Spelling Rules and Generalizations
The following rules were taken from The Gillingham Manual written by Anna Gillingham and Bessie W. Stillman. It was published the Educatiors
Publishing Service in 1997.
Rule
Words ending in ff, ll, or ss
(The Floss Pattern)
Description
Words of one syllable, end in f, l, or s after
one vowel, usuall y end in in ff, ll, or ss.
Examples
The cliff is tall and covered
with moss.
Double & Add
(1-1-1 rule – one syllable words;
double the final consonant)
One syllable word, one vowel, and one final
consonant after the vowel – double the final
consonant before adding a suffix that begins
with a vowel. Do not double final consonant
when the suffix begins with a consonant.
flat
flatter
flatness
Doubling the final consonant
(multisyllables)
Words of more than one syllable, with one
consonant at the end and one vowel before
it, double the final consonant before a suffix
beginning with a vowel, if the accent is on
the last syllable.
Example:
be gin’ ning
(beginning)
Comments
There are exceptions (common
words i.e., pal, gas, this, bus)
Words in which s sounds like z (is)
and f sounds like v (of).
Non-example
O’ pen ing
(opening)
hope, hoping, hopeful
Drop & Add
(Silent e)
For words ending in silent e, drop the e
before a suffix beginning with a vowel. Do
NOT drop the e the before a suffix beginning
with a consonant.
Regular plurals
The most common way of forming the plural
of nouns is to add s to the singular form of
the word.
dog, dogs
elephant, elephants
Plural of nouns ending in s, x, z , ch
or sh
Nouns ending in s, x, z, ch or sh form the
plural by adding es to the singular form of
the verb.
gas, gases
tax, taxes
bus, buses
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Rule
Plural of Nouns ending in o
Description
Nouns ending in o after a vowel form the
plural by adding s.
Examples
studio, studios
Plural of nouns ending in f or fe
Most nouns ending in f or fe form their
plurals regularly by adding s.
roof, roofs
fife, fifes
Comments
For the plural of nouns ending in o
after a consonant, consult the
dictionary.
Exceptions:
leaf, leaves
knife, knives
Possessives
The singular possessive of nouns is formed by Marshall’s kite
adding ‘s to the singular form of the word. It
is used to show ownership.
The plural possessive is formed most often
by adding an apostrophe to the plural. This is Boys’ kites
used to show ownership by more than one.
The possessive of a plural not ending in s is
formed by adding ‘s.
Men’s voices
Children’s laughter
Plurals of letters, figures, and signs
The plural of letters, figures, and signs are
usually formed by adding an s.
There are two 8s in 88.
In some cases confusion can be avoided only
by using an apostrophe.
The plural of a = a’s
There are too many and’s in
your sentences.
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Rule
Pattern for ie and ei
Description
Put i before e except after c, or when it
sounds like /ā/as in neighbor and weigh.
Examples
chief
receive
neighbor
vein
Comments
This applies only to words in which ie
or ei are dipthongs. Exceptions:
di-et
Other exceptions:
Neither leisured foreigner seized the
weird height.
The suffix-ful
The suffix ful differs from the word full. The
suffix NEVER has two l’s.
joyful
The suffix -ly
When the suffix -ly is added to a word, the
spelling of this base word DOES NOT change.
Soft + ly= softly
Exceptions:
Words ending in le
For words ending in le, the e is
replaced by y.
humble + ly = humbly
gentle + ly = gently
For words ending in y, the y is
replaced by i.
noisy + ly = noisily
happy + ly = happily
Final y before a suffix
When a final y follows a vowel, the y remains
unchanged when adding any suffix.
Stray + ed = strayed
Play + ed = played
The prefixes dis and mis
The prefixes dis and mis are placed before a
word without altering the spelling.
mis + spelling = misspelling
Prefixes changed for ease of
phonetic blending and
pronunciation
(Assimilated prefixes)
The final consonant of a prefix may change to inperfect becomes imperfect
match or more easily blend with the
following letter. (Example – im before base
inlegal becomes illegal
words starting with b, m, p)
inlegible becomes illegible
Exceptions:
say, said
pay, paid
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