Write Guru

Words Mississippi

- Spelling -

In our opening paragraph several words have been misspelled:

... happyly ...       ... plaiful ...

The spelling rule here involves what to do with the letter y at the end of a word to which we wish to add a suffix. Our spelling rule gives us guidance:

Rule: To add a suffix to a word ending in the letter y,

(1) if the y is preceded by a consonant, change the y to an i:
    bounty + ful = bountiful       breezy + ness = breeziness
    try + ed = tried       busy + ly = busily
    silly + er = sillier       happy + ly = happily
    Exceptions:   carrying, drying, shyer, dryly, wryness
(2) if the y is preceded by a vowel, keep the y:
    joy + ous = joyous       employ + ment = employment
    buoy + ed = buoyed       play + ful = playful
    Exceptions:   day + ly = daily       gay + ly = gaily

In this lesson on words, we end with some practice on commonly misspelled words. Say each word out loud, put a finger over the word, and then spell it out loud. It should take but a few minutes; it really will help improve your spelling skills.

annually

develop

forty

parallel

recommend

business

exaggerate

ninety

pursue

sense

Note that we have underlined the letters where most spelling mistakes are made.

 

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