How to spell by rule instead of by eye
TEAS 7 outline: Standard English spelling
Also covers HESI A2 Grammar (Punctuation and capitalization)
- Spell by rule, not by what looks right.
- Long-e sound: ie, except after c (believe, receive).
- Before a vowel ending, drop a silent e: hoping.
- Before a vowel ending, double a stressed final consonant: referred.
- Change consonant + y to i, except before -ing.
Key facts
- ie/ei is a guideline, not a law: when the pair sounds like the e in bee, usually write ie (believe), except after c, where it is ei (receipt); when it sounds like the a in say, write ei (weight).
- Common ie/ei exceptions to memorize: either, neither, seize, weird, protein, caffeine, leisure.
- Drop a silent final e before an ending that starts with a vowel (hope → hoping) and keep it before an ending that starts with a consonant (care → careful).
Show all 7 key factsShow fewer
- After a consonant, change y to i before an ending (carry → carried, happy → happiness) but keep the y before -ing (carrying); after a vowel, keep the y (stayed).
- Double the final consonant before a vowel ending when the word ends in one vowel plus one consonant and is one syllable or stressed on the last syllable (plan → planning, refer → referred).
- Plurals: add -s; add -es after s, sh, ch, x, z; consonant + y becomes -ies; vowel + y just adds -s; never use an apostrophe to make an ordinary plural (two nurses, not two nurse's).
- Sound-alikes: their = belonging to them, there = place, they're = they are; its = belonging to it, it's = it is; affect is usually the verb, effect usually the noun; than compares, then tells time.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
Which of the following words is spelled correctly?
Correct answer: B.
When ie or ei makes the long-e sound (as in bee), write ie, except right after c, where the spelling is ei. Conceive has the long-e sound right after c, so it is spelled ei. Field, believe and retrieve have the same sound with no c in front, so they all take ie.
A Field has the long-e sound and no c before it, so it takes ie, not ei.
B Correct: the long-e sound comes right after c, so the spelling is ei.
C Believe has the long-e sound after l, not c, so it takes ie.
D Retrieve has the long-e sound after r, not c, so it takes ie.
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: Spell by rule, not by feel. For the long-e sound, write ie except after c (believe, receive), and memorize the few exceptions. Before a vowel ending, drop a silent e and double a short final consonant (hoping, planning). Change consonant + y to i except before -ing (carried, carrying). For sound-alike words, swap in the full meaning to test.
1 Why can't you trust what looks right?Spelling items reward a short list of rules, not a feeling that a word looks familiar. 1 min
Spelling items reward a short list of rules, not a feeling that a word looks familiar. Misspellings like recieve are common precisely because they look normal. Use this method on every choice:
- Split the word into its base and its ending (refer + ed).
- Ask whether the ending starts with a vowel or a consonant.
- Look at the last letters of the base: silent e, a y, or one vowel plus one consonant.
- Apply the rule, then check the short exception list.
- For sound-alike words, swap in the meaning and see whether the sentence still works.
2 How do you choose ie or ei?Say the word and let the sound pick the spelling. 1 min
Say the word and let the sound pick the spelling.
| Sound | Rule | Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|---|
| "ee," as in bee | ie | Patients believe the new plan helps. | Patients beleive the new plan helps. |
| "ee" right after c | ei | Keep the receipt for the copay. | Keep the reciept for the copay. |
| "ay," as in say | ei | Record the patient's weight. | Record the patient's wieght. |
The rule has exceptions, so memorize the common ones: either, neither, seize, weird, protein, caffeine, leisure. The rule covers only the long-e sound, so a word like science falls outside it.
3 What happens when you add an ending?Look at how the base word ends before you attach anything. 1 min
Look at how the base word ends before you attach anything.
| Rule | Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|
| Silent e + vowel ending: drop the e | She is hoping to pass. | She is hopeing to pass. |
| Silent e + consonant ending: keep the e | Be careful with the scale. | Be carful with the scale. |
| Consonant + y: change y to i | The aide carried the tray. | The aide carryed the tray. |
| …but keep y before -ing | She is carrying the tray. | She is carriing the tray. |
| Vowel + y: keep the y | He stayed late. | He staied late. |
| One vowel + one consonant, stressed last: double | The nurse referred him. | The nurse refered him. |
| Stress not on the last syllable: don't double | The clinic profited. | The clinic profitted. |
Quick test for doubling: say the word aloud. Re-FER and com-MIT stress the end, so they double (referred, committed); PROF-it does not. One-syllable words like plan double before a vowel ending (planning), and no word doubles before a consonant ending (commitment).
One silent-e exception to know: noticeable keeps its e so the c stays soft.
4 How do you make a word plural?Look at the final letters, and remember that an ordinary plural never takes an apostrophe. 1 min
Look at the final letters, and remember that an ordinary plural never takes an apostrophe.
| Word ends in | Rule | Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most letters | add -s | two nurses | two nurse's |
| s, ss, sh, ch, x, z | add -es | three boxes | three boxs |
| consonant + y | change to -ies | many injuries | many injurys |
| vowel + y | add -s | four days | four daies |
| f or fe | usually -ves, check a dictionary | two knives, two beliefs | two knifes |
Irregular plurals must be memorized: child → children, mouse → mice, crisis → crises.
5 How do you pick between sound-alike words?Replace the word with its meaning, and only the correct spelling will still make sense. 1 min
Replace the word with its meaning, and only the correct spelling will still make sense.
| Pair | Swap test | Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|---|
| they're / their / there | they're = "they are"; their = belonging to them; there = place | The nurses updated their charts. | The nurses updated there charts. |
| it's / its | it's = "it is" or "it has" | The clinic changed its hours. | The clinic changed it's hours. |
| affect / effect | affect is usually the action (verb); effect is usually the result (noun) | Caffeine can affect sleep. | Caffeine can effect sleep. |
| than / then | than compares; then tells time or what comes next | The pill worked faster than the syrup. | The pill worked faster then the syrup. |
Two rare exceptions: as a verb, effect means to bring about (effect change), and in psychology affect is a noun for a person's visible emotional response.
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: A word that looks familiar is not proof: recieve and occured look normal at a glance, but the rules give receive and occurred.
Watch out: Watch for a choice that fixes one misspelling and leaves another; check every word in every option before choosing.
Watch out: Its with no apostrophe is the possessive; it's always means it is or it has, so the clinic changed its hours, not it's hours.
Watch out: Doubling only happens on stressed final syllables: referred doubles, but profited and visited do not.
Watch out: Words like science are not covered by the i-before-e rule because the letters do not make the long-e sound; check the sound before applying the rule.
How to remember it
Remember four words, "vowel ending, look back," and most suffix questions solve themselves. Before an ending that starts with a vowel, a silent e drops and a stressed final consonant doubles. A consonant + y turns to i unless the ending is -ing.
Self-check:
- Spell admit + ed and benefit + ed, and say why only one doubles.
- Write the plurals of family, key and match.
- Fill the blank with its or it's: "The lab sent ___ report, and ___ ready to read."
Show answers
- Admitted and benefited.
- Say them aloud: ad-MIT stresses the last syllable, so the t doubles (admitted).
- BEN-e-fit does not stress the last syllable, so it does not double (benefited).
- Families, keys and matches.
- Family ends in consonant + y, so change to -ies: families.
- Key ends in vowel + y, so add -s: keys.
- Match ends in ch, so add -es: matches.
- Its, then it's.
- "The lab sent its report" shows ownership; "it is report" makes no sense.
- "It's ready to read" means "it is ready to read."