Spelling Guidelines and Techniques

To many writers, the English language seems riddled with exceptions to spelling rules. Yet most words conform to specific guidelines, and even the exceptions can be categorized for easy reference. The guidelines in this section explain how to spell most regular and many troublesome words.

This section presents information specifically about dealing with prefixes, suffixes, and plurals. It also covers the rules for use of i and e combinations.

Prefixes

A prefix added at the beginning of a word changes its meaning. However, the prefix does not change the spelling of that word. Most prefixes are added without using a hyphen.

- mis + step = misstep
- im + memorial = immemorial
- un + burden = unburden
- over + enthusiastic = overenthusiastic
- pre + formed = preformed
- in + tolerable = intolerable
- non + food = nonfood
- re + draw = redraw

Exceptions: the prefixes ex, self, and all are always used with a hyphen when they are joined to nouns.

- ex + prizefighter = ex-prizefighter
- self + awareness = self-awareness
- all + inclusive = all-inclusive

A hyphen is used when the prefix is joined to a proper noun or adjective.

- non + English = non-English
- pro + American = pro-American

A hyphen is used when the resulting word might be confused with a similar word of different meaning or when the word might be confusing to the eye.

- re + creation = re-creation (not recreation)
- re + emphasize = re-emphasize
- sub + subheading = sub-subheading

Prefixes let us see how many words and terms English has borrowed from Greek, Latin, and French. Following is a list of the common prefixes used in English along with their meanings.

Old English

Prefix	Meaning	Example
a	in, on, of, up, to	arise, awake
be	around, about, away	behead, bedevil
for, fore	away, off, from	forsake, forewarn
mis	badly, poorly, not	misspell, mistake
over	above, excessively	overextend, oversee
un	not, reverse of	untidy, unnatural

Latin/Latin-French

Prefix	Meaning	Example
ab, a, abs	from, off, away	absent, abscond
ante	before	antechamber, anteroom
bi	two	biweekly, bisect
circum	around	circumspect
col, com, con, co, cor	with, together	collide, companion, congregate, coexist, correlate
contra, contro	against	contradict, controversial
de	away, from, off, down	decline, depart
dif, dis	away, off, opposing	disagree, differ
e, ef, ex	away, from, out	efface, exit
im, in	in, into, within	immerse, include
il, im, in, ir	not	illegal, immoral, inescapable, irreverent
inter	among, between	intercept, interstate
intro, intra	inward, within	introduce, intrastate
non	not	nonclinical, nonessential
post	after, following	postscript, postoperative
pre	before	preceding, prevent
pro	forward, in place of, favoring	proceed, pronoun, pro-Canadian
re	back, backward, again	recede, recur, reduce
retro	back, backward	retroactive, retrojets
semi	half	semicircle, semimonthly
sub, suf, sum, sup, sus	under, beneath	suburb, suffuse, summon, support, suspicion
super	over, above, extra	supervise, superfluous
trans	across, beyond	transport, transnational
ultra	beyond, excessively	ultraviolet, ultramodern

Greek

Prefix	Meaning	Example
a	lacking, without	amoral, atheist
anti	against, opposing	antismoking, antithesis
apo	from, away	apology
cata	down, away, thoroughly	cataclysm, catacomb
dia	through, across, apart	diameter, dialogue
epi	at, on, over, among, beside	epidemic, epigraph
eu	good, pleasant	euphoria, eulogy
hemi	half	hemisphere
hyper	excessive, over	hyperactive, hypertension
hypo	under, beneath	hypodermic, hypotension
para	beside, beyond	parallel, paradox
peri	around	perimeter, peripheral
pro	before	prognosis, progress
syl, sym, syn, sys	together, with	syllable, sympathy, synthesis, systematic

Suffixes

A suffix is added to the end of the word. In many cases, the spelling of the word does not change.

- sly + ly = slyly
- awkward + ness = awkwardness
- work + able = workable

The suffix elect, however, is always used with a hyphen.

- secretary + elect = secretary-elect
- president + elect = president-elect

There are several instances in which the spelling of the root word does change when a suffix is added. The following guidelines categorize these changes.

Final y as a Long e Sound. If the final y of a word represents a long e sound, then the final y changes to i before adding the suffix ness or ly.

