Top 4 Spelling Rules With Their Exceptions

spelling rules
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By
Richard Nordquist
Richard Nordquist
English and Rhetoric Professor
  • Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
  • M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
  • B.A., English, State University of New York
Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks.
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Updated on February 07, 2019
[W]e’ve become stricter about spelling, . . . thanks to editors, publishers, lexicographers, and schoolteachers. In Shakespeare’s day you could get by with a little variation in spelling, even of your own name, but not now. So we find ourselves today with so many different spelling rules, and so many exceptions even to those rules, that nearly everyone fails to be a perfect speller.
(Allan Metcalf, "Spelling Out the Consequences." The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 17, 2015)

Spelling rules are a bit like weather forecasts: we may pay attention to them, but we really can't depend on them to be right 100% of the time. In fact, the only foolproof rule is that all spelling rules in English have exceptions. Still, many writers find that certain rules help them remember how to spell particular types of words, especially those formed by adding suffixes (or word endings). Here we'll look at four popular spelling rules that may be helpful to you.

01
of 04

Using I Before E

Letters and school certificate on wall
Ian Nolan / Getty Images

Use i before e, except after c, or when sounded as "a" as in "neighbor" and "weigh."

Examples: believe, chief, piece, and thief; deceive, receive, weigh, and freight
Common exceptions: efficient, weird, height, neither, ancient, caffeine, foreign

02
of 04

Dropping the Final E

Drop the final e before a suffix beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) but not before a suffix beginning with a consonant.

Examples: 
ride + ing = riding
guide + ance = guidance
hope + ing = hoping
entire + ly = entirely
like + ness = likeness
arrange + ment = arrangement
Exceptions: truly, noticeable

03
of 04

Changing a Final Y to I

Change a final y to i before a suffix, unless the suffix begins with i.

Examples:
defy + ance = defiance
party + es = parties
pity + ful = pitiful
try + es = tries
try + ing = trying
copy + ing = copying
occupy + ing = occupying
Common exceptions: journeying, memorize

04
of 04

Doubling a Final Consonant

Double a final single consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel when both of these conditions exist:
(a) a single vowel precedes the consonant;
(b) the consonant ends an accented syllable or a one-syllable word.

Examples: 
stop + ing = stopping
admit + ed = admitted
occur + ence = occurrence
stoop + ing = stooping
benefit + ed = benefited
delight + ful = delightful

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Your Citation
Nordquist, Richard. "Top 4 Spelling Rules With Their Exceptions." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/spelling-rules-with-exceptions-1692815. Nordquist, Richard. (2023, April 5). Top 4 Spelling Rules With Their Exceptions. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/spelling-rules-with-exceptions-1692815 Nordquist, Richard. "Top 4 Spelling Rules With Their Exceptions." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/spelling-rules-with-exceptions-1692815 (accessed June 6, 2023).