PLURAL RULE ONE
PLURAL RULE TWO
Most words add „s‟ to make the plural
Add „es‟ to words ending in „ch‟, „sh‟
„s‟, „ss‟, „x‟ or „z‟ to make the plural
one apple
desk
name
town
card




desks
names
towns
cards
two apples
teacher
park
month
truck




beach
fox
cross
pitch




beaches
foxes
crosses
pitches
many boxes
wish
bus
waltz
hutch




quiz
wax
dish



Try these …
Try these …
pencil 
book 

tree
teachers
parks
months
trucks
one box
cup
pad
plant



church 
gas

class

wishes
buses
waltzes
hutches
PLURAL RULE THREE
PLURAL RULE FOUR
When the letter before a „y‟ is a consonant,
change the „y‟ to an „i‟ before adding an „es‟
When words end in „ay‟, „ey‟, „iy‟, „oy‟
and „uy‟ add an „s‟ to make the plural
one baby
city
pony
filly
 cities
 ponies
 fillies
two babies
berry
reply
belly
 berries
 replies
 bellies
Try these …
family
daisy
army
nappy




one donkey
boy
pulley
relay
 boys
 pulleys
 relays
two donkeys
play
grey
alley
 plays
 greys
 alleys
satay
valley
delay
key




Try these …
lady
jelly
party
cherry




day
monkey
tray
trolley




PLURAL RULE FIVE
PLURAL RULE SIX
When words end in „f‟ or „fe‟ change
the „f‟ or „fe‟ to a „v‟ before adding „es‟
When a word ends in „o‟ and comes after
a consonant, add „es‟ to make the plural
one knife
leaf
wife
thief
 leaves
 wives
 thieves
two knives
wolf
elf
life
 wolves
 elves
 lives
Try these …
half
loaf
self
hoof


shelf


calf


Exceptions – cliffs, chiefs, roofs, dwarfs & handkerchiefs
one dingo
cargo
potato
avocado
two dingoes
mango
 cargoes
 potatoes hero
 avocadoes buffalo
 mangoes
 heroes
 buffaloes
Try these …
volcano 
tomato 
domino 
echo

mosquito 
torpedo 
Exceptions – pianos, solos, banjos, Eskimos and radios
PLURAL RULE SEVEN
PLURAL RULE EIGHT
Sometimes, a word may completely
change its form when a plural is made
Sometimes, a word may stay the same
in both its singular and plural form
one child
person
goose
fungus
 people
 geese
 fungi
criterion  criteria
nucleus  nuclei
man
 men



bream
aircraft
salmon
 bream
 aircraft
 salmon
two fish
series
trout
moose
 series
 trout
 moose
Try these …
Try these …
foot
mouse
tooth
one fish
two children
woman
cactus
dice



species
deer
offspring



sheep
perch
tuna



PLURAL RULE NINE
PLURAL RULE TEN
It maybe confusing making compound words into
plural forms. In all cases the first word is made plural.
Many words, particularly from other languages
have exceptions when making them plural
one analysis of data – two analyses of data
Maxine is terrified of men of war jelly fish.
brother in law
court martial
attorney general
Try these …
son in law
heir apparent
passer by






brothers in law
courts martial
attorneys general
Other examples are …
curriculum
criterion
antenna
bureau




Try these …
octopus

formula

datum

curricula
criteria
antennae
bureaux
appendix
index
focus
corpus
basis
gateau
crisis




appendices
indices
foci
corpora *



* quite tricky and uncommon
SPELLING RULE ONE
SPELLING RULE TWO
When a word ends with a short vowel followed by a
consonant, double the last consonant before adding „ed‟
When action words end with an „sh‟, „ch‟, „ss‟, „x‟, or
a „z‟ and „es‟ is added to make the present tense.
The girls skip.
drop
admit
occur
 dropped
 admitted
 occurred
The girls skipped.
trim
shop
flip
 trimmed
 shopped
 flipped
Try these …
trip
mop
submit



trot
rub
prefer



Fiona waltzes most Tuesday nights with Jim.
cross
wax
fish
 crosses
 waxes
 fishes
Try these …
buzz

watch

push

catch
relax
reach
tax
pass
fix
 catches
 relaxes
 reaches



SPELLING RULE THREE
SPELLING RULE FOUR
When an action word ends with a consonant followed
by a „y‟, change the „y‟ to an „i‟ before adding „es‟
Double the consonant before adding „ing‟ to words that
have a short vowel followed by a consonant at the end
The pirate buries his treasure with great care.
empty
try
carry
 empties
 tries
 carries
Try these …
hurry

