English Spelling Rules - Learn Spelling Rules and Common Mistakes

Summary

In this Oxford Online English lesson, Maria teaches viewers how to improve their English spelling skills by focusing on common mistakes. The video covers four key rules: doubling consonants with short vowels under stress, the 'i before e' rule with exceptions, pluralization with '-es', and suffixes affecting the '-e'. Maria also discusses irregular words and provides listening tests to reinforce learning, encouraging viewers to engage with the material and practice their spelling.

Takeaways

• 📚 English spelling is notoriously inconsistent, even for native speakers.
• 🔍 Doubling of consonants often depends on the word's stress pattern and syllable structure.
• 📝 The rule for doubling final consonants: If a one-syllable word ends with a short vowel sound plus a consonant and the stress is on the last syllable, the final consonant is doubled before a vowel suffix.
• ❌ Common exceptions to consonant doubling include words ending in 'w' or 'y', which are not doubled.
• 📖 For words with multiple syllables, stress on the last syllable and a short vowel plus consonant ending trigger consonant doubling.
• 👀 The 'i before e except after c' rule has exceptions, such as 'neighbour' and 'weigh'.
• 📐 Pluralization rules: Add '-es' to words ending in '-s', '-ss', '-z', '-ch', '-sh', or '-x', and to words ending in a consonant plus '-o'.
• 🍅 Exceptions to pluralization include 'tomato' becoming 'tomatoes' despite the general rule.
• 🔄 When adding a suffix starting with a vowel to a word ending in '-e', the '-e' often disappears, unless the word ends in '-ue', '-ce', or '-ge'.
• 🚫 Highly irregular words like 'accommodation', 'committee', and 'embarrass' require memorization as their spelling does not follow general rules.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the Oxford Online English lesson presented by Maria?

The main focus of the lesson is to teach English spelling rules and to help learners avoid common spelling mistakes.

Why is English spelling often considered illogical?

English spelling is considered illogical because even native speakers commonly misspell words due to its complex and irregular rules.

What is the first spelling rule Maria explains in the lesson?

The first rule Maria explains is about doubling the final consonant when a word ends with a short vowel sound plus a consonant and the stress is on the last syllable, especially when adding an ending that starts with a vowel.

Can you provide an example of a word that requires doubling the final consonant according to the first rule?

Yes, examples include 'hot' becoming 'hotter' and 'cut' becoming 'cutting'.

What is the exception to the rule of doubling the final consonant?

The exception is when the final consonant is 'w' or 'y', in which case it should not be doubled.

What is the second spelling rule discussed in the lesson?

The second rule is about the sequence of 'i' and 'e' in words, which follows the common phrase 'i before e except after c'.

Are there any exceptions to the 'i before e' rule?

Yes, there are exceptions such as 'neighbour', 'weigh', 'eight', and other words that do not follow the general rule.

What is the rule for forming the plural of nouns ending in certain consonants?

If a word ends in -s, -ss, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, the plural is formed by adding -es.

How does the spelling of plurals change when a word ends with a consonant plus -o?

If a word ends with a consonant plus -o, the plural is written with -es, such as 'potatoes' and 'heroes'.

What is the rule for adding a suffix to a root word that ends with -e?

The -e often disappears when adding a suffix that starts with a vowel, like -able or -ing, unless the word ends with -ue or -ce/-ge where the pronunciation would change.

What are some words that are commonly misspelled even by native English speakers?

Words like 'accommodation', 'committee', 'embarrassed', 'millennium', 'possession', and 'correspondence' are often misspelled due to their irregularities.

How does the lesson suggest learners remember the spelling of irregular words?

The lesson suggests that learners need to memorize the spellings of irregular words as they do not follow standard rules.