- merry + ly = merrily
- dizzy + ness = dizziness

Final y Preceded by a Consonant. With words that end in y and are pre- ceded by a consonant, change the y to i before any suffix not beginning with i.

- sunny + er = sunnier
- happy + ly = happily (but hurry + ing = hurrying)

Final e Before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel. The final e is dropped before a suffix that begins with a vowel.

- dare + ing = daring
- sale + able = salable

The only exception to this rule is when the final e must be retained to maintain a soft c or g sound in the word.

- notice + able = noticeable
- courage + ous = courageous

Final e Before a Suffix Beginning with a Consonant. Keep the final e when adding a suffix that begins with a consonant.

- use + ful = useful
- care + less = careless

There are a few exceptions to this rule:

- true + ly = truly (but sincere + ly = sincerely)
- argue + ment = argument

Final e with the Suffix ment. When the final e in a word is preceded by two consonants, drop the final e and add the suffix.

- acknowledge + ment = acknowledgment
- judge + ment = judgment

When the final e in a word is preceded by a vowel and a consonant, keep the final e and add the suffix.

- manage + ment = management

Double Final Consonant Before a Suffix Beginning with a Vowel. The final consonant of a word is doubled when (1) the word has only one syllable, (2) the accent falls on the last syllable of the word (prefer), or (3) the word ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel.

- drag + ed = dragged
- sit + ing = sitting
- omit + ing = omitting
- ocCUR + ed = occurred
- preFER + ing = preferring (but PREferable)
- conTROL + able = controllable

Single Final Consonant Before a Suffix. The final consonant remains single if the word is accented on the first syllable; if the final consonant is already double it remains double.

- TARget + ed = targeted
- CANcel + ing = canceling
- tell + ing = telling
  pull ed pulled

Words Ending in a Hard c Sound. For words ending in a hard c sound, add k before suffixes in, ed, and y.

- panic + y = panicky
- picnic + ing = picnicking
- traffic + ed = trafficked
- mimic + ing = mimicking

Suffixes sede, ceed, and cede. Only one word in English ends in sede.

- super + sede = supersede

Only three words in English end in ceed.

- exceed
- proceed
- succeed

All other words with similar sounds end in cede.

- precede
- recede
- secede
- concede
- accede

Suffixes able and ible. The suffixes able and ible sound alike and mean nearly the same things such as “capable of being” and “worthy of being.” They are added to verbs and nouns to form adjectives.

- irritate + able = irritable
- permission + ible = permissible

There is a handy rule of thumb for knowing when to use able or ible that works for most words. When a related word can be formed ending in ation, then able is the correct suffix. When a related word can be formed ending in ion or ive, then ible is correct.

- duration = durable
- irritation = irritable
- repression = repressible
- permissive = permissible

If a word is not in the dictionary, it is spelled with able.

When the suffix able is added to a word ending in e, the final e is dropped unless preceded by a c or g.

- desire + able = desirable
- use + able = usable
- notice + able = noticeable
- knowledge + able = knowledgeable

Suffixes ant and ent, ance and ence. The four suffixes ant, ent, ance, and ence are added to change verbs to nouns and adjectives.

- attend + ant = attendant
- insist + ent = insistent
- attend + ance = attendance
- insist + ence = insistence

Unfortunately, there is no rule for knowing when to use which suffix. Memorize the spellings of words with these endings. However, if the word you wish to spell is not in the dictionary, use ant or ance.

Suffixes er and or. The suffixes er and or sound alike and both mean one who. Some words are spelled with either ending.

- act + or = actor
- drive + er = driver
- visit + or = visitor
- advise + or = advisor
- advise + er = adviser
- speak + er = speaker

The suffix er is more common and is added to all new words in English. The suffix or occurs mainly with Latin root words, particularly legal terms, and is no longer added to words in English. If a word cannot be found in the dictionary, use the er suffix.

Suffixes ize and ise. The suffixes ize and ise are added to adjectives and nouns to make verbs. The suffix ize is used in American English while the suffix ise is British.

- legal + ize = legalize
- custom + ize = customize
- critic + ize = criticize

Some words use either suffix as an ending, while others are spelled only with ise.

