Spelling Generalizations
Contractions
• Generalization In contractions, an apostrophe (’) takes the place of letters that are left out: they
are becomes they’re.
Adding -ed, -ing
• Generalization In words that end in e, drop the e: decided, deciding. In words that end CVC,
double the final consonant: admitted, admitting. In words that end in y, change y to i when
adding -ed and keep the y when adding -ing: supplied, supplying.
Long Vowel VCV
• Generalization Long vowels can be spelled a: basic, e: fever, i: climate,
o: hotel, u: utilize
Short Vowels VCCV, VCV
• Generalization Short vowels are often spelled a: channel, e: method, i: distance, o: problem,
u: butter.
Digraphs th, sh, ch, ph
• Generalization Words can have two consonants together that are pronounced as one
sound: southern, shovel, chapter, hyphen.
Irregular Plurals
• Generalization Sometimes plurals are formed in irregular ways: shelves, echoes.
Vowel Sounds with r
• Generalization The vowel sound /ôr/ can be spelled or and ore: report, snore. The vowel
sound /ir/ can be spelled ear and eer: appear, pioneer. The vowel sound /âr/ can be spelled
are and air: spare, chair.
Spelling Generalizations
Final Syllables -en, -an, -el, -le, -il
• Generalization Vowels in final syllables often sound alike even when they are spelled differently:
veteran, wooden, cancel, chuckle, fossil.
Final Syllables er, ar, or
• Generalization Words with final syllables er, ar, and or often sound alike even when they are
spelled differently: danger, dollar, tractor.
Words with Schwa
• Generalization In many words, the schwa in an unaccented syllable gives no clue to its
spelling: jewel, factory, garage, tropical.
Compound Words
• Generalization A compound word is smaller words joined together. Keep all the letters when
spelling compounds: water + proof = waterproof.
Consonant Sounds /j/, /ks/, /sk/, and /s/
• Generalization The sound /j/ can be spelled g, j, and dge: ginger, journal, dodge. The sound
/ks/ can be spelled x: excuse. The sound /sk/ can be spelled sch: schedule. The sound /s/ can
be spelled sc: scene.
One Consonant or Two
• Generalization Many words have two consonants that stand for the same sound: address,
committee.
Prefixes un-, de-, dis• Generalization When prefixes un-, de-, or dis- are added to words, the base word does not
change: uncover, defrost, discourage.
Spelling Generalizations
Words from Many Cultures
• Generalization Many words in English come from other languages and may have unexpected
spellings: khaki, ballet.
Prefixes over-, under-, sub-, super-, out• Generalization When the prefixes over-, under-, sub-, super-, and out- are added to words,
the base word stays the same: overlook, underline, subway, supermarket, outlet.
Homophones
• Generalization A homophone is a word that sounds exactly like another word but has a
different spelling and meaning: cent, sent.
Suffixes -ible, -able
• Generalization When adding the suffix -ible or -able, there is no sound clue to help you decide
which form to use: flexible, agreeable.
Negative Prefixes
• Generalization When adding prefixes il-, in-, im-, and ir-, make no change in the base word:
illegal, invisible, impossible, irregular. All of the prefixes mean “not.”
Multisyllabic Words
• Generalization When spelling words with many syllables, look carefully at each word part.
Related Words
• Generalization Related words often have consonants that are spelled the same but
pronounced differently: music, musician.
• Generalization Related words often have vowels that are spelled the same but pronounced
differently: clean, cleanse.
Spelling Generalizations
Greek Word Parts
• Generalization Many words are formed from the Greek word parts -ology, meaning “study of”;
phobia meaning “fear of,” -ism meaning “condition of being,” and -ist meaning “person who.”
• Generalization Many words are formed from the Greek word parts tele meaning “over a long
distance,” photo meaning “light,” meter meaning “measure,” and graph meaning “write.”
Latin Roots
• Generalization Many words are formed with the Latin roots spec meaning “look,” scrib or
scrip meaning “write,” rupt meaning “break,” and ject meaning “throw.”
• Generalization Many words are formed with the Latin roots aud meaning “hear,” dict meaning
“say,” port meaning “carry,” dec meaning “ten,” and terr meaning “land.”
Suffixes -ous, -sion, -ion, -ation
• Generalization When adding -ous, -sion, -ion, and -ation, some base words change. A final e
or y may be dropped: famous, furious. Some words have other changes: decision.
Final Syllable -ant, -ent, -ance, -ence
• Generalization There is no sound clue to help you decide whether to use an a or e: important,
intelligent, instance, experience.
Easily Confused Words
• Generalization Some words are easily confused because they have similar pronunciations and
spellings: quiet, quite.