Read Online The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules by John J Fulford - Free Book Online
Authors: John J Fulford
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astonishingly high percentage of words. The true anomalies are very few.
The spelling rule governs only those words where the two letters form a diphthong. They must produce just one sound. Hundreds of words contain these two letters but do not fit the rule because the letters form separate syllables.
Science is a two-syllable word.
Society has four syllables.
Quiet, being, and deity do not contain diphthongs.
In hieroglyphics , the letters ie form a diphthong, but in hierarchy they do not.
Spelling rule #1: I before e :
Note that there are hundreds of words in this group, but no commonly used English word starts with ie.
Most of the words in this group will have the long e sound, but there are exceptions:
Spelling rule #2. … except after c :
A number of words seem to break this rule, but the vast majority of them are plurals like vacancies or comparatives like juiciest , where the y has been changed to an i . There are very few true anomalies.
Even these few anomalies are subject to argument as to whether or not the letters form a diphthong. This depends on how the word is pronounced.
Spelling rule #3. …or when sounding like ay . There are fewer than three dozen commonly used words that are spelled ei and sound like ay :
Some dictionaries offer an alternative pronunciation for three of these words. geisha, obeisance , and sheik. They are sometimes pronounced with the long e sound. but the long a sound follows the spelling rule and is therefore preferable.
Spelling rule #4. … or when sounding like eye. There are slightly more than two dozen words that are spelled ei and sound like eye . Many of them have been borrowed from the German.
Note that either and neither may be pronounced with the long e sound or the long i sound. Either pronunciation isquite acceptable on either side of the Atlantic. However, the eye sound conforms to the spelling rule therefore it is preferable.
The following words stick to the main spelling rule despite the fact that they have the eye sound:
There is a very small group of words that have the short i sound. Centuries ago, the word foreign was spelled forein and the word forfeit was spelled forfet. Here are additional words with the short i sound:
The following words are complete anomalies to the entire rule:
Note that lieutenant is an interesting word. The British pronounce it lef-tenant , while the Americans pronounce it loo-tenant. The Latin root is locum tenens , a phrase that is still used by lawyers and which means a person acting for somebody else, an official representative. We still use the word lieu (“in lieu of”) , which is pronounced loo . Therefore, the American pronunciation is historically more accurate and linguistically correct.
C HAPTER 20
Using k, ck, ic, ac
T o the student of English there must be times when the letters c and k appear to be interchangeable. Obviously they are not but we can not deny that there is some confusion. The Anglo-Saxons used the c when they needed a hard k sound and the s when they wanted a soft s sound, but the Normans introduced the k , which was soon followed by a flood of Latin and Greek words which often use the c when a hard k is called for. Add to this many hundreds of other imported words, and we have quite a mess. Over the years, however, spelling rules have emerged that serve to bring some order to the confusion.
And in North America, cheque is spelled check, despite the fact that the American Express Company sells traveler’s cheques.
Spelling rule #1: The ck is used immediately after a short vowel. Usually these are single-syllable words, but this group may include multi-syllable words when the syllable is closed or a suffix is added:
Note that no commonly used English words begin with ck.
Spelling rule #2: The k is used at the end of long vowel words and words that have a consonant after the vowel. This includes words that need a silent e
The spelling rule governs only those words where the two letters form a diphthong. They must produce just one sound. Hundreds of words contain these two letters but do not fit the rule because the letters form separate syllables.
Science is a two-syllable word.
Society has four syllables.
Quiet, being, and deity do not contain diphthongs.
In hieroglyphics , the letters ie form a diphthong, but in hierarchy they do not.
Spelling rule #1: I before e :
Note that there are hundreds of words in this group, but no commonly used English word starts with ie.
Most of the words in this group will have the long e sound, but there are exceptions:
Spelling rule #2. … except after c :
A number of words seem to break this rule, but the vast majority of them are plurals like vacancies or comparatives like juiciest , where the y has been changed to an i . There are very few true anomalies.
Even these few anomalies are subject to argument as to whether or not the letters form a diphthong. This depends on how the word is pronounced.
Spelling rule #3. …or when sounding like ay . There are fewer than three dozen commonly used words that are spelled ei and sound like ay :
Some dictionaries offer an alternative pronunciation for three of these words. geisha, obeisance , and sheik. They are sometimes pronounced with the long e sound. but the long a sound follows the spelling rule and is therefore preferable.
Spelling rule #4. … or when sounding like eye. There are slightly more than two dozen words that are spelled ei and sound like eye . Many of them have been borrowed from the German.
Note that either and neither may be pronounced with the long e sound or the long i sound. Either pronunciation isquite acceptable on either side of the Atlantic. However, the eye sound conforms to the spelling rule therefore it is preferable.
The following words stick to the main spelling rule despite the fact that they have the eye sound:
There is a very small group of words that have the short i sound. Centuries ago, the word foreign was spelled forein and the word forfeit was spelled forfet. Here are additional words with the short i sound:
The following words are complete anomalies to the entire rule:
Note that lieutenant is an interesting word. The British pronounce it lef-tenant , while the Americans pronounce it loo-tenant. The Latin root is locum tenens , a phrase that is still used by lawyers and which means a person acting for somebody else, an official representative. We still use the word lieu (“in lieu of”) , which is pronounced loo . Therefore, the American pronunciation is historically more accurate and linguistically correct.
C HAPTER 20
Using k, ck, ic, ac
T o the student of English there must be times when the letters c and k appear to be interchangeable. Obviously they are not but we can not deny that there is some confusion. The Anglo-Saxons used the c when they needed a hard k sound and the s when they wanted a soft s sound, but the Normans introduced the k , which was soon followed by a flood of Latin and Greek words which often use the c when a hard k is called for. Add to this many hundreds of other imported words, and we have quite a mess. Over the years, however, spelling rules have emerged that serve to bring some order to the confusion.
And in North America, cheque is spelled check, despite the fact that the American Express Company sells traveler’s cheques.
Spelling rule #1: The ck is used immediately after a short vowel. Usually these are single-syllable words, but this group may include multi-syllable words when the syllable is closed or a suffix is added:
Note that no commonly used English words begin with ck.
Spelling rule #2: The k is used at the end of long vowel words and words that have a consonant after the vowel. This includes words that need a silent e
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