Spelling Guidelines

English Language Arts, Grade 8

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STOP Here are some rules to help you spell words correctly. Write i before e except right after c or when it sounds like a as in neighbor and weigh: briefly beige conceive friendship This rule works most of the time; however, there are exceptions such as glacier, deity, either, and foreign. In a compound noun, add an s to the the most important part of the word to form the plural: 1 passerby, 2 passersby 1 brother-in-law, 2 brothers-in-law Nouns that end in a consonant y change to ie when adding the s to make the word plural: 1 country, 2 countries 1 penny, 2 pennies 1 fly, 2 flies This rule also works for verbs ending in consonant y and adding the -s or -ed to form a tense: bury, buries, buried marry, marries, married This rule also works for adjectives and adverbs ending in consonant y when adding –ier or –iest : lazy, lazier, laziest silly, sillier, silliest healthy, healthier, healthiest Verbs that end in e drop it before adding –ed or –ing : advise = advised, advising sneeze = sneezed, sneezing Verbs that end in ie change to y before adding the –ing : die = dying lie = lying tie = tying When one-syllable verbs end in a consonant, you usually double the final consonant before adding –ing , and if it’s a multi-syllable word you don’t: stop = stopping travel = traveling benefit = benefiting 1-syllable 2-syllable 3-syllable This rule works most of the time; however, there are exceptions such as fixing, admitting, and propelling. Spelling Guidelines Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 92-4085
Circle the correct spelling for each word. 1. The dining room furniture is being shipped to us via (freight, frieght) truck. 2. After marrying Tammy, Gary had three (sister-in-laws, sisters-in-law). 3. When the crowd (thined, thinned), I was able to see the emergency vehicle. 4. Today is the (chilliest, chillyest) day of the entire winter so far. 5. My doctor is (refering, referring) me to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. 6. The orange crate is (heavier, heavyer) than the red one. 7. Beverly is the most (conceited, concieted) girl in our class. 8. The two (secretary of states, secretaries of state) met in Oslo, Norway. 9. There are about 20 teenagers in Bianca’s (neighborhood, nieghborhood). 10. We were shocked that the ambassador had acted in such a (deceitful, decietful) manner. 11. Mom bought six (guppys, guppies) from the pet store. 12. Darren (studyed, studied) three hours for the final exam. AMBULANCE SERVICE Spelling Guidelines Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 92-4085