SPELLING RULES
=Exercise 29--Plurals of Nouns=
(_a_) dress, dresses (_b_) chair, chairs
splash, splashes wave, waves
business, businesses book, books
church, churches pencil, pencils
fox, foxes paper, papers
The usual way of forming the plural of English nouns is illustrated by
the words in column (_b_) above. What is it?
If you add _s_ to the singular form _dress_, could you distinguish the
pronunciation of the plural from the pronunciation of the singular? Does
this suggest a reason for adding _es_ to form the plural?
How many syllables must you use to pronounce the plural of fox? Does
this suggest another reason for adding _es_ to form the plural?
Every word that ends in a sibilant or hissing sound (_ch_, _s_, _sh_,
_ss_, _x_, _z_) forms its plural like _fox_. Give several illustrations.
=Rule 1.--Nouns regularly form the plural by adding _s_, but those
ending in a sibilant must add_es_.=
=Exercise 30=
(_a_) lady, ladies (_b_) valley, valleys
ally, allies alley, alleys
soliloquy, soliloquies journey, journeys
Name five words belonging to group (_a_) above. Does a vowel or a
consonant precede the _y_ in each case?
Name other words belonging to the group (_b_) above. Does a vowel or a
consonant precede the _y_ in each case?
=Rule 2.--Nouns ending in _y_ preceded by a consonant (and nouns ending
in _quy_) form the plural by changing _y_ to _i_ and adding _es_.=
=Exercise 31--Words ending in o=
(_a_)
potato, potatoes hero, heroes mulatto, mulattoes
tomato, tomatoes buffalo, buffaloes cargo, cargoes
negro, negroes echo, echoes motto, mottoes
(_b_)
solo, solos piano, pianos memento, mementos
halo, halos lasso, lassos canto, cantos
zero, zeros quarto, quartos soprano, sopranos
stilletto, stillettos
The older English words ending in _o_ form the plural by adding _es_, as
in potatoes; those more recently taken into the language form the plural
by adding _s_, as in quartos.
=Exercise 32--Nouns in f and fe=
leaf, leaves calf, calves wife, wives
loaf, loaves sheaf, sheaves shelf, shelves
half, halves wolf, wolves elf, elves
life, lives beef, beeves wharf, wharves (or wharfs)
self, selves knife, knives
With the exception of the words given above, nouns ending in an _f_
sound form the plural in the regular way; as,
hoof, hoofs scarf, scarfs beliefs, beliefs
chief, chiefs reef, reefs grief, griefs
=Exercise 33--Irregular Plurals=
Some nouns form their plural by a change of vowel; as,
man men foot feet
woman women tooth teeth
goose geese mouse mice
A few words retain the old time plural _en_; as,
brother brethren
child children ox oxen
A few words are the same in both singular and plural; as,
sheep, trout, deer
Some nouns have two plurals which differ in meaning; as,
_Singular_ _Plural_
brother brothers brethren
penny pennies pence
pea peas pease
die dies dice
Consult a dictionary for the difference in meaning between the two
plurals of each word.
=Exercise 34--Compound Nouns=
_Singular_ _Plural_
brother-in-law brothers-in-law
father-in-law fathers-in-law
court-martial courts-martial
commander-in-chief commanders-in-chief
man-of-war men-of-war
major general major generals
goose quill goose quills
bill of fare bills of fare
spoonful spoonfuls
cupful cupfuls
=Rule 3.--Compound nouns usually add the sign of the plural to the
fundamental part of the word.=
NOTE.--In _spoonfuls_ the thought is of one spoon many
times full.
=Plural of Letters and Figures=
=Rule 4.--Letters and figures form the plural by adding the apostrophe
(') and _s_; as,=
a a's 3 3's
w w's 5 5's
The same rule applies to the plural of words which ordinarily have no
plural; as,
Don't use so many _and's_ and _if's_.
=Exercise 35--Foreign Plurals=
Some nouns derived from foreign languages retain their original plural.
The following are in common use.
Consult a dictionary for their pronunciation and definition.
_Singular_ _Plural_ _Singular_ _Plural_
crisis crises stratum strata
thesis theses radius radii
hypothesis hypotheses parenthesis parentheses
focus foci synopsis synopses
datum data basis bases
alumnus alumni automaton automata
alumna alumnae analysis analyses
oasis oases nucleus nuclei
axis axes phenomenon phenomena
genus genera
Some words admit of two plurals, one the foreign plural, and one the
regular English plural; as,
_Singular_ _Plural_
beau beaux beaus
formula formulae formulas
vertex vertices vertexes
index indices indexes
cherub cherubim cherubs
seraph seraphim seraphs
bandit banditti bandits
Consult a dictionary to see whether there is any difference of meaning
between the two plurals of these words.
