Spelling
Spelling correctly is important to accurately convey thoughts to an audience. This lesson will cover (1) vowels and consonants, (2) suffixes and plurals, (3) homophones and homographs.
Vowels and Consonants
Vowels and consonants are different speech sounds in English.
The letters A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y are vowels and can create a variety of sounds. The most common are short sounds and long sounds. Long vowel sounds sound like the name of the letter such as the a in late. Short vowel sounds have a unique sound such as the a in cat. A rule for vowels is that when two vowels are walking, the first does the talking as in pain and meat.
Consonants include the other twenty-one letters in the alphabet. Consonants are weak letters and only make sounds when paired with vowels. That is why words always must have a vowel. This also means that consonants need to be doubled to make a stronger sound like sitting, grabbed, progress. Understanding general trends and patterns for vowels and consonants will help with spelling. The table below represents the difference between short and long vowels and gives examples for each.
| Example | Example Words | |
|---|---|---|
| Short a | a | Cat, mat, hat, pat |
| Long a | a | Late, pain, pay, they, weight, straight |
| Short e | e | Met, said, bread |
| Long e | e | Breeze, cheap, dean, equal |
| Short i | i | Bit, myth, kiss, rip |
| Long i | i | Cry, pie, high |
| Short o | o | Dog, hot, pop |
| Long o | o | Snow, nose, elbow |
| Short u | u | Run, cut, club, gum |
| Long u | u | Duty, rule, new, food |
| Short oo | oo | Book, foot, cookie |
| Long oo | oo | Mood, bloom, shoot |
Suffixes and Plurals
A suffix is a word part that is added to the ending of a root word. A suffix changes the meaning and spelling of words. There are some general patterns to follow with suffixes.
Adding -er, -ist, or -or changes the root to mean doer or performer
- Paint → Painter
- Abolition → Abolitionist
- Act → Actor
Adding -ation or -ment changes the root to mean an action or a process
- Ador(e) → Adoration
- Develop → Development
Adding -ism changes the root to mean a theory or ideology
- Real → Realism
Adding -ity, -ness, -ship, or -tude changes the root to mean a condition, quality, or state
- Real → Reality
- Sad → Sadness
- Relation → Relationship
- Soli(tary) → Solitude
Plurals are similar to suffixes as letters are added to the end of the word to signify more than one person, place, thing, or idea. There are also general patterns to follow when creating plurals.
If a word ends in -s,-ss,-z,-zz,-ch, or -sh, add -es.
- Bus → Buses
If a word ends in a -y, drop the -y and add -ies.
- Pony → Ponies
If a word ends in an -f, change the f to a v and add -es.
- Knife → Knives
For all other words, add an -s.
- Dog → Dogs
Homophones and Homographs
A homophone is a word that has the same sound as another word, but does not have the same meaning or spelling.
- To, too, and two
- There, their, and they’re
- See and sea
A homograph is a word that has the same spelling as another word, but does not have the same sound or meaning.
- Lead (to go in front of) and lead (a metal)
- Bass (deep sound) and bass (a fish)
Let’s Review!
- Vowels include the letters A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y and have both short and long sounds.
- Consonants are the other twenty-one letters and have weak sounds. They are often doubled to make stronger sounds.
- Suffixes are word parts added to the root of a word and change the meaning and spelling.
- To make a word plural, add -es, -ies, -ves, or -s to the end of a word.
- Homophones are words that have the same sound, but not the same meaning or spelling.
- Homographs are words that have the same spelling, but not the same meaning or sound.
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