English for Specific Purposes

2. It is the process of writing a word or words in proper letter-
arrangement of form as recognized by the lexicographers.
It is one of the measurement that brings about quality and
appropriateness in composition writing.

4.  In monosyllabic words that end with a single consonant preceded by a single
vowel, the final consonant should be doubled before a suffix that begins with a
vowel is added.
Ban Banning Banned
Bar Barring Barred
Blur Blurring Blurred
Brim Brimming Brimmed
Can Canning Canned
Dim Dimming Dimmed
Drop Dropping Dropped
Fan Fanning Fanned
Fit Fitting Fitted

5.  In words ending with a single consonant preceded by double vowels,
the final consonant is not doubled even if the suffix to be added begins
with a vowel.
Air Airing Aired
Bloat Bloating Bloated
Board Boarding Boarded
Boil Boiling Boiled
Book Booking Booked
Coil Coiling Coiled
Conceal Concealing Concealed
Greet Greeting Greeted
Heal Healing Healed
Heat Heating Heated
Join Joining Joined

6.  The single consonant ending of
words containing more than one
syllables is not doubled when a
suffix that begins with a vowel is
added, if the accent does not fall
on the last syllable.
Benefit Benefiting Benefited
Broaden Broadening Broadened
Counsel Counseling Counseled
Develop Developing Developed
Gossip Gossiping Gossiped
Hasten Hastening Hastened
Lighten Lightening Lighted
Listen Listening Listened
Mention Mentioning Mentioned
Profit Profiting Profited
Suffer Suffering Suffered

7.  If words containing more than one syllables end with single consonant preceded
by single vowel, the consonant ending doubled before a suffix that begins with a
vowel is added when the accent falls on the last syllable.
Admit Admitting Admitted
Confer Conferring Conferred
Excel Excelling Excelled
Occur Occurring Occurred
Prefer Preferring Preferred
Propel Propelling Propelled
Refer Referring Referred
Regret Regretting Regretted
Remit Remitting Remitted
Transmit Transmitting transmitted

8. In the words ending with silent E, the E is dropped before a suffix beginning with a
vowel is added.
Admire Admiring Admirable Admiration
Advise Advising Advisable Advisability
Create Creating Creatable Creation
Cure Curing Curable Curability
Decline Declining Declinable Declination
Desire Desiring Desirable Desirability
Excite Exciting Excitable Excitability
Excuse Excusing Excusable Excusatory
Note Noting Notable Notation
Observe Observable Observable Observation
Serve Serving Servable

9.  In present progressive form of verbs ending with E, drop the E before adding ing.
Bake Baking
Lose Losing
Bike Biking
Love Loving
Tame Taming

10.  In words ending with silent E, the E is retained before adding a suffix that begins with a
consonant.
 (exception to rule 7: acknowledgement and judgement)
Careful Arrangement Merely
Graceful Excitement Scarcely
Grateful Inducement Sincerely
Hopeful Procurement Entirely
Shameful Advertisement Ninety
Useful Basement Safety

11.  Words ending with CE or GE retain the final E when the suffix -ous or -able is
added
 If words end with silent E, then preceded by u, drop suffix beginning with a
consonant is added:
Changeable Noticeable Advantageous
Chargeable Peaceable Courageous
Enforceable Sizeable Gorgeous
Manageable Traceable Umbrageous
Argue Argument True Truly
Due Duly Glue Glutinous

12.  With respect to verbs ending in IE
Die Dying
Gie Gying
Hie Hying
Lie Lying
Tying Vying

13.  Words ending in y preceded with a consonant
Accompany Accompaniment Accompanied
Beauty Beauties Beautiful
Bounty Bounties Bountiful
Easy Easily Easier
Friendly Friendliness Friendlier
Godly Godliness Godlier
Happy Happiness Happily
Kindly Kindliness Kindlier
Lofty Loftiness Loftier
Marry Marriage Marriageable
Merry Merrily Merriment

14. When suffix –ing is added:
 Accompany accompanying
 Beautify beautifying
 Clarify clarifying
 Carry carrying
 Defy defying
 Dignify dignifying
 Exemplify exemplifying
 Hurry hurrying
 Lay laying
 Magnify magnifying
 Marry marrying
 Notify notifying
 Say saying
 Simplify simplifying
 Stay staying
 Study studying
 Terrify terrifying
 Verify verifying

15. Actual Actually Practical Practically
Casual Casually Real Really
Final Finally Special specially
General generally Universal Universally
Legal Legally Usual Usually
Loyal Loyally
Oral Orally
Original Originally
Partial Partially
To convert the adjectives ending in I