Outlines

00:00

📘 English Spelling Rules and Common Mistakes

Maria introduces the lesson on English spelling rules, focusing on common mistakes made by learners. She highlights that English spelling can be illogical, even for native speakers, and introduces the first rule about doubling final consonants when adding a vowel suffix to words ending in a short vowel sound and a consonant. Maria provides examples and exceptions to the rule and encourages learners to test their skills by writing down a sentence they hear twice. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding the connection between spelling and pronunciation.

05:04

🔡 Spelling 'i-e' and 'e-i' Words

The second paragraph delves into the 'i before e except after c' rule and its exceptions. It explains when to use 'i-e' and 'e-i' in words and provides examples. The paragraph also discusses the exceptions to this rule, such as 'neighbour' and 'weigh', and introduces other common exceptions like 'height' and 'leisure'. A listening test is presented where learners must write down a sentence containing words that follow the 'i-e' and 'e-i' rule to practice their spelling skills.

10:05

📚 Pluralization Rules in English

This paragraph discusses the rules for forming plurals in English, explaining when to add '-es' instead of '-s'. It covers the general rule for words ending in '-s', '-ss', '-z', '-ch', '-sh', or '-x', and introduces a specific rule for words ending in a consonant plus '-o'. The paragraph also addresses the exceptions to these rules, such as 'tomatoes', and provides a test for learners to practice spelling plurals of given words.

15:08

🔤 Rules for Dropping and Keeping the Letter 'e'

The fourth paragraph explains the rules for dropping or keeping the letter 'e' when adding suffixes to words. It clarifies that the 'e' is dropped when adding a vowel-prefixed suffix to words ending in '-ce' or '-ge', but kept when the suffix starts with a consonant or when dropping it would change the pronunciation. The paragraph provides examples and exceptions, such as 'ageing' and 'agree', and includes a listening test for learners to practice spelling words with suffixes.

📖 Challenging English Words to Spell

The final paragraph addresses words that are notoriously difficult to spell, even for native speakers. It discusses words with double letters, like 'accommodation' and 'committee', and words with inconsistent spelling and pronunciation, such as 'conscious' and 'guarantee'. The paragraph also covers words with similar endings that are pronounced the same but spelled differently, like 'audience' and 'ambulance'. Maria encourages learners to share their most challenging words to spell in the comments and directs them to the Oxford Online English website for more lessons.

Keywords

💡spelling rules

Spelling rules are the guidelines that dictate how words should be written in a language. In the context of the video, these rules are specifically for English, which is known for its irregularities and exceptions. The video aims to teach viewers how to improve their English spelling by understanding these rules, which is crucial for clear communication and avoiding common mistakes.

💡illogical spelling

Illogical spelling refers to words that do not follow standard spelling rules or patterns, making them difficult to spell correctly. English is noted for having many such words, which even native speakers often misspell. The video highlights this issue to emphasize the importance of learning specific rules to improve spelling accuracy.

💡double consonants

Double consonants occur when two identical consonant letters are used consecutively in a word. The video explains a rule for when to double the final consonant in a word before adding a vowel suffix, such as changing 'hot' to 'hotter'. This rule is crucial for learners to master as it helps avoid common spelling errors.

💡short vowel sound

A short vowel sound is a brief pronunciation of a vowel that is not followed by a consonant or another vowel. The video uses this concept to explain the rule for doubling consonants, stating that if a word ends with a short vowel sound plus a consonant and the stress is on the last syllable, the final consonant is doubled before a vowel suffix.

💡stress

Stress in linguistics refers to the emphasis or accent placed on a particular syllable in a word when it is pronounced. The video mentions that stress plays a role in determining whether to double a final consonant, especially in words with more than one syllable. Understanding stress is key to mastering English spelling rules.

💡i before e except after c

This is a well-known mnemonic rule in English spelling that helps learners remember the correct order of the vowels 'i' and 'e' in words. The video uses this rule to illustrate common spelling patterns, but also points out exceptions like 'neighbour' and 'weigh', emphasizing that while rules are helpful, memorization is sometimes necessary.

