Rules & Examples: Spellings | Verbal Ability (VA) & Reading Comprehension (RC) - CAT PDF Download

Introduction

• Spelling words correctly is one of the basic requirements of learning a language effectively, especially the written form. 
• Whereas writing is the main skill, spelling is the sub-skill. 
• A person who is weak in spelling is likely to be perceived as a person who does not take his/her work seriously, has a casual attitude, and is not efficient in the language.
• It is easy to ignore spelling mistakes as it is the most neglected skill and gets hidden behind other skills such as vocabulary building, using idioms and expressions to make language impactful etc.
• A good speller is one who automatically writes correctly, while absorbed in the thought process while expressing himself. Learning to spell well is important for good communication. 
• Poor spelling makes a piece of written work less appealing and less effective.

Spellings include being conscious of the following four parts

• The way a word is written: this relates to observing the shape and size of the letters making up a word and the way the words have been arranged.
• The way a word is spoken: this relates to observing the way the letters and the words come out of your mouth and the movement of your mouth as the words are spoken.
• The way a word sounds: this relates to observing the sound that the letters and the words make.
• The way a word looks: this relates to observing the visual aspect of the letter and words, the way the letters combine to form a word. 

Another way of getting the spelling right is to break the word into syllables.

Example: 
(i) The word 'dictionary' is made up of four syllables, dictionary = dic+ ion+ ar+ y
(ii) The word 'handkerchief' is made of three syllables, handkerchief = hand+ker+chief

Some Useful Spelling Rules to Avoid Errors

Rule 1. 'ie' and 'ei': Generally, 'i' comes before 'e' except after 'c'

Examples: Believe, Friend, Deceive, Ceiling
Exceptions: leisure, seize, heir, etc.

Rule 2. When a weak verb ends in a final consonant, except 'l', preceded by a short vowel, the final consonant is not doubled to form the past tense, unless the accent falls on the last syllable.

Example:
(i) Budget -Budgeted (Not budgetted)
(ii) Offer -Offered (Not offerred)
Exception: Worship - worshipped (Not worshiped)

(ii) If the accent does fall on the last syllable, the consonant is doubled.

Example:
(a) Begin - beginning (Not Begining)
(b) Transfer - Transferred (Not Transfered)

(iii) If the final consonant is 'l', it is always doubled.
Example:
(i) Travel - Travelled (Not Traveled)
(ii) Level - Levelled (Not Leveled)
Exception: Parallel - Paralleled (Not parallelled)

Rule 3. When two words, verbs and nouns, which have the same pronunciation end in 'se' and 'ce' and 'sy' and 'cy', then 'se' and 'sy' are verb endings and 'ce' and cy' are noun endings.

Example: 
(i) Verbs: License, Practise
(ii) Nouns: Licence, Practice

Rule 4. 'us' and 'ous'. Nouns end in 'us', Adjectives end in 'ous'.

Example:
(i) Nouns: Census, Genius
(ii) Adjectives: Jealous, Envious

Rule 5. The final 'e'

(a) When the 'e' is followed by 'ment', it need not be dropped.
Example: Judgement (Not judgment)
(b) When 'e' is followed by 'able', always drop the 'e'.
Example: Move - Movable (Not moveable)

Rules of Pronunciation

Rule 1: C always softens to /s/ when followed by E, I, or Y. Otherwise, C says /k/.

Soft 'C' (/s/ sound): "City" - In this word, the 'C' is followed by 'I,' and it makes a /s/ sound.

Hard 'C' (/k/ sound): "Cat" - Here, the 'C' is followed by 'A,' and it makes a /k/ sound.

Rule 2: G may soften to /j/ only when followed by E, I, or Y. Otherwise, G says /g/.

Soft 'G' (/j/ sound): "Giraffe" - In this word, the 'G' is followed by 'I,' and it softens to make a /j/ sound.

Hard 'G' (/g/ sound): "Goat" - Here, the 'G' is followed by 'O,' and it retains its hard /g/ sound.

Rule 3: English words do not end in I, U, V, or J.

"Rug" - This word follows the rule because it ends with the letter 'G' (not I, U, V, or J).

Rule 4: A E O U usually say their names at the end of a syllable.

"Cake" - In this word, the vowel