- mesmer + ise = mesmerise
- mesmer + ize = mesmerize
- (advise, exercise, enterprise, disguise, chastise)

If a word is not in the dictionary, use the ize suffix as the correct ending. Suffixes, like prefixes, have been added to English from several sources. Following is a list of the most common suffixes for nouns, adjectives, and verbs from Old English, Greek, Latin, and French along with their meanings.

Old English

Noun Suffixes	Meaning	Example
dom	state, rank, condition	kingdom, wisdom, martyrdom
er	doer, maker	writer, teacher
ness	quality, state	hardness, likeness

Latin, French, Greek

Noun Suffixes	Meaning	Example
age	process, state, rank	peerage, passage
ance, ancy	act, condition, fact	vigilance, vacancy
ard, art	one that does (in excess)	coward, braggart
ate	office, rank	delegate, potentate
ation	action, state, result	occupation, starvation
cy	state, condition	delinquency, accuracy
ee	one receiving action	retiree, employee
eer	doer, worker at	engineer, mountaineer
ence	act, condition, fact	evidence, sentence
er	doer, native of	financier, baker
ery	skill, action, collection	surgery, cookery
ess	feminine	princess, lioness
et, ette	little, feminine	islet, majorette
ion	action, result, state	union, conclusion
ism	act, manner, doctrine	baptism, barbarism, feminism
ist	doer, believer	plagiarist, socialist
ition	action, state, result	sedition, expedition
ity	state, quality, condition	civility, rarity
ment	means, result, action	embarrassment, fulfillment
or	doer, office, action	actor, juror
ry	condition, practice, collection	archery, jewelry
tion	action, condition	delegation, destruction
tude	quality, state, result	multitude, fortitude
ty	quality, state	witty, beauty
ure	act, result, means	culture, ligature
y	result, action, quality	arty, jealousy, handy

Old English

Adjective Suffixes	Meaning	Example
en	made of, like	silken, golden
ful	full of, marked by	thoughtful, careful
ish	suggesting, like	prudish, childish
less	lacking, without	thankless, hopeless
like	like, similar	catlike, dreamlike
ly	like, of the nature of	heavily, friendly
some	apt to, showing	worrisome, tiresome
ward	in the direction of	forward, downward
y	showing, suggesting	heavy, wavy, rocky

Foreign

Adjective Suffixes	Meaning	Example
able	able, likely	workable, likeable
ate	having, showing	animate, duplicate
escent	becoming, growing	obsolescent
esque	in the style of, like	statuesque, picturesque
fic	making, causing	terrific
ible	able, likely, fit	producible, edible
ose	marked by, given to	bellicose, comatose
ous	marked by, given to	wondrous, religious

Adjective/Noun Suffixes	Meaning	Example
al	doer, pertaining to	ritual, autumnal
an	one belonging to, pertaining to	American, human
ant	actor, agent, showing	servant
ary	belonging to, one connected with	functionary, adversary
ent	doing, showing, actor	agent, confident
ese	of a place or style	Japanese, journalese
ian	pertaining to, one belonging to	reptilian, Sicilian
ic	dealing with, caused by, person or thing	scientific, epidemic
ile	marked by, one marked by	senile, juvenile
ine	marked by, dealing with, one marked by	divine, feline, marine
ite	formed, showing, one marked by	Muscovite, favorite, composite
ory	doing, pertaining to, place or thing for	accessory, observatory

Old English

Verb Suffix	Meaning	Example
en	cause to be, become	enliven, awaken

Foreign

Verb Suffixes	Meaning	Example
ate	become, form, treat	formulate, agitate
esce	become, grow, continue	convalesce, acquiesce
fy	make, cause, cause to harm	fortify, glorify
ish	do, make, perform	finish, distinguish
ize	make, cause to be	mobilize, sterilize

Plurals

We have already briefly touched on plurals of words; here is more detailed information.

Regular Nouns. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding s.

Singular	Plural
eagle	eagles
minister	ministers
record	records

Irregular Nouns. For most irregular nouns, the spelling changes to form the plural. Because the spelling changes do not follow any general rule, the forms must be memorized.