💡plurals

The formation of plurals in English often involves adding an 's' or 'es' at the end of a word. The video explains the rules for when to use 'es' instead of 's', which depends on the word's ending letter. This is an important aspect of English spelling as incorrect pluralization can lead to misunderstandings.

💡suffix

A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to create a new word with a different meaning or grammatical function. The video discusses how suffixes affect the spelling of words, particularly in relation to the disappearance of the letter 'e' before certain suffixes. Understanding suffixes is vital for correct word formation in English.

💡exceptions

Exceptions are words or instances that do not follow a general rule. The video frequently mentions exceptions to the spelling rules, such as 'height' and 'leisure', which do not follow the 'i before e' rule. Recognizing and memorizing these exceptions is an important part of learning English spelling.

💡common misspellings

Common misspellings refer to words that are frequently spelled incorrectly by English learners. The video identifies such words and provides the correct spellings, which is crucial for improving spelling skills. Examples from the script include 'accommodation' and 'embarrassed', where the correct placement of double letters is challenging.

Highlights

English spelling is famously illogical and even native speakers commonly misspell words.

‘Misspell’ itself is a word often misspelled.

Four useful rules are presented to improve English spelling.

Spelling mistakes with double consonants are common.

Rule for doubling final consonants: if a word ends with a short vowel sound plus a consonant and stress is on the last syllable, the final consonant is doubled when adding a vowel suffix.

Examples provided to clarify the rule for doubling consonants.

Exceptions to the rule include words ending with 'w' or 'y'.

Words ending with two consonants or consonant plus vowel do not double consonants.

Stress on the last syllable is crucial for doubling consonants in multi-syllable words.

Test sentence to practice spelling with the learned rules.

Common spelling mistakes with 'i-e' versus 'e-i' and the rule 'i before e except after c'.

Exceptions to the 'i-e' rule include words like 'neighbour', 'weigh', 'eight'.

Another test sentence to practice the 'i-e' versus 'e-i' rule.

Plurals in English depend on the word's ending, with '-es' added after certain consonants.

Words ending in a consonant plus '-o' take '-es' in the plural form.

Common exceptions to pluralization rules include 'logos' and 'pianos'.

Rule for adding suffixes to words ending with '-e', disappearing '-e' with vowel suffixes.

Exceptions to the '-e' disappearing rule include words ending in '-ce' or '-ge'.

Test of spelling words with suffixes to apply the learned rules.

Commonly misspelled words by native speakers include 'accommodation' and 'committee'.

Words with inconsistent spelling like 'embarrass' and 'harass' need to be memorized.

Words with 'sci' in them often have an unusual pronunciation.

The word 'independent' is difficult due to similar endings with different spellings.

Some logic exists in spelling, such as 'importance' keeping the 'a' from 'important'.

Invitation for viewers to comment on the words they find most difficult to spell.

Encouragement to visit the website for more free English lessons.

Transcripts

Hi, I’m Maria.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn about English spelling rules, and see some of the most common

spelling mistakes that English learners make.

English spelling is famously illogical.

Even native speakers commonly misspell words.

Interestingly, ‘misspell’ is a word which is often misspelled!

In this lesson, you’ll see four of the most useful rules that can help you to improve

your English spelling and avoid spelling mistakes.

You’ll also get to test your spelling skills on several of the most common spelling mistakes

in English.

Let’s start with our first rule.

Look at five words.

Which are spelled correctly, and which have mistakes?

There are two mistakes.

Beginner should have two n's

and offering should have one r.

Here’s a question: why do you need to double the n in planning or beginning, but not the r

in offering?

Why does sitting have a double t, but deciding just has one d?

Spelling mistakes with double consonants are common, but you can avoid them if you remember

the rule.

Here it is:

If a word ends with a short vowel sound plus a consonant, and the stress is on the last

syllable, then the final consonant is doubled if you add an ending which starts with a vowel.

