31.
3 AR and OR may say their
schwa sound, /er/, in an
unstressed syllable.
doc tor dol lar
31.2 O may say /u/ in a stressed
syllable next to W, TH, M, N, or
V.
won der broth er
31.1 Any vowel may say one of
the schwa sounds, /u/ or /i/, in
an unstressed syllable or
unstressed word.
com pu ter ba nan a
30 We often double F, L, and S after a
single, short, or broad vowel at the end of a
base word. Occasionally other letters also
are doubled.
ball hiss cliff
29 Z, never S, spells /z/ at the
beginning of a base word.
zoo zero zebra
28 AUGH, EIGH, IGH, OUGH: Phonograms
ending in GH are used only at the end of a
base word or before the letter T. The GH is
either silent or pronounced /f/.
tough night caught
27 TCH is used only after a single
vowel which says its short or
broad sound.
watch witch catch
26 CK is used only after a single
vowel which says its short
sound.
brick clock duck tack
25 DGE is used only after a single
vowel which says its short
sound.
ledge fudge lodge
24 -FUL is a suffix written with
one L when added to another
syllable.
beautiful awful careful
23 AL-is a prefix written with one
L when preceding another
syllable.
all + ways = always
all + together = altogether
all + most = almost
rd
22 To make a verb 3 person
singular, add the ending –S,
unless the word hisses or
changes; then add-ES. Only four
verbs are irregular. (has, does, goes, is)
folds leaps wishes
21 To make a noun plural, add the
ending –S, unless the word hisses or
changes; then add –ES. Some nouns
have no change or an irregular
spelling.
cars box es goose - geese
20 -ED past tense ending, forms
another syllable when the base
word ends in /d/ or /t/. Otherwise,
-ED says /d/ or /t/.
fold ed want ed leaped wished
19 To make a verb past tense,
add the ending
-ED unless it is an irregular verb.
walked ran
18 SH spells /sh/ at the beginning of a base
word and at the end of the syllable. SH
never spells /sh/ at the beginning of any
syllable after the first one, except for the
ending –ship.
shark fish rock et ship
17 TI, CI, and SI are used only at
the beginning of any syllable
after the first one.
e lec tion fa cial tel e vi sion
16 Two II’s cannot be next to
one another in English words.
II
15 Single vowel Y changes to I
when adding any ending, unless
the ending begins with I.
Single Vowel Y
Does it end with a single vowel?
Does the suffix begin with any letter except I?
If yes to both, change the Y to I and add the suffix.
If no, retain the Y and add the suffix.
14 Double the last consonant when
adding a vowel suffix to words ending
in one vowel followed by one
consonant, only if the syllable before
the suffix is stressed.
One Vowel + One Consonant
Are we adding a vowel suffix?
Is the syllable before the suffix stressed?
If yes to both, double the last consonant and add the suffix.
If no, just add the suffix.
13 Drop the silent final E when
adding a vowel suffix only if it is
allowed by other spelling rules.
Silent Final E
Are we adding a vowel suffix?
Is dropping the E allowed by other spelling rules?
C always says /s/ before E, I, and Y
G may say /j/ only before E, I, and Y
If yes to both, drop the E and add the suffix.
If no, retain the E and add the suffix.
12 Silent Final E Rules
11 Q always needs a U;
therefore, U is not a vowel here.
10 When a word ends with the
phonogram A, it says /a/. A may
also say /a/ after a W or before
an L.
spa ze bra wa ter talk
9 AY usually spells the sound /a/
at the end of a base word.
may pay
8 I and O may say /i/ and
/o/ when followed by two
consonants.
cold cost pint print
7 Y says /e/ only at the end of a
multi-syllable word. I says /e/ at
the end of a syllable that is
followed by a vowel and at the
end of foreign words.
hap py sta di um mac a ro ni
6 When a one-syllable
word ends in a single
vowel Y, it says /i/.
cry spy sly fly
5 I and Y may say /i/ at
the end of a syllable.
cli nic li on cry cy lin der
4 A E O U usually say
their long sounds at
the end of a syllable.
ba sin he ro hu man ro bot
3 English words do not
end in I, U, V, or J.
tie glue love
2 G may soften to /j/ only
when followed by E, I, or
Y.
bi ol o gy germ gin ger
1 C always softens to /s/
when followed by E, I, or
Y. Otherwise, C says /k/.
cen ter cir cus i cy