16.  To make the plural form nouns ending with y
Note: the rule does not apply with proper nouns ( Garrys,Germany,Henrys,Kelly)
Army Armies
Body Bodies
Candy Candies
Copy Copies
Country Countries
Lady Ladies
City Cities
Family Families
Company Companies
Library Libraries
Lily lilies
Party Parties

17.  plural forms of nouns ending in y, preceded by vowels
Bay Bays
Boy Boys
Day Days
Donkey Donkeys
Kidney Kidneys
Monkey Monkeys
Pulley Pulleys
Ray Rays
Toy Toys
Tray Trays
Valley Valleys

18.  To form plurals of nouns ending in o:
 Buffalo buffaloes
 Echo echoes
 Hero
 Mango
 Mosquito
 Negro
 Potato
 Tomato
 Tornado
 Volcano

19.  To form plurals of nouns ending in o by vowels
Barrio Barrios Cameo Cameos
Carabao Carabaos Stereo stereos
Folio Folios Studio Studios
Patio Patios Trio Trios
Sitio Sitios Video Videos

20.  When the word has ee
sound, use ei after c, and
ie after any other letter
Ceiling
Deceit
Receive
Besiege
Chandelier
Chief
Die
Drier
Fierce
Grief
Handkerchief
Lien
Relief
Shield
Thief
Vie
Wield
Yield

21.  Note: It is not applicable to most words
which are Latin in origin.The following
examples are exceptions to the rule
hence their spelling must be
underscored with special concern:
 Beige (natural color)
 Fahrenheit (scale in measuring
temperature)
 Feign (to pretend)
 Foreign (belonging to another
country)
 Freight (to lose a right by terms)
 Forfeit (goods carried by any
vehicle)
 Height (elevation)
 Heinous (extremely wicked)
 Lei (garland; ornamental
headdress)
 Leisure (spare time)
 Reign (to exercise an authority)
 Seize (to take hold on something
forcibly)
 Sleigh (a light vehicle used on snow)
 Weight (to ascertain the weight of
something)
 Weird (concerned with the
unnatural; strange)

22.  With respect to words ending in c:
 Panic – panicky panicking panicked
 Picnic- picnicker picnicking picnicked
 Traffic- trafficker trafficking trafficked

23.  In most monosyllabic words ending with n, then the n is doubled before a valid
suffix is added
 ban - banning
 Fan - fanning
 Grin - grinning
 Man - manning
 Clan - clannish
 Mean - meanness
 Tan - tannery

24.  To form the plurals of nouns ending with
f, or fe
 Calf - calves
 Half - halves
 Leaf - leaves
 Life - lives
 Loaf - loaves
 Knife - knives
 Self - selves
 Shelf – shelves
 Thief – thieves
 Wife - wives

25.  Note:The following words are exceptions to the rule.They form their plurals
by just adding s, viz:
 Belief – beliefs
 Chief – chiefs
 hoof – hoofs
 Relief – reliefs
 Dwarf – dwarfs
 Grief – griefs
 Scarf – scarfs
 Strife - strifes

26.  To form the plurals of nouns ending in ch, sh ,s, x, and z, just add es, as in the
following examples:
 Branch - branches
 Class – classes
 Glass – glasses
 Church – churches
 Quiz – quizzes
 Waltz – waltzes
 Fox – foxes
 Lass - lasses

27.  The plurals of the following nouns are spelled by changing the vowel or vowels
within the words, as written below, viz:
Singular Plural
Fireman Firemen
Foot Feet
Mouse Mice
Goose Geese
Tooth Teeth
Louse Lice
Woman Women

28.  Words adopted from foreign languages
form their plurals in ways :
 Agendum - agenda
 Alumna - alumni
 Alumna - alumnae
 Beau - beaus
 Fungus - fungi
 Oasis - oases
 Criterion - criteria
 Datum - data
 Appendix - appendices
 Formula - formulae
 Memorandum - memoranda
 Stimulus - stimuli

29.  Each of the following expressions should be written as separate words, not as one word:
 Any day in lieu of
 Any more in order
 Any time in place of
 Business man in spite of
 Every time of course
 In charge once in a while
 In fact per capita
 In favor
 In front

30.  Each of the following expressions should be written as one word, not as separate
words
 Hereabout hereinbefore
 Hereafter hereinto
 Hereat
 Hereby
 Herein
 Hereinafter
 Hereinbefore

31.  When written in words, numbers from 21 to 99 should be hyphenated, as
hereunder shown:
 Twenty-one
 Thirty-one
 Forty-one
 Fifty-one
 Sixty-one
 Seventy-one
 Eighty-one
 Ninety-one

32.  When used as modifiers, compound words are hyphenated:
 An up-to-date report
 Beginning-of-the-School-year meeting’s
 Dagger-like eyes
 End-of-the-year activities
 Four-footed animals
 Man-made caves
 Monster-like mask
 One-time manager

33.  When used as modifiers, fractions written in words should be hyphenated, viz:
 One-half. For winning in the contest, Rosario was awarded a medal of one-half size
of a saucer.
 One-third. One-third portion of the cash prize was donated to the church.
 Two-thirds.Two-thirds votes of the members were invalidated.
 Three-fourths. His pencil is three-fourths length of a meter.