That sounds complicated, although it’s simpler than it looks.

Let’s do some examples to make it clearer.

First of all, this rule applies to all one-syllable words which end with a short vowel plus a

consonant.

For example,

hot -> hotter jar -> jarring

sad -> saddest cut -> cutting

win -> winner

Because of the way English spelling connects to English pronunciation, you can think of

it like this: if a word has one syllable, and it ends with one vowel and one consonant,

then you need to double the final consonant.

But, this depends on sounds, not spelling.

So, if the final consonant is w or y, don’t double it:

draw -> drawing grey -> greyer

Can you work out why this is?

It’s because the words are written with a consonant, but the sound isn’t pronounced

as a consonant.

If a word ends with two consonants, or with a consonant plus vowel, then don’t double

any consonants:

think -> thinking write -> writer

If a word has two or more syllables, then you also need to think about the stress.

If the stress is on the last syllable, and the word ends with a short vowel plus a consonant,

then you need to double the final consonant; for example:

occur -> occurring commit -> committee

forget -> forgetting

However, if the stress is not on the last syllable, you don’t double the final consonant;

for example:

happen -> happening discover -> discoverer

water -> watery

Remember that for all these words, the rule only applies if the word ends in a short vowel

plus one consonant.

This is true if you’re talking about words with one, two, three or however many syllables.

Let’s do a quick test.

You’re going to hear a sentence.

Pause the video and write down the sentence.

You’ll hear it twice.

Ready?

The cooking committee happened to notice that his soup was tastier than last year, but also

more watery.

Listen once more: the cooking committee happened to notice that his soup was tastier than last

year, but also more watery.

Could you write down the sentence?

Let’s check: Did you get everything right?

No spelling mistakes?

If so, that’s great!

Let’s move on to our next rule.

You're going to see four spelling mistakes.

Can you correct them?

The mistakes are all connected with i-e versus e-i

There’s a well-known rule here: “i before e except after c.”

That means that in most cases, i goes before e:

piece field

achieve

After the letter c, put e before i:

receipt ceiling

conceive

But, there are exceptions.

One of the exceptions has its own rule: e goes before i to make an /eɪ/ sound.

For example:

neighbour weigh

eight

Other exceptions are true exceptions; they don’t follow any rule and you need to remember

them.

Here are some of the most common exceptions to this rule:

height leisure

weird caffeine

species ancient

Let’s test your skills!

You’re going to hear another sentence.

Again, try to write the sentence down.

You’ll hear it twice.

Ready?

Her weird neighbour weighed out eight pieces of ancient caffeine.

Her weird neighbour weighed out eight pieces of ancient caffeine.

Here’s the answer:

Her weird neighbour weighed out eight pieces of ancient caffeine.

Did you get everything right?

No spelling mistakes?

If so, well done!

If you made some mistakes, you can easily go back and review this section, and then

try again.

Let’s look at our next rule

Here are five nouns.

What are the plurals, and how would you spell them?

Do you know?

Here are the answers.

You can see that sometimes, you need to write plurals with es.

But, when do you add -es to make a plural, instead of just -s?

It depends on the last letter of the word.

If a word ends in -s, -ss, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x, then you make the plural by adding -es.

For example:

glasses buses

quizzes beaches

dishes boxes

Okay, but what about tomatoes?

That has a plural with -es, but it doesn’t fit the rule you just saw.

There’s one more rule: if a word ends in a consonant plus -o, then the plural is written

with -es.

For example:

potatoes heroes

mosquitoes

However, if a word ends with a vowel plus -o, then the plural is written only with -s,

like this:

videos radios

All of these rules also apply when you add -s to a verb.

As usual, there are some exceptions, although most of them are uncommon words.

The most common exceptions to this rule are logos and pianos.

Let’s do a quick test!

Here are five words.

How do you spell the plural?

Pause the video and write down your answers.