fly

worry

tidy
copy
fry
dry
dirty
apply
 tidies
 copies
 fries



Grandad was sitting in his chair all morning.
stop
wrap
step
 stopping
 wrapping
 stepping
Try these …
trap

rip

chop

slam
nod
skip
 slamming
 nodding
 skipping
beg
map
rub



SPELLING RULE FIVE
SPELLING RULE SIX
When a word ends in a silent „e‟, drop the „e‟
before adding an „ing‟ The magic „e‟ runs away !
When a word ends in double consonant, do not
double the last letter before adding an „ing‟
Ian loves platform diving on his weekends.
Kellie has been thinking about marrying Ridge.
move
taste
race
 moving
 tasking
 racing
Try these …
love

change 
hope

hide
chase
wipe
store
drive
stare
 hiding
 chasing
 wiping



Exception – be  being
report
bump
wash
 reporting
 bumping
 washing
Try these …
carry

spy

camp

copy
work
dust
 copying
 working
 dusting
hurry

bend

scratch 
For words ending in „y‟ leave the „y‟ and add „ing‟
SPELLING RULE SEVEN
SPELLING RULE EIGHT
For action words that end in „ie‟, change
the „ie‟ to a „y‟ before adding an „ing‟
Often „ly‟ is added to base words to turn them
into adverbs, adjectives or describing words
Rynell bungy jumped carefully from the tower.
Bryan enjoys lying on his back to watch clouds.
Try these …
tie
lie
die



love
slow
main
 lovely
 slowly
 mainly
Try these …
rude

quick

soft

smart
pure
nice
kind
loud
glad
 smartly
 purely
 nicely



SPELLING RULE NINE
SPELLING RULE TEN
When adding „ly‟ to words which end in „y‟,
change the „y‟ to an „i‟ before adding the „ly‟
When the suffix „full‟ is added to the end of a
base word, one of the „ls‟ has to be dropped
Janelle paints colourful works of art.
Kirsty scored the goal quite daintily.
happy
merry
easy
 happily
 merrily
 easily
Try these …
hungry 
weary

heavy

busy
pretty
cosy
necessary
day
angry
 busily
 prettily
 cosily



hope
cheer
thank
 hopeful
 cheerful
 thankful
Try these …
truth

play

fear

taste
use
force
 tasteful
 useful
 forceful
peace
dread
joy



eg; „thankful‟ means full of thanks
SPELLING RULE ELEVEN
SPELLING RULE TWELVE
Before adding „er‟ and „est‟ to words ending in a
consonant, followed by a „y‟, change the „y‟ to an „i‟
Double the last letter before adding „er‟ or „est‟ to words
that have a short vowel followed a single consonant
Dean is the skinniest member at the local gym.
Lyne has become a great ocean swimmer.
lazy
lovely
mighty
 lazier
 loveliest
 mightier
Try these …
sandy

happy

curly

salty
funny
heavy
crazy
fancy
dry
 saltiest
 funnier
 heaviest



These new words are called degrees of comparison
fit
slim
rob
 fittest
 slimmest
 robber
Try these …
spin

sit

drum

travel
win
slip
 traveller
 winner
 slipper
run
begin
stop



SPELLING RULE THIRTEEN
SPELLING RULE FOURTEEN
Double the last letter of words ending in a short vowel
followed by a single consonant before adding a „y‟
Just add a „y‟ to words ending in two
consonants to form describing words
Vanessa enjoys laying back on a sunny day.
The last few days have been quite windy in Rocky.
rag
shag
cat
 raggy
 shaggy
 catty
Try these …
run

wool

fur

wit
fog
fun
mud
skin
bad
 witty
 foggy
 funny



dirt
might
thirst
 dirty
 mighty
 thirsty
Try these …
rock

wealth

chill

trick
health
sand
 tricky
 healthy
 sandy
filth
smart
fuss



SPELLING RULE FIFTEEN
SPELLING RULE SIXTEEN
For words ending in a silent „e‟, you
must first drop the „e‟ before adding a „y‟
To indicate possession or ownership by a person or
object, an apostrophe („) followed by an „s‟ is added
Kookaburras are very noisy birds.
Peter‟s horse bucked him at the rodeo.
bone
ice
rose
 bony
 icy
 rosy
Try these …
flake

