English Language: General Spelling Rules

Words Ending with a Consonant
Usually, the final consonant is doubled on a word before adding a suffix. This is the rule for single syllable words, words ending with one consonant, and multi-syllable words with the last syllable accented. The following are examples:

beg becomes begging (single syllable)
shop becomes shopped (single syllable)
add becomes adding (already ends in double consonant, do not add another d)
deter becomes deterring (multi-syllable, accent on last syllable)
regret becomes regrettable (multi-syllable, accent on last syllable)
compost becomes composting (do not add another t
because the accent is on the first syllable)

Words Ending with y or c
The general rule for words ending in y is to keep the y when adding a suffix if the y is preceded by a vowel. If the word ends in a consonant and y the y is changed to an i before the suffix is added (unless the suffix itself begins with i). The following are examples:
pay becomes paying (keep the y)
bully becomes bullied (change to i)
bully becomes bullying (keep the y because the suffix is –ing)
If a word ends with c and the suffix begins with an e, i, or y, the letter k is usually added to the end of the word. The following are examples: panic becomes panicky mimic becomes mimicking

Words Containing ie or ei, and/or Ending with e
Most words are spelled with an i before e, except when they follow the letter c, or sound like a. For example, the following words are spelled correctly according to these rules: piece, friend, believe (i before e) receive, ceiling, conceited (except after c) weight, neighborhood, veil (sounds like a)
To add a suffix to words ending with the letter e, first determine if the e is silent. If it is, the e will be kept if the added suffix begins with a consonant.
If the suffix begins with a vowel, the e is dropped. The following are examples:
age becomes ageless (keep the e)
age becomes aging (drop the e) A. exception to this rule occurs when the word ends in ce or ge and the suffix able or ous is added; these words will retain the letter e. The following are examples: courage becomes courageous notice becomes noticeable

Words Ending with ise or ize
A small number of words end with ise. Most of the words in the English language with the same sound end in ize. The following are examples: advertise, advise, arise, chastise, circumcise, and comprise compromise, demise, despise, devise, disguise, enterprise, excise, and exercise franchise, improvise, incise, merchandise, premise, reprise, and revise supervise, surmise, surprise, and televise
Words that end with ize include the following: accessorize, agonize, authorize, and brutalize capitalize, caramelize, categorize, civilize, and demonize downsize, empathize, euthanize, idolize, and immunize legalize, metabolize, mobilize, organize, and ostracize plagiarize, privatize, utilize, and visualize
(Note that some words may technically be spelled with ise, especially in British English, but it is more common to use ize.
Examples include symbolize/symbolise and baptize/baptise.)

Words Ending with ceed, sede, or cede
There are only three words in the English language that end with ceed: exceed, proceed, and succeed. There is only one word in the English language that ends with sede:
supersede. Most other words that sound like sede or ceed end with cede. The following are examples: concede, recede, and precede

Words Ending in able or ible
For words ending in able or ible, there are no hard and fast rules. The following are examples: adjustable, unbeatable, collectable, deliverable, and likeable edible, compatible, feasible, sensible, and credible
There are more words ending in able than ible; this is useful to know if guessing is necessary.

Words Ending in ance or ence
The suffixes ence, ency, and ent are used in the following cases: the suffix is preceded by the letter c but sounds like s
– innocence the suffix is preceded by the letter g but sounds like j – intelligence, negligence
The suffixes ance, ancy, and ant are used in the following cases: the suffix is preceded by the letter c but sounds like k
– significant, vacant the suffix is preceded by the letter g with a hard sound –
elegant, extravagance
If the suffix is preceded by other letters, there are no clear rules. For example: finance, abundance, and assistance use the letter a, while decadence, competence, and excellence use the letter e.

Words Ending in tion, sion, or cian
Words ending in tion, sion, or cian all sound like shun or zhun. There are no rules for which ending is used for words. The following are examples: action, agitation, caution, fiction, nation, and motion admission, expression, mansion, permission, and television electrician, magician, musician, optician, and physician (note that these words tend to describe occupations)

Words with the ai or ia Combination
When deciding if ai or ia is correct, the combination of ai usually sounds like one vowel sound, as in Britain, while the vowels in ia are pronounced separately, as in guardian. The following are examples: captain, certain, faint, hair, malaise, and praise (ai makes one sound) bacteria, beneficiary, diamond, humiliation, and nuptial (ia makes two sounds)

Rules for Plurals

Nouns Ending in ch, sh, s, x, or z
When a noun ends in the letters ch, sh, s, x, or z, an es instead of a singular s is added to the end of the word to make it plural. The following are examples: church becomes churches bush becomes bushes bass becomes basses mix becomes mixes buzz becomes buzzes
This is the rule with proper names as well; the Ross family would become the Rosses.

Nouns Ending in y or ay/ey/iy/oy/uy
If a noun ends with a consonant and y, the plural is formed by replacing the y with ies. For example, fly becomes flies and puppy becomes puppies. If a noun ends with a vowel and y, the plural is formed by adding an s.
For example, alley becomes alleys and boy becomes boys.

Nouns Ending in f or fe
Most nouns ending in f or fe are pluralized by replacing the f with v and adding es.
The following are examples: knife becomes knives; self becomes selves; wolf becomes wolves. A. exception to this rule is the word roof; roof becomes
roofs.

Nouns Ending in o
Most nouns ending with a consonant and o are pluralized by adding es. The following are hero becomes heroes; tornado becomes tornadoes; potato becomes potatoes
Most nouns ending with a vowel and o are pluralized by adding s. The following are examples: portfolio becomes portfolios; radio becomes radios; cameo becomes cameos. A. exception to these rules is seen with musical terms ending in o. These words are pluralized by adding s even if they end in a consonant and o. The following are examples: soprano becomes
sopranos; banjo becomes banjos; piano becomes pianos.

Letters, Numbers, and Symbols
Letters and numbers become plural by adding an apostrophe and s. The following are examples:
The L's are the people whose names begin with the letter L.
They broke the teams down into groups of 3's.
The sorority girls were all KD's.

Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun that is made up of two or more words; they can be written with hyphens. For example, mother-in-law or
court-martial are compound nouns. To make them plural, an s or es is added to the noun portion of the word. The following are examples: mother-in-law
becomes mothers-in-law; court-martial becomes courts-martial.

Exceptions
Some words do not fall into any specific category for making the singular form plural. They are irregular.
Certain words become plural by changing the vowels within the word. The woman becomes women; goose becomes geese; foot becomes feet
Some words change in unusual ways in the plural form. The following are examples: mouse becomes mice; ox becomes oxen; person becomes people
Some words are the same in both the singular and plural forms. The following are examples:
Salmon, deer, and moose are the same whether singular or plural.