Read Online The Complete Guide to English Spelling Rules by John J Fulford - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John J Fulford
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Note that many centuries ago, oyster was spelled oistre.
When adding suffixes, as the y is preceded by a vowel the y is not usually changed to an i.
Three words that retain the y in order to avoid the oia combination are royal, loyal, and voyage. The oia combination is very rare in English: s equoia and paranoia.
C HAPTER 24
Using ay and ai
T he long vowel sounds produced by ay and ai are exactly the same, but there is a logical reason to use one rather than the other. There are very few exceptions.
Spelling rule #1: The ay is used at the end of a word:
Spelling rule #2: The ai is used in the middle of a word:
Note that the ai must be followed by at least one consonant:
There are very few words that start with ay or ai.
When adding suffixes, as the y is preceded by a vowel, the y is not usually changed to an i.
Note that three words follow the rules when they take the past tense.
Anomalies include the words crayon, bayonet , and mayor, which retain the y in order to avoid the triple vowel combination of aio . Many years ago, mayor was spelled mair.
C HAPTER 25
Using au and aw
T hese two syllables are similar in sound and could cause confusion. This is because the w in many of these words is being used in place of the u as an auxiliary vowel. But the spelling rules that govern au and aw are quite clear. They usually produce the or sound, as in order , door , ball , raw , but there are exceptions.
Spelling rule #1: The au spelling is used at the beginning or in the middle of a word. It is usually found in a closed syllable.
The au spelling does not appear at the end of words except for a handful of exotic words which are mostly French and have an o sound or an ow sound.
Spelling rule#2: The aw spelling is used at the end of a word or syllable:
The aw spelling occasionally appears before a final n or l :
Exceptions are bawd and bawdy.
Note that many aw words were originally spelled with a u.
Note that shawl is from the Persian word shal and yawl is from the Dutch word jol .
Fewer than a dozen words begin with aw :
Note that awe is the only commonly used word in this group that uses the silent e.
Historical footnote: The ancient Celts used the w much as we use the u , and the spelling still exists in modern Welsh. For example, cwm is a word that means a small valley. Although cwm is the only word of its type left in our dictionaries, it is quite popular in Welsh place names, and its English variation, combe , is very common in England.
C HAPTER 26
Using ou and ow
S ince the ou and ow combinations often make the same sound, it would seem that there is little difference between them. This is because, in many cases, the w is being used in place of the u as an auxiliary vowel.
Spelling rule #1: The ou spelling is almost always used in the middle of a word:
Note that the ou is almost never used at the end of a word. There are very few exceptions.
There are barely half a dozen commonly used English words that begin with ou. One of these has a different sound.
Spelling rule #2: The ow is most often used at the end of a word.
Only a tiny handful of commonly used English words begin with ow . Most of these have different sounds.
Note that the word owl was once spelled oule.
The spelling ow will occasionally appear in the middle of a word. The use of the w is sometimes necessary to prevent the occurrence of three consecutive vowels, as ou cannot be followed by a vowel, but ow can be followed by a vowel or a consonant. A large number of these apparent anomalies were once spelled with the letter u .
Note these words that were once spelled with ou instead of our modern ow :
C HAPTER 27
Using oe, ow, oa
T he long o sound can be spelled in a number of ways, for example, t hroat, throne, though, throw, hoe, limbo, etc.
Historical footnote:
The ancient Celts used the w much as we
Note that many centuries ago, oyster was spelled oistre.
When adding suffixes, as the y is preceded by a vowel the y is not usually changed to an i.
Three words that retain the y in order to avoid the oia combination are royal, loyal, and voyage. The oia combination is very rare in English: s equoia and paranoia.
C HAPTER 24
Using ay and ai
T he long vowel sounds produced by ay and ai are exactly the same, but there is a logical reason to use one rather than the other. There are very few exceptions.
Spelling rule #1: The ay is used at the end of a word:
Spelling rule #2: The ai is used in the middle of a word:
Note that the ai must be followed by at least one consonant:
There are very few words that start with ay or ai.
When adding suffixes, as the y is preceded by a vowel, the y is not usually changed to an i.
Note that three words follow the rules when they take the past tense.
Anomalies include the words crayon, bayonet , and mayor, which retain the y in order to avoid the triple vowel combination of aio . Many years ago, mayor was spelled mair.
C HAPTER 25
Using au and aw
T hese two syllables are similar in sound and could cause confusion. This is because the w in many of these words is being used in place of the u as an auxiliary vowel. But the spelling rules that govern au and aw are quite clear. They usually produce the or sound, as in order , door , ball , raw , but there are exceptions.
Spelling rule #1: The au spelling is used at the beginning or in the middle of a word. It is usually found in a closed syllable.
The au spelling does not appear at the end of words except for a handful of exotic words which are mostly French and have an o sound or an ow sound.
Spelling rule#2: The aw spelling is used at the end of a word or syllable:
The aw spelling occasionally appears before a final n or l :
Exceptions are bawd and bawdy.
Note that many aw words were originally spelled with a u.
Note that shawl is from the Persian word shal and yawl is from the Dutch word jol .
Fewer than a dozen words begin with aw :
Note that awe is the only commonly used word in this group that uses the silent e.
Historical footnote: The ancient Celts used the w much as we use the u , and the spelling still exists in modern Welsh. For example, cwm is a word that means a small valley. Although cwm is the only word of its type left in our dictionaries, it is quite popular in Welsh place names, and its English variation, combe , is very common in England.
C HAPTER 26
Using ou and ow
S ince the ou and ow combinations often make the same sound, it would seem that there is little difference between them. This is because, in many cases, the w is being used in place of the u as an auxiliary vowel.
Spelling rule #1: The ou spelling is almost always used in the middle of a word:
Note that the ou is almost never used at the end of a word. There are very few exceptions.
There are barely half a dozen commonly used English words that begin with ou. One of these has a different sound.
Spelling rule #2: The ow is most often used at the end of a word.
Only a tiny handful of commonly used English words begin with ow . Most of these have different sounds.
Note that the word owl was once spelled oule.
The spelling ow will occasionally appear in the middle of a word. The use of the w is sometimes necessary to prevent the occurrence of three consecutive vowels, as ou cannot be followed by a vowel, but ow can be followed by a vowel or a consonant. A large number of these apparent anomalies were once spelled with the letter u .
Note these words that were once spelled with ou instead of our modern ow :
C HAPTER 27
Using oe, ow, oa
T he long o sound can be spelled in a number of ways, for example, t hroat, throne, though, throw, hoe, limbo, etc.
Historical footnote:
The ancient Celts used the w much as we
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