34.  When used as nouns, fractions written in words need not be hyphenated.They are
just written as separate words, viz:
 One half. One half of the audience has gone home.
 One third. I obtained one third of the votes of my class.
 Two thirds.Two thirds of the delegates arrived early.
 One fourth. I gave one fourth of my share to my friends.
 Three fourths. One half plus one fourth is equal to three fourths.

35.  The prefix-root word combination should be hyphenated, if the same
combination without hyphen has a different meaning, as in the
following examples:
 Re-cover. please, re-cover the book.
 Re-lease. I have to re-lease our house.
 Re-tire. To be safe, re-tire your car.
 Re-sign. It is necessary to re-sign the documents.
 Note: Compare the above sentences with the following:
 We hope he can recover from his illness.
 An early release of her grades is requested.
 I retired last year from my profession.
 Do not resign from your job. Avail yourself of the retirement benefits.

36.  In combination of prefix ending with a vowel with a root word begins also with
vowel it is better to use a hyphen.
There’s a need to re-arm the school guards.
To re-ink the contract today is impossible.
We co-opted to fight for the rights of the victims.
The presentation is just a re-enactment of the crime being investigated.
We have to re-insure the safety of the students.
Is there any need for former applicants to re-apply?
We have to re-arrange the chairs.

37.  A hyphen should be used to set off a prefix paced before a proper noun:
 Anti-American / Pro-American
 Anti-Filipino / Pro-Catholic
 Non-Moslem / Pre-Spanish
 Non-Christian / Un-Christian

38.  By reason of usage, official designations must be hyphenated.
 Even the prefix ex ( if attached to official position)
 Ambassador-at-Large ex-president ex-councilor
 Attorney-at-Law ex-senator ex-judge
 Commander-in-Chief ex-mayor
 Editor-in-Chief ex-vice mayor
 Vice-Chairman ex-congressman
 Officer-in-Charge ex-governor

39.  If attached by notable era, period or event, the prefix pre and post should also
hyphenated.
 Pre-election period post-liberation period
 Pre- war days post-election campaign
 Pre-Spanish times post-war
 Pre-Victorian era post-convention

40.  The ff nouns cannot be made plural by adding s or es. To pluralize them, make use
of phrases indicative of their numerical figures:
Singular Form Plural Form
Baggage Pieces,or bundles of baggage
Blood Bottles,cups,or drops of blood
Chalk Pieces or boxes of chalk
Coffee Packs or cups of coffee
Dirt Particles or cans of dirt
Equipment Truckloads or units of equipment
Furniture Pieces or classes of furniture
Instruction Standards or means of instruction
Remark Bits of remark
Salt Dashes,pinches,spoonfuls or cups of
salt

41. Singular Form Plural Form
Rice Grains,kilos,bags,liters,gantasor sacks of rice
Sand Shovels or cans of sand
Water Gallons or drums of water
Wood Piles or stocks of wood
Work Much work; types of work

42. Adding s or es in the following nouns differ in meaning:
1. Cloth/ Clothes
2. Fish/Fishes
3. Glass/Glasses
4. Instruction/instructions
5. People/Peoples

43.  Reflexive pronouns are not hyphenated; self must be set as hyphenated:
 He is a self-made man.
 The memorandum of the president is self-explanatory.
 What she is doing is a manifestation of self-sacrifice.
 Nobody will serve us. I think it’s self-service.

44.  If used as adverb in a sentence, each of the ff terms should be written as one word:
 anymore -by any means
 Don’t give me an invitation anymore.
 Somehow -in an unexplained manner
 I hope Mark would somehow succeed in life.
 Any thing of value must be preserved. (any modifies thing, a noun)

45.  Designations of relationship by affinity
 By relationship in previous marriage by parents
Father-in-law mother-in-law
Brother-in-law sister-in-law
Son-in-law daughter-in-law
Stepbrother, stepfather, stepson,stepchild,
stepparent, stepmother

47.  Correct spelling demands that all proper nouns should be capitalized.