czar,
descend, descendant,
descent, disciple, fascinate,
fluorescent, incandescent,
isosceles, luminescent,
miscellaneous, muscles,
obscene, resuscitate,
scenario, scene, scent
scissors, victual
dodge, grudge, handkerchief,
handsome, hedge, pledge
sandwich, Wednesday,
ma’am(madam)
bridge, catalogue, clothes,
fugue, plague, plaque,
tongue, vegetables
 angrily, cozily, happily,
hastily, hungrily , prettily,
readily, scantily, shabbily,
stealthily
 B is not pronounced after
M at the end of the word.
Bomb, dumb
 B is usually not
pronounced before T at
the end of a root word.
Ex. debt, doubt, subtle
root word; debtor suffix
 C is not pronounced in
combination sc if followed
by e, I, or y.scent, scissors,
fascinate, scythe
 C usually not pronounced
before the letters k, or q:
acquaintance,
acknowledge, acquiesce
 Silent CH- yacht
 D is not pronounced in
combination DG:,
grudge, badge
 D is not pronounced in
handkerchief,
handsome, sandwich,
Wednesday.
 E Is not pronounced at
the end of words but
elongates the sound of
the vowel before it. -.
bit-bite, hop- hope, mat
–mate, sin-sine, din-
dine, mop- mope
Exception: giraffe,

1a. when G precedes H in a
single syllable, the GH is silent.:
high, sigh, night, might, sight,
tight, flight, weight, sleigh,
ought, dough, knight, tonight,
bought, naughty, thought,
although, though, bough,
through, highway, daughter,
neighbor, throughout,
thoroughly.
1b. when G precedes H at the
beginning of the word, the H is
silent: aghast, Ghana, ghastly,
Ghent, gherkin, ghetto, ghost,
ghostwriter, ghoul
2. G has its own sound when
followed by A, O or U: game, go,
wagon, gum, gun, garnet, garish
3. G has the sound of J when
followed by E, I or Y: gem, germ,
gin, gym, genus, ginger, budget,
region, Egypt, judge, advantage,
exaggerate.
Exception: gear, get, geese,
finger, anger, begin, giddy,
gimmick, girl, give, giggle.
 Silent g
align, alight, assign, benign,
campaign, champagne,
cognac, cologne, consign,
design, diaphragm, feign,
foreign, gnarl, gnash, gnat,
gnaw, gnome, gnu, high,
light, malign, reign, resign,
sign.
 Silent h
ache, aghast, anchor,
archeology, architect,
archive, chaos, character,
characteristic, charisma,
chemical, chemist, chemistry,
chemotherapy, chlorine,
choir, cholera, chord,
choreograph, chorus,
Christian, Christmas, chrome,
chyme, dinghy, echo,
exhaust, ghastly, ghetto,
ghost, ghoul, herb, hour,
honor, honest, leprechaun,
loch, rhubarb, melancholy,
mechanical monarch,
monochrome, orchestra,
orchid, psychic, rhinestone,
rhinoceros, rhyme, rhythm,
scheme, school, shepherd,
stomach, technical, why,
brunette cassette,
gazette due to the vowel
before E which has a
long sound and the
consonant before E is
doubled.
 G not pronounced
before N in a single
syllable: align, design,
gnome, cologne
exception: igneous,
magnet, cognitive,
signature – GN does not
constitute one syllable.
 G is not pronounced
before M: diaphragm
 GH in a single syllable is
sometimes pronounced
like an F: rough, tough,
laugh, enough, cough,
draught
Except in compound
words: doghouse
 H not pronounced when
it comes after W: what,
why, when
 H Not pronounced at
the beginning of many
words unvoiced: hour,
honor, except hill,
history, height, happy,
hereditary
 H not pronounced after
C,G.or R: choir, chorus,
ghastly, ghoul, aghast,
echo, rhinoceros,
rhythm, rhinestone
 technique, technocrat,
technology, thyme, what,
when, whether, which,
while, white, who, whole

