3. cry crying cries cried
study studying studies studied
When –ing is added, keep y.
When a vowel comes before the y , keep y
obey obeyed obeying obeys obeyer
say said saying says sayer
4. Drop silent e if the ending
begins with a vowel.
advance + -ing = advancing
surprise + -ing = surprising
Keep silent e if the ending begins with a consonant
advance + ment = advancement
like + ness = likeness
If a vowel comes before silent e DROP silent e
argue + -ment = argument
true + -ly = truly
5. 1. Single final consonant
2. And follows a single vowel
3. And the suffix begins with a vowel
4. One syllable or is stressed on the last syllable: In the
examples the “trol” syllable in control is stressed, while
the “en” of enter is stressed.
Control controlling controlled controllable
enter entering entered
Doubling final consonant when
adding –ed, -ing, or a suffix
6. ADMIT + -ed = ADMITTED
1. ADMIT ends with a consonant
2. Follows a vowel
3. Accented on the last syllable
4. Therefore double the t before adding an -ing or –ed
1. admitting
2. admitted
FLAP + -ed = FLAPPED
The word FLAP is a one syllable word
7. COUNSEL + -ing = COUNSELING
When there are two syllables with the stress on the
first syllable, do not double the consonant before.
DESPAIR + -ed = DESPAIRED
When there are two vowels together before the
consonant, do not double the consonant.
8. Change the -c to -ck
panic panicking
picnic picnicking
Words that end in -c
9. With some verbs ending in -l, -m, and p
you can either double the consonant or
not.
travel traveling or travelling
program programing or programming
worship worshiping or worshipping
10. Adding a prefix seldom changes the
spelling of a word.
misspelled
unnecessary
dissatisfied
disinterested
misinform
Taken from ; http://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/cms/lib6/NC01000307/Centricity/Domain/3863/Spelling%20Rules.ppt