Basic Spelling

Basic Spelling

Mate

Long Vowel Example

Mat

Short Vowel Example

Short vs. Long Vowels

​Notice how the "a" sounds different in each example?

​In the English language, words can have short or long vowel (a, e, i, o, u) sounds. They have different spelling patterns based on which they are.

Mate

Long Vowel Example

Mat

Short Vowel Example

Short vs. Long Vowels

​Notice how the "a" sounds different in each example?

​In the English language, words can have short or long vowel (a, e, i, o, u) sounds. They have different spelling patterns based on which they are.

Short Vowel Patterns

VC:
Mat, Ten, Rib, Hop, Fun

VCC:
Pack, Sent, With, Moth, Luck

VC - Vowel - Consonant




VCC - Vowel - Consonant - Consonant

or

Whenever you want to spell a word that should have a short vowel sound, just remember these two patterns.

Long Vowel Patterns

VCV:
Late, Eve, Nice, Hope, Rule

VV:
Maid, See, Vial, Boat, Duel

VCV : Vowel - Consonant - Vowel




VV : Vowel - Vowel

or

Whenever you want to spell a word that should have a long vowel sound, just remember these two patterns.

Multiple Choice

Is "baby" a short or long vowel sound?

• short

• long

Multiple Choice

Is 'bike" a short or loge vowel?

• short

• long

Multiple Choice

Is "rain" a short or long vowel?

• short

• long

Multiple Choice

Is "rob" a short or long vowel sound?

• short

• long

E’s and Endings

Example Word Ending in ‘e’

Bake

Example Word with Suffix

Baking

The English language can be confusing. Just when you get used to a word being spelled one way, you change its form and suddenly, the spelling changes too!

This is especially true when it comes to words that normally end in ‘e’.

Take a look at how the example word on the right loses its ‘e’ when the ending, also known as the suffix, is added.

Examples

Fine -
Fining, Fined, Finer, Finely

Tame -
Taming, Tamed, Tamer, Tamest

Whenever you add a suffix to a word that ends in ‘e’, you drop the ‘e’.

​E's and Endings Rule:

Multiple Choice

Add the suffix -ing to "bake"

• bakeing

• baking

Multiple Choice

Add the suffix -est to "nice"

• niceest

• nicest

Adding -S Versus -ES

-S Plural Examples

Reads, Authors, Books, Caps

-ES Plural Examples

Wishes, Kisses, Faxes

Add -es to words that end in -ch, -sh, -s, or -x.





All other words, just add an -s.

Multiple Choice

Do you add -s or -es to make the word "girl" plural?

• -s

• -es

Multiple Choice

Do you add -s or -es you make "eyelash" plural?

• -s

• -es

Multiple Choice

Do you add -s or -es to make "lunch" plural?

• -s

• -es

No-S Plurals

No-S Examples

Man - Men
Woman - Women
Mouse - Mice
Person - People
Tooth - Teeth
Child - Children
Foot - Feet

Most words will need an -S or an -ES to pluralize them, but there are a few words what require a totally different form of the word.

Unfortunately, there is not an easy way to learn these. They simply need to be memorized.

Y as a Vowel Examples

Cry, Worry, Ply, Obey, Why

​When Y becomes I

​You may have heard that vowels are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes, y.

This is true!

There are many words in which the ‘y’ acts like a vowel. However, the ‘y’ isn’t always treated like a vowel when it comes to endings.

When Y becomes I

Y Changes to I Examples

Cried, Worried, Plied
Cries, Worries, Plies

Y Remains Examples

Crying, Worrying, Studying
Obeyed, Saying, Keyed

When you add -ed or -es to the end of a y-word, you drop the ‘y’ and use ‘i’ instead.

However, you DO NOT change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ when you add -ing or when there is a vowel before the ‘y’.

Multiple Choice

Make the word "pony" plural

• ponys

• ponyes

• ponies

• ponis

Multiple Choice

Add -est to the word "lucky"

• luckiest

• luckyest

• luckest

I Before E

I before E Examples

Friend, Believe, Grieve, Thief

E before I Examples

Receive, Receipt, Perceive
Eight, Vein, Reign

​“I before E, except after C, or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh.”

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct spelling?

• cashier

• casheir

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct spelling?

• overweight

• overwieght

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct spelling?

• hieght

• height

The Prefix Trick

Prefix Examples

Necessary - Unnecessary

Satisfied - Dissatisfied

Spelled - Misspelled

After learning about all the rules surrounding
suffixes (word endings), you probably think there
are a lot of similar rules for prefixes (word
beginnings), but that’s not true.

There is only one rule you need to remember for
prefixes - they never change the spelling!

That means no matter which prefix you add, the
rest of the word should be spelled as usual.

Take a look at the examples on the right, and
notice how none of them need any letters
changed or removed after their new prefixes are
added.

​Prefix Examples:
Necessary - Unnecessary
Satisfied - Dissatisfied
Spelled - Misspelled

​The Prefix Trick

​There is only one rule you need to remember for prefixes - they never change the spelling!

That means no matter which prefix you add, the rest of the word should be spelled as usual.

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks

Lesson Complete