=Exercise 36--The Formation of Participles=
_Rap_, _rapping_, _rapped_ _Reap_, _reaping_, _reaped_
_Rap_ is a monosyllable ending in a single consonant preceded by a
single vowel. The final consonant in such words is doubled before a
suffix beginning with a vowel is added.
In _reap_ the final consonant is not doubled because it is preceded by
two vowels.
Make the participles of the following verbs:
chat lap suit step
cheat leap sit steep
rot train sop trot
root trim soap treat
_Trap_, _trapping_, _trapped_ _Track_, _tracking_, _tracked_
Why is the final consonant in _trap_ doubled before _ing_ or _ed_ is
added?
The final consonant in _track_ is not doubled because _track_ ends with
two consonants.
_Pin_, _pinning_ _Pine_, _pining_
_Pine_ drops the silent _e_ because the tendency in English is to drop
endings that are not needed for pronunciation before adding a suffix
beginning with a vowel.
Form the participles of the following verbs:
knot rob flop
note robe elope
deal swim quit (_u_ is not here a vowel)
clap strike crawl (_w_ is here a vowel)
stop oil wax (_x_ equals _cks_)
peal rush bow (_w_ is here a vowel)
=Exercise 37=
Exercise 36 applies also to words of more than one syllable accented on
the last syllable, if they retain the accent on the same syllable after
the suffix is added. Thus we have
=Rule 5.--Monosyllables or words accented on the last syllable, ending
in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final
consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.=
Form participles from the following words that are accented on the last
syllable:
prefer intervene escape expel
refer reveal acquire contain
occur repeal secure forbid
permit pursue conceal incur
interfere erase arrange forget
retain control acquit repel
Form participles from the following words not accented on the last
syllable:
benefit travel marvel shelter
revel answer exhibit render
quarrel profit shovel limit
Words in which the accent changes do not double the final consonant
before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel; as,
confer conference infer inference
refer reference prefer preferable
Explain why the final consonant is _not_ doubled in each of the
following words:
neglect neglecting lean leaning
prefer preference select selecting
creep creeping receipt receipting
wonder wondering answer answering
=Exercise 38=
=Rule 6.--In forming the present participle of verbs ending in _y_,
retain the _y_ before adding _ing_; as,=
study studying obey obeying
carry carrying convey conveying
pity pitying
In forming the perfect participle, if in the present tense the _y_ is
preceded by a consonant, the _y_ is changed to _i_ and _ed_ added; if
the _y_ is preceded by a vowel, the _y_ is retained; as,
study studied carry carried pity pitied
but
obey obeyed convey conveyed
Compare with Rule 2.
=Exercise 39=
=Rule 7.--In words containing a long _e_ sound spelled either _ie_ or
_ei_, _ei_ follows _c_; _ie_ follows one of the other consonants; as,=
_ei_ _ie_
deceive relieve siege
perceive believe yield
receive belief grief
conceive chief field
conceit priest piece
receipt niece wield
reprieve lien
_Exceptions._--Either, neither, weird, seize, leisure.
The following couplet may help in remembering when to write _ie_ and
when to write _ei_:
When the letter _c_ you spy,
Put the _e_ before the _i_.
=Exercise 40--The Pronunciation of _c_ and _g_=
The letter _c_ is pronounced sometimes like _s_ and sometimes like _k_.
What sound does _c_ have before _a_? Illustrate.
Before _e_? Illustrate.
Before _i_? Illustrate.
Before _o_? Illustrate.
Before _u_? Illustrate.
Before _y_? Illustrate.
If _c_ is pronounced like _k_, it is called hard and is marked _[\c]_.
If _c_ is pronounced like _s_, it is called soft and is marked _ç_. The
mark used to indicate the soft _c_ is called the _cedilla_.
Make a statement telling when _c_ is hard and when it is soft.
What sound does _g_ have before each of the vowels, as in _game_,
_gone_, _gymnasium_, _Gunther_, _gentle_?
=Rule 8.--_C_ and _g_ usually are soft before _e_, _i_, and _y_.=
=Exercise 41=
Words ending in silent _e_, according to Rule 5, drop the _e_ before a
suffix beginning with a vowel. Exceptions occur when the _e_ is needed
to preserve the soft sound of _c_ and _g_. Tell why _e_ is dropped in
_encouraging_ and retained in _courageous_.
