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SPELLING

The Doubling Rule

Chapter 1

A, e, i, o, u, and y are vowels. All the rest of the letters are consonants. Vowels are short unless there is a reason for them to be long. a says â as in apple e says ê as in elephant i says î as in it y says ý as in gym o says ô as in olive u says û as in umbrella I and y have the same sound. Y is the Greek way of spelling that sound. What is a syllable? It is a push of breath. How many syllables are there in the word cat? In batter? In Massachusetts? In Nebraska? In Boston? Look at these words: sad, fit, dim They are alike in three ways. 1. How many syllables do they have? ....…………………One syllable. 2. What is at the end of each word? ....………………..One consonant. 3. What is before the consonant? ......…………….…………One vowel. One syllable, one consonant, one vowel. One, one, one. Look at this word: sad + est = saddest

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What has happened to the d? It has doubled. There are two d’s. Likewise: sad + en = sadden fit + est = fittest dim + est = dimmest The last letter is doubled. But:

sad + ness = sadness

The d in sad did not double. There is only one d. Look at the two endings on sad: en and ness. How do they differ? What is at the beginning of en? A vowel. The ending starts with a vowel and the last letter, d, is doubled. What is the beginning of ness? A consonant. The ending starts with a consonant and the last letter in sad is not doubled. This is the doubling rule. First look at the base word. Does it have One, One, One (one syllable ending in one consonant after one vowel)? Then look at the ending. Does it start with a vowel? If you can say yes to these two questions, double the last letter in the base word. If either answer is now, then you don’t need the doubling rule. Always look at the base word first. Look at these words and endings: fit + est = fittest fit + ness = fitness dim + est = dimmest dim + ness = dimness ship + ing = shipping ship + ment = shipment (i,n,g says ing as in ring.) If the base word is One, One, One and the ending begins with a vowel, double the last letter in the word. 2

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More About The Doubling Rule

Chapter 20

The doubling rule is One, One, One: one syllable ending in one consonant after one vowel. If the ending begins with a vowel, double the final letter in the word. mat + ed = matted clap + ing = clapping If the ending begins with a consonant, the word does not change. sad + ness = sadness bad + ly = badly What happens to words of more than one syllable? omit + ed = omitted forget + ing = forgetting If the last syllable ends in one consonant after one vowel and the ending begins with a vowel, double the last letter in the word. Exercise 1

Add these endings to these words: admit + ing

forgot + en

prefer + ed

begin + ing

equip + ing

propel + er

The second half of the doubling rule: omit + ed = omitted The accent is on the last syllable. The last letter is doubled. forgét + ing 3

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The accent is on the last syllable. The last letter is doubled. But:

market + ing = marketing

The accent is not on the last syllable. It is on the first syllable. The last letter is not doubled. óffer + ed The accent is not on the last syllable. It is on the first syllable. The last letter is not doubled. In words of more than one syllable, if the accent is on the last syllable and the other parts of the doubling rule are present, double the last letter. Exercise 2 Add these endings to these words: transmit + ed

number + ing

garden + ing

permit +ed

refer + ed

profit + able

forbid +en

unforget + able Exercise 3

Add these endings to these words:

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perform + ance

contend + ed

enter + ed

suffer + ed

regret + ing

defer + ment

invent + ed

defer + ing

compel +ing

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The Silent E Rule

Chapter 2

The vowel is short unless there is a reason for it to be long. Here is one reason. Look at: câp + e = cäpe This e is silent, but it makes the a long. mâd + e = mäde The dog is mâd. He mäde a rumpus. cût +e = cüte Cût the cake. The cat is cüte. hôp + e = höpe Hôp on one foot. Höpe for spring. The e is silent, but it makes the vowel long. säle säfe säme säke

In each word the e is silent, but it makes the a long. The consonant between them changes. We show this by a—e. a—e (a consonant e) says ä as is safe We say “consonant” and use a dash because the consonant changes but the a and the e stay the same.

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Likewise:

p p p p

ï ï ï ï

pe ke le ne

i—e i—e i—e i—e

i—e (i consonant e) says ï as in pine r r r r

ö ö ö ö

le de pe se

o—e o—e o—e o—e

o—e (o consonant e) says ö as in home The first letter can change too. The only thing that stays the same is the vowel consonant e. tube puke fume cute use

u—e u—e u—e u—e u—e

u—e (u consonant e) says ü as in mule The words for e—e are harder: these compete concede sincere

e—e e—e e—e e—e

e—e (e consonant e) says ë as in these (the letter c sounds like s before e) Now you are ready for the Silent e Rule. Look at: like + ing = liking What has happened? The silent e is dropped. But:

like + ly = likely

The silent e is not dropped. 6

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The Y Rule

Chapter 8

How are these words alike? cry, study, fly, noisy, lazy They all end in y. What is before the y? A consonant. cry + ed = cried study + ed = studied fly + er =flier noisy + est = noisiest lazy + est = laziest The ending begins with a vowel. The y changes to i. But:

noisy + ly = noisily lazy + ly = lazily

The ending begins with a consonant. The y changes to i. It doesn’t matter how the ending begins. If a word ends in y and the letter before the y is a consonant, the y always changes to i. Are you thinking there must be a hitch? There is: ing cry + ing = crying study + ing = studying fly + ing = flying In English you can’t have two i’s together. Keep the y. It does not change when the ending is ing. 7

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