Rules of English Spelling

Review the basic concepts behind the English language before mastering spelling! How to Spell breaks down some key terms for discussing words and letters.

The silent (or magic!) 'e' makes a huge difference to the meaning and pronunciation of words. This lesson shows you how it works and why it's necessary.

English spelling gets a bit unpredictable when suffixes like “ing,” “y,” or “ly” are introduced. In this lesson, learn when to drop the “E” from a root word!

The 1:1:1 doubling up spelling rule is about doubling up the end consonant in words such as: big/bigger, stop/stopped, begin/beginning, and slim/slimmer.

In this spelling rules lesson, learn how and when to add “-es” to nouns to make plurals, and how to add “es” to verbs to conjugate in the third person.

Learn two spelling rules: the “-y” to -”ies” rule (country-countries, party-parties) and the “-f” to “-ves” rule (half-halves, knife-knives, wife-wives).

In this spelling rules lesson, learn when, why, and how to add “-ly” to words to create adverbs like slowly, possibly, uneasily, and lovely.

Apple, staple, title, kettle, trifle. Find out why we spell some of these with a single consonants, some with double consonants, and others with “-ckle.”

Why does English have four ways to spell the “K” sound? In this spelling rules lesson, examine the reasons for the "-ck," "-ic," "-k," and "-ke" spellings.

Words with "ie" and "ei" letter patterns are tricky to spell! In this lesson from How to Spell, explore the rules that dictate when to use “ie” or “ei.”

How do you know when to use “C,” or how to pronounce it? This lesson from How to Spell explores the sounds, rules, and history of the letter “C.

People have a lot of problems spelling “writing.” Apply related spelling rules to understand how to spell “write,” “writing,” “wrote,” and “written.”