In words containing _dg_, as in _judge_ and _lodge_, the _d_ gives the
_g_ the soft sound, and there is no need to retain the _e_ before adding
a suffix, as in _judgment_.
=Rule 9.--Words ending in silent _e_ usually drop the _e_ before adding
a suffix beginning with a vowel, unless the _e_ is needed to preserve
the pronunciation; as after soft _c_ and _g_, when the suffix begins
with _a_ or _o_.=
Tell why the _e_ is retained before the suffix in the following:
noticeable damageable pronounceable outrageous
courageous peaceable serviceable manageable
Tell why the _e_ is dropped before adding the suffix in the following:
managing curable erasure
besieging admirable realization
receiving obliging precedence
perseverance
The fact that _c_ has two different sounds causes a slight peculiarity
in words ending in _c_. Final _c_ has the sound of _k_. When words end
in _c_, the letter _k_ is usually added before a suffix beginning with
either _e_, _i_, or _y_, to show that _c_ is not pronounced like _s_;
as,
frolic frolicked frolicking
If the _k_ is not added, the _c_ changes its pronunciation; as,
public publicity
=Exercise 42=
It follows by inference from Rule 9 that words ending in silent _e_
retain the _e_ before a suffix beginning with a consonant; as,
move movement disgrace disgraceful
defense defenseless fate fateful
arrange arrangement fierce fiercely
noise noiseless manage management
severe severely rude rudeness
_Exceptions._--Truly, duly, wisdom, awful, wholly.
Bring to class a list of twenty words that retain the final _e_ before a
suffix beginning with a consonant.
=Exercise 43=
What spelling rule does each of the following words illustrate?
advantageous gigantic boxes admittance
mimicking piece libraries occurrence
arrangement receipt keys acquittal
=Exercise 44--Abbreviations=
Write abbreviations for the months of the year. Are there any that
should not be abbreviated?
The abbreviations for the states and territories are:
Alabama, Ala. Maryland, Md.
Arizona, Ariz. Massachusetts, Mass.
Arkansas, Ark. Michigan, Mich.
California, Cal. Minnesota, Minn.
Colorado, Colo. Mississippi, Miss.
Connecticut, Conn. Missouri, Mo.
Delaware, Del. Montana, Mont.
District of Columbia, D.C. Nebraska, Nebr.
Florida, Fla. Nevada, Nev.
Georgia, Ga. New Hampshire, N.H.
Idaho, Idaho New Mexico, N. Mex.
Illinois, Ill. New York, N.Y.
Indiana, Ind. New Jersey, N.J.
Iowa, Ia. North Carolina, N.C.
Kansas, Kans. North Dakota, N. Dak.
Kentucky, Ky. Ohio, O.
Louisiana, La. Oklahoma, Okla.
Maine, Me. Oregon, Ore.
Pennsylvania, Pa. Utah, Utah
Philippine Islands, P.I. Vermont, Vt.
Porto Rico, P.R. Virginia, Va.
South Carolina, S.C. Washington, Wash.
South Dakota, S.D. Wisconsin, Wis.
Tennessee, Tenn. West Virginia, W. Va.
Texas, Tex. Wyoming, Wyo.
NOTE.--It is much better to write the full name rather
than the abbreviation whenever the former would make
the address clearer, especially as regards similar
abbreviations, such as Cal. and Colo.
=Exercise 45--Abbreviations of Commercial Terms=
A 1, first class doz., dozen
@, at E. & O.E., errors and omissions
excepted
acct., account ea., each
adv., advertisement e.g., for example
agt., agent etc., and so forth
a.m., forenoon exch., exchange
amt., amount ft., foot
app., appendix f.o.b., free on board
atty., attorney gal., gallon
av., average i.e., that is
avoir., avoirdupois imp., imported
bal., balance in., inches
bbl., barrel inst., this month (instant)
B/L, bill of lading Jr., junior
bldg., building kg., keg
B/S, bill of sale lb., pound
bu., bushel ltd., limited
C.B., cash book mdse., merchandise
C., hundred mem., memorandum
coll., collection, collector mo., month
Co., company M.S. (MSS)., manuscript
C.O.D., cash on delivery mtg., mortgage
cr., creditor N.B., take notice
cwt., hundredweight no., number
D., five hundred O.K., all right
dept., department per, by
disc., discount p.m., afternoon
do., ditto %, per cent
dr., debtor, debit St., street
pkg., package str., steamer
pp., pages ult., last month
pr., pair U.S.M., United States Mail
pc., piece viz., namely
pk., peck vol., volume
prox., next month W/B, way bill
pt., pint wt., weight
Sr., senior