English Second Language·Punctuation & spelling · NSSCO 3.3
Spelling rules that really help
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Spelling feels like it has a thousand rules, but really there are just a handful of friendly patterns that do most of the work. In this lesson Miss Veronica walks you slowly through 'i before e except after c', how to add endings (dropping the silent 'e', doubling the last letter, changing 'y' to 'i'), how to build plurals, how prefixes join on without changing the root, and a short list of tricky words worth learning by heart.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 3.3):
- Apply the rule 'i before e except after c' and recall its common exceptions
- Add suffixes correctly by dropping a silent 'e', doubling a final consonant, or changing 'y' to 'i'
- Form regular and irregular plurals of nouns
- Add prefixes to a word without changing the spelling of the root
- Spell continuous '-ing' forms and break long words into syllables
- Spell a range of commonly-misspelt words correctly
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Miss Veronica and Mike talk through the whole topic — with the figure and working drawn live.