taste

spike

smoke  smoky
stone  stony
race
 racy
scare
nose
laze



horse
Jenny
office
 horse‟s
 Jenny‟s
 office‟s
Try these …
Santa

Tavern

Peter

Billy
bird
Nigel
 Billy‟s
 Bird‟s
 Nigel‟s
car
Mary
shoe



SPELLING RULE SEVENTEEN
SPELLING RULE EIGHTEEN
To indicate ownership by a person whose name ends
in an „s‟ or a plural noun, just add an apostrophe („)
An apostrophe („) is also used to create a contraction,
indicating where a letter or letters have been left out
Venetta rubbed the sunscreen on Les‟ chest.
She‟s really looking forward to the ballet recital.
poets
gases
Lewis
 poets‟
 gases‟
 Lewis‟
Try these …
flowers

Dennis

class

Gladys  Gladys‟
babies  babies‟
Ross
 Ross‟
Chris

bottles 
boss

I am
 I‟m
she would  she‟d
who is
 who‟s
Try these …
you are

it is

can not

they had
do not
let us
 they‟d
 don‟t
 let‟s
where is
he is
she will



SPELLING RULE NINETEEN
SPELLING RULE TWENTY
„i‟ before „e‟ except after „c‟
CAPITAL LETTERS are used at the
beginning of names and places
Many people believe unicorns exist.
rel__ve
dec__t
w__rd
 relieve
 deceit
 wierd
Try these …
rec__ve

n__ghbour 
anc__nt

c__ling
v__n
glac__r
 ceiling
 vein
 glacier
th__r
fr__nd
rec__pt



Remember … there are ALWAYS exceptions !
Uluru is a well known Australian landmark.
brisbane
luke
mackay
 Brisbane rebecca
yeppoon
 Luke
 Mackay kath
Try these …
adelaide

donald

perth

 Rebecca
 Yeppoon
 Kath
phillip

gladstone 
alex

SPELLING RULE TWENTY ONE
SPELLING RULE TWENTY TWO
Prefixes can be added to base words to create new words.
Prefixes ending in vowels are added directly to base words.
Sometimes negative prefixes are added to words
to create new words and change their meaning
It is important to try to recycle any items we can.
Some people say it‟s impossible for cows to talk.
re+move  remove
tele+vision  television
de+frost
re+gain
 defrost
 regain
para+chute  parachute giga+byte  gigabyte
Try these …
tri+angle 
kilo+metre 
auto+graph 
de+void 
re+align 
multi+age 
un+well
dis+miss
in+ferior
 unwell
 dismiss
 inferior
mis+spell  misspell
im+patient  impatient
mal+treat  maltreat
Create new words using these prefixes …
non+
anti+


sub+
dys+


ab+
mis+


SPELLING RULE TWENTY THREE
SPELLING RULE TWENTY FOUR
Prefixes can be added to roots to form new words.
Roots often have meanings from other languages.
When adding a vowel suffix to words ending
in a silent „e‟, drop the „e‟ and add the suffix.
Mr Smith may predict * a hot summer again.
Vikings lived many, many years ago.
di+vide
audi+ble
pro+ceed
 divide
 audible
 proceed
Try these …
chron+ic 
cred+ible 
meta+phor 
inter+cept  intercept
de+tatch
 detatch
auto+matic  automatic
ex+ceed

per+mit 
poly+gon 
* „pre‟ means „before‟ and „dict‟ means „speak‟
store+age  storage
forgive+en  forgiven
pale+est
 palest
Try these …
nice+est

grave+ity 
arrive+al 
live+ed
 lived
manage+er  manager
amaze+ing  amazing
like+en

use+ing 
forge+ery 
Remember … there are always exceptions to the rule !
SPELLING RULE TWENTY FIVE
SPELLING RULE TWENTY SIX
The letter „g‟ may have a soft or hard sound.
A soft „g‟ is usually followed by an „i‟ or „e‟.
A hard „g‟ is usually followed by a consonant or an „a‟, „o‟ or „u‟
The letter „c‟ may have a soft or hard sound.
When „c‟ meets an „a‟, „o‟ or „u‟ its sound is hard.
When „c‟ meets an „e‟, „i‟ or „y‟ its sound is soft.
„g‟ in „golf‟ is hard
gypsy
goat
goose
 soft
 hard
 hard
„g‟ in „gem‟ is soft
general
gel
goblet
Which are hard and which are soft ?
gym
gutter

