Could your spelling use some improvement? Try the quick quiz below and find out.

1.    "I" comes before "E"

1. always.
2. never.
3. except after "C".
4. except after "C" with some exceptions.

2.    The correct spelling of the verb "to hope" + "ing" is

1. hoping.
2. hopping.

3.    When a final "E" is added to a word, the vowel in that word becomes

1. short.
2. long.
3. silent.

4.    When adding a suffix to a word ending with "Y", the "Y" is changed to an "I"

1. if the letter preceding the Y is a vowel.
2. if the letter preceding the Y is a consonant.

5.    Which of the following is not true?

1. Height, leisure, and weird are exceptions to the "I before E" rule.
2. The letter "Y" is a vowel in the word "yellow".
3. "Ment", "ly’ , "ness" and "est" are common suffixes.

Now check your answers.

The correct answers are d, a, b, b, b.

If you were unsure of the answers to any of the above questions, take a moment to review these rules.

1. Use "I" before "E" except after "C".

Ex.    believe    deceive    chief    receive     piece    ceiling    grief    receipt

NOTE: Watch for these exceptions to the rule: height, either, leisure, seize, weird, neighbour, efficient, science.

2. Drop the final "E" in a word if you are adding a suffix that begins with a vowel (ing, ed, ible, ance). Keep the final "E" if the suffix begins with a consonant (ly, ment, ship).

3. Change the "Y" to an "I" before you add a suffix when a word ends in a consonant plus "Y". Keep the "Y" if the word ends a in vowel plus "Y".

4. When adding a suffix, double the final consonant if
   1. the word has an accent on the final syllable
   2. the word ends in a consonant preceded by a vowel
   3. the suffix you are adding begins with a vowel.
      
      

   drop + ing = dropping	plan + ed = planned
   begin + er = beginner	big + est = biggest

    

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