Singular	Plural
child	children
goose	geese
man	men
mouse	mice
woman	women

Some irregular nouns keep the same form for both singular and plural.

Singular	Plural
deer	deer
sheep	sheep
species	species

Nouns Ending in s, ss, z, sh, ch, and x. For nouns ending in s, ss, z, sh, ch, and x, add es to form the plural.

Singular	Plural
address	addresses
box	boxes
buzz	buzzes
dish	dishes
fez	fezes
gas	gases
kiss	kisses
watch	watches

Nouns Ending in y. For nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i and add es. For nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel, simply add s.

NOUNS ENDING IN Y PRECEDED BY A CONSONANT

Singular	Plural
category	categories
currency	currencies
secretary	secretaries
territory	territories

NOUNS ENDING IN Y PRECEDED BY A VOWEL

Singular	Plural
delay	delays
holiday	holidays
relay	relays
Wednesday	Wednesdays

Nouns Ending in o. For nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, add s or es. If the o is preceded by a vowel, add s.

NOUNS ENDING IN O PRECEDED BY A CONSONANT

Singular	Plural
hero	heroes
potato	potatoes
solo	solos
tomato	tomatoes

NOUNS ENDING IN O PRECEDED BY A VOWEL

Singular	Plural
radio	radios
stereo	stereos
studio	studios

All musical and literary terms ending in o add s to form the plural.

Singular	Plural
oratorio	oratorios
piano	pianos
rondo	rondos
soprano	sopranos

Nouns ending in f or fe. Many nouns ending in f or fe simply add s to form the plural. However, some nouns change the f to v and add es.

ADD S

Singular	Plural
chief	chiefs
dwarf	dwarfs

CHANGE F OR FE TO V AND ADD ES

Singular	Plural
half	halves
knife	knives
life	lives
self	selves
wife	wives
wolf	wolves

Compound Nouns as One Word. Compound nouns written as one word and ending in s, sh, ch, or x form the plural by adding es. In all other cases, the plural is formed by simply adding s.

COMPOUND NOUNS ADDING ES

Singular	Plural
lockbox	lockboxes
toothbrush	toothbrushes

COMPOUND NOUNS ADDING S

Singular	Plural
firefighter	firefighters
mainframe	mainframes

Compound Nouns as Two Words. The plural of compound nouns written as two or more words is formed by making the main word plural.

Singular	Plural
chairman of the board	chairmen of the board
editor in chief	editors in chief
notary public	notary publics or notaries public
vice president	vice presidents

Hyphenated Compound Nouns. Hyphenated compound nouns are made plural either by adding s to the main word or, if there is no main word, adding s to the end of the compound.

ADDING S TO THE MAIN WORD

Singular	Plural
ex-governor	ex-governor
passer-by	passers-by
president-elect	presidents-elect
son-in-law	sons-in-law

ADDING S TO THE END OF THE COMPOUND

Singular	Plural
grown-up	grown-ups
start-up	start-ups
trade-in	trade-ins
write-in	write-ins

Foreign Words. Some foreign words form plurals as they would in the original language.

Singular	Plural
alumna (female)	alumnae
alumnus (male)	alumni
basis	bases
crisis	crises
datum	data
tableau	tableaux

Other foreign words form the plural either as they do in the original language or by adding s or es as in English. When in doubt about the preferred form, consult a dictionary.

Singular	Foreign Plural	English Plural
appendix	appendices	appendixes
formula	formulae	formulas
index	indices	indexes

Numbers, Letters, Words, Symbols. The plural of numbers, letters, words, and symbols is formed by adding ’s to the term.

- three 5’s
- two &’s and three #’s
- use l’s and m’s
- yes’s and no’s

The i and e Rules

Use i before e, except after c, for the long e sound in a word.

- believe
- grievance
- piece
- relieve
- retrieve
- thief

The exceptions to this rule are the words either, neither, leisure, seized, and weird.

Use e before i after c for the long e sound in a word. ceiling receipt

- deceive
- receive
- ceiling
- receipt

Use e before i when the sound in the word is not long e.

- eight
- freight
- height
- neighbor
- weigh
- weight

Spelling Guidelines and Techniques

Prefixes

Suffixes

Plurals

The i and e Rules

Most Popular

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