Letter L is silent:  Silent I

1) When L precedes D in the
same syllable: could, should,
would
2) When L is between A and F
in the same syllable: behalf,
halfback, half life, half mast
3) When L is between A and K
in the same syllable: balk,
beanstalk, calk, catwalk,
jaywalk, shoptalk, sidewalk
4) When L is between O and K
in the same syllable: folk,
folklore, folktale, Norfolk,
Suffolk
5) When L is between U and K
in the same syllable: baulk,
caulk, Faulkner
6) When L is between A and M
in the same syllable: balm,
calm, becalm, embalm,
halm, malm, malmsey,
napalm, palm, palmist,
qualm
7) LM is pronounced in the
following words:culm, helm,
elm, overwhelm, realm, film,
whelm
8) When L is between A and V
in the same syllable :calve,
halve, salve*
business, parliament
 Silent k
knack, knapsack, knave,
knead, knee, kneecap, kneel
, knell, knew, knickers,
knickknacks, knife, knight,
knit, knob, knock, knock-out
knoll, knot, know,
knowledge, knuckle, knurl
 Silent l
almond, alms, balm, calf,
calm, chalk, colonel, could,
folk, half, Holmes, palm,
Palmolive, psalm, Lincoln,
Malcolm, qualm, salmon,
salve*, should, solder, talk,
walk, would, yolk
 Silent n
N not pronounced after M at
the end of the word:
autumn, column, condemn,
damn, hymn, solemn,
government
 Silent p
cupboard, corps, coup,
psyche, psychology,
pneumatic, pneumonia,
psalm, pseudo, pseudonym,
psychiatrist, psychiatry,
psychotherapy, psychotic,
raspberry, receipt
 K is not pronounced
before N at the
beginning of the word.
 L not pronounced after
vowels A, O, U: calm,
yolk, chalk, folk, balm
exception: halo, bulk,
sulk, hold, sold, fold,
mould.
 P not pronounced at
the beginning of the
words using the
combination PS, PT, PN:
psychotic, pseudonym,
ptarmigan, ,pterodactyl,
pteranodon, pterapod,
Ptolemy, ptomaine,
ptyalin
 PH pronounced
sometimes like F:
paragraph, sophomore,
telephone, asphalt,
telegraph, alphabet,
epiphany, pharmacy,
phenol, bacteriophage,

 Q makes two sounds:  Q has no sound of its own. It
KW in queen, qualm, quiet
K in liquor, lacquer,
exchequer
phagocyte, phantom,
phalange, phase, photo,
philanthrophy, Pharaoh,
Pharisee, pharynx,
phallus, phantasm,
pheasant, nephew,
phenomena, phoenix
is always paired with U and
has the sound of KW
quick, quack , squad

 Silent s
aisle, chamois, debris, island,  S not pronounced
isle, islet, patois, viscount, before L: island, islet,
Arkansas, Illinois, faux pas aisle

 Silent t
apostle, ballet, beret, bristle,
buffet ,bustle, butcher, castle
catch, chalet, chestnut,
Christ, Christmas, crochet,
debut, depot, fasten, glisten,
gourmet, hasten, hustle,
jostle, kitchen, listen, match,
moisten, mortgage, often,
nestle, rapport, rustle,
scratch, soften, thistle,
trestle, valet*,watch,
whistle, wrestle, witch

 Silent u
baguette, biscuit, build, built,
business,catalogue, circuit,
coquette disguise, gauge,  Not pronounced after
guard, guess, guest, G and before a vowel:
guidance, guide, guild, guile, guest, guitar,
guillotine, guilt, guilty, guise, guidance, guard
guitar, marquee, plague,
plaque, rouge, silhouette,
tongue, torque

 Silent w
answer, awry, playwright,
sword, two, wheat*, wrack,
wrangle, wrangler, wrap,  W not pronounced at
wrapper, wrath, wreath, the beginning of the
word before R: wrap.

1. X sounds Z at the beginning
of a word: xylem.
xylophone, Xanadu,
xanthophylls, xebec, xenon,
xenoliths, xerography,
xerophthalmia,
xenophobia, xerophytes,
Xerox, xiphoid, xerosis,
2a: X sounds KS in the middle or
end of the word. boxes, tax,
Homosexual, orthodox,
equinox, prefixes, spandex,
paradox, climax, Phoenix.
Reflexes, flaxen, parallax,
larynx, orthodox, cicatrix,
aviatrix, coax, minx,
appendix, duplex, calyx,
crucifix, smallpox
wreck, wreckage, wren,
wrench, wrest, wrestle,
wretch, wretched, wriggle,
wring, wrinkle, wrist, writ,
write, writhe, wrong, wrote,
wrought, wrung, wry
,sword
 X has no sound of its own. It
borrows sound from the
consonants Z , KS, GZ
2b: X sounds KS in words where
X precedes C: excavator,
exceed, excellence, except,
excerpt, excess, exchange,
exchequer, excise, excited,
exclaim, exclude, exclusive,
excommunicate
2c: : X sounds KS in words
where X precedes P: expand,
expanse, expatriate, expedite,
expect, expend, expensive,
expire, explore, explosive,
export, expose, express
 Silent Z
Rendezvous, laissez-faire
wrist, wrong
3. X sounds GZ when it
precedes the vowels A, E,
I and O in the middle of
the word: example,
examine, exact,
exaggerate, exaltation,
exam, exhaust (silent h),
executive, exemplar,
exempt, exert, exhibit,
(silent h) exhilarate (silent
h) ,exhume*, exile, exist,
exit*, exonerate, exercise,
exorbitant, exotic
4. X is silent in faux,
Bordeaux*, Sioux, roux
5. Plural form of French
derived words: beaux,
chateaux, flambeaux,
tableaux, trousseaux – the
X sounds Z