Ready?

Here are the answers.

Next, let’s look at one more useful rule to improve your English spelling.

Listen to five words, and try to write them down.

Ready?

Truly, changeable, surprising, measurable, advancing.

Listen one more time: truly, changeable, surprising, measurable, advancing.

Here are the words; did you spell them all correctly?

This rule is about adding a suffix to a root word which ends with -e.

For example, true ends with -e.

When you add the suffix -ly, the -e disappears.

Change also ends with -e, but when you add the suffix -able¬, the -e doesn’t disappear.

Do you know why this is?

Whether the -e disappears or not depends on two things: the spelling of the root word,

and the suffix you are adding.

Firstly, the -e can only disappear if you add a suffix which starts with a vowel, like

-able, -ible, -ing, -ity or -ed.

For example:

achievable taking

activity

However, if a word ends with -ue, then you can sometimes drop the -e, even if the suffix

begins with a consonant.

For example:

truly argument

Even when you’re using a suffix which starts with a vowel, you don’t always drop the

-e.

If the word ends -ce and the ending has an /s/ sound, or if a word ends -ge and the ending

has a /dʒ/ sound, then you might need to keep the -e in order to keep the pronunciation

the same.

For example:

manageable encouragement

graceful unpronounceable

As always, these rules have exceptions.

Even if a word ends -ce or -ge, you still drop the -e when you add an -ing suffix.

One important exception is the word ageing, which can be spelled both ways: with an -e

(in British English) or without (in American English).

Also, you don’t drop the -e if this would change the pronunciation.

For example, the word agree needs to keep two -e’s in order to keep its pronunciation:

agreeing agreement

agreeable

Let’s do a quick test to see how well you can use these rules!

Listen to five more words.

Write them down carefully.

You’ll hear the words twice.

Valuable, interchangeable, faking, seeing, activity.

Valuable, interchangeable, faking, seeing, activity.

Here are the answers.

How did you do?

Finally let’s look at some words which are very commonly misspelled, even by native English

speakers.

Look at four words.

They all have spelling mistakes; can you correct them?

Here are the four words; did you get them all right?

What makes these words difficult to spell?

In words like accommodation, it’s difficult to know where to put double letters.

What other words are like this?

How about committee.

How many -m’s?

How many -t’s?

What about embarrassed, millennium, possession, correspondence, or harassment?

These are difficult because they aren’t very consistent.

Why does embarrass have two -r’s, but harass only has one?

It’s not logical; you have to remember them.

In words like conscious or guarantee, the relationship between the spelling and the

pronunciation is strange, even by English standards.

It’s rare that the letters ‘sci’ make a /ʃ/ sound.

There are many words with the letters ‘sci’, but normally, these letters make a /saɪ/

sound—like science—or a /sɪ/ sound—like discipline.

It’s similar with guarantee.

Normally, the /g/ sound is produced by the letters ‘ge’ or ‘gi’.

There’s only one other word family where ‘gua’ makes a /g/ sound.

Do you know which?

The word guard, and words made from it, like guardian, are the only other words which behave

like this.

Again, these spellings are not consistent, and you need to remember them as exceptions.

Finally, what’s the problem with independent?

This is difficult because there are two endings which have the same pronunciation: A-N-C-E

and E-N-C-E.

So, you have audience with an ‘e’, but ambulance with an ‘a’; competence with

‘e’, but clearance with ‘a’, interference with ‘e’, but importance with ‘a’.

You can’t hear the difference between these two endings.

Again, you have to remember the spellings.

However, it’s not all bad news: there is some logic here.

Important is written with an ‘a’, so the noun importance keeps the same spelling.

Interfere ends with an ‘e’, so again the noun keeps the same spelling.

Now, we want to ask you something: which words in English do you find most difficult to spell?

Let us know in the comments!

Check out our website for more free English lessons: Oxford Online English dot com.

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!