Help With Spelling Problems for ESL Classes

Here are the most common spelling rules in English. For exceptions to the rules take a look at Common Spelling Problems. Capital Letters Use Capital (T, S, B, etc.) letters for the following types of words: Days, months and public holidays: Monday, January, ChristmasProper names of people and places: Jack, Maria, New York, GermanyTitles for people: Ms, Dr, GeneralNationalities and regions (both nouns and adjectives): Dutch, Swedish, BasqueTitles of works of art (content words only): The Last Day of Summer, American Journal of Medicine When to Double Final Consonants The final consonant of a word is often doubled when adding -ed, -ing, -er, -est in the following cases: The double final b, d, g, l, m, n, p, r, and t at the end of words:rob - robbingsad - sadderbig - biggerskim - skimmingwin - winnerpop - poppingprefer - preferredhit - hittingWords of more than one syllable have their consonants doubled only when the final syllable is stressed:begin - beginn ing BUT open - openingdefer - deferr ing BUT offer - offeringWhen words have more than one syllable and end in L British English always doubles the L, even in the case of unstressed syllables. In American English, on the other hand, the L is not doubled when the syllable is unstressed.British English - travelledAmerican English - traveledMore information on the differences between British and American English. Here are the most common spelling rules in English. For exceptions to the rules take a look at Common Spelling Problems. Final -E Leave off the final e in the following cases: When the word ends in e adding a suffix that begins with a vowel (this is usually the case, although there are exceptions such as outrageous):make - makingnote - notableDo not leave out the final e when a word ends in ee:agree - agreeableWords ending in ge and ce do NOT drop the final e:encourage - encouragementembrace - embraceable 'IE' and 'EI' This is a common spelling problem, even for native English speakers. Probably the best thing to do is remember this rhyme: I before E except after Creliefthiefbelieve But...perceivereceiptceiling 'Y' and 'I' When adding an ending to a word that finishes in y, the y usually changes to i: Most nouns and verbs that end in y have plural or third person singular conjugations that change to i:party - partieshurry - She hurries to work.When changing the word form (for example from adjective to adverb):happy - happilylazy - lazilyeasy - easier Do NOT change the final y to i when y is preceded by a vowel:stay - staysenjoy - enjoyed Exceptions: say, lay, pay - said, laid, paidDo NOT change the final y to i when followed by -ing, -ism, -ish:boy - boyishtry - trying 'IE' to 'Y' When a word ends in ie change to y before adding -ing:die - dyinglie - lying