ginger
giant

gas
gather

 soft
 soft
 hard



cards (hard c)
candle
cymbals
cave
 hard c
 soft c
 hard c
centipede (soft c)
cuddle
circus
curly
Identify which are hard and soft ?
caring
cycle

citizen
cat

comedy
circle

 hard c
 soft c
 hard c



SPELLING RULE TWENTY SEVEN
SPELLING RULE TWENTY EIGHT
CAPITAL letters are used to spell the names
of proper nouns, including people and places
Homophones are words that have the same
sound but a different meaning and spelling.
Les is an accomplished bowler in Rocky.
adelaide
 Adelaide qantas
luke
mazda
 Luke
lion‟s park  Lion‟s Park english
Try these …
biloela

christmas 
rover

 Qantas
 Mazda
 English
jessica

july

australia 
A pair of scissors.
route
allowed
pause
 root
 aloud
 paws
The pear is a sweet fruit.
principal  principle
maid
 made
days
 daze
Write another word that sounds the same as …
practise
main


male
threw


four
not


SPELLING RULE TWENTY NINE
SPELLING RULE THIRTY
A homographs is a word that may have
more than one meaning or pronunciation.
Sometimes when writing, words may be
shortened. These are known as abbreviations.
A calculator is a useful object. The Lawyer said, “I object !”
Other examples …
bow
 The front of a ship; to bend or a knot
wind
 A breeze or to turn around
desert
 To leave people or a dry, arid place
Can you identify the different meanings ?
close

excuse

wound

I need to make an appointment to see Dr Phillips.
Other examples …
kilometre
 km
centimetre  cm
Australia
 Aust
Try these …
kilogram

example

approximately 
Street
 St
Anonymous  anon
ante meridian  a.m.
page

Queensland 
second

SPELLING RULE THIRTY ONE
SPELLING RULE THIRTY TWO
When writing numbers less than ten, they should
be written in word form not in digit form.
Numbers greater that ten can be written as digits.
Always spell out simple fractions
and use a hyphen with them.
I ate nine lamingtons before lunch yesterday.
One-half of the water melon has been eaten.
Other examples …
9
 nine
7
 seven
6
 six
Try these …
1

12 
3

4
8
2
5
19
23
 four
 eight
 two



Other examples …
1/3  one-third
5/8  five- eights
1/6  one-sixth
Try these …
1/4 
2/3 
5/9 
2/4  two-quarters
4/5  four-fifths
2/10  two-tenths
3/12 
2/5 
4/8 
SPELLING RULE THIRTY THREE
SPELLING RULE THIRTY FOUR
A hyphen is used to create compound words.
Many compounds are written as one solid word.
A hyphen can also be used to join
words that form a compound noun.
The scarecrow had managed to save our crops.
Truck driving is undertaken by owner-drivers.
Other examples …
along side
 alongside
before hand  beforehand
mean time
 meantime
Try these …
road block
every thing
up date



Other examples …
go ahead
city state
air conditioned
Try these …
eye opener
break in
well being
 go-ahead
 city-state
 air-conditioned



SPELLING RULE THIRTY FIVE
SPELLING RULE THIRTY SIX
Always write decimals in number form
with a 0 before the decimal point.
When combining numbers, the first
number is always written in word form.
The plant has only grown 0.5 of a metre so far.
They have three 6 year olds.
Other examples …
one tenth of a metre
 0.1 of a metre
half a kilometre
 0.5 of a kilometre
one quarter of a kilogram  0.25 of a kilogram
Try these …
one third of a gram
two quarters of a metre
three quarters of a kilogram
Other examples …
One in eight 12 year olds require glasses.
Nineteen 15 year olds were injured in the crash.
I asked for seven 6 metre lengths of timber.
Can you think of other examples ?



SPELLING RULE THIRTY SEVEN
SPELLING RULE THIRTY EIGHT
Always hyphenate all compound numbers
from twenty-one through to ninety-nine
Always write a number in word
form if it begins a sentence.
There were twenty-one marbles in the bag.
Eight students received awards this week.
Other examples …
89  eighty-nine
52  fifty-two
26  twenty-six
Try these …
44 
37 
92 
47  forty-seven
69  sixty-nine
98  ninety-eight
55 
29 
74 
Other examples …
Seven apples were rotten in the fruit bowl.
Forty-three people came to the special service.
Three boys and one girl entered the event.
Try these …
4 
76 
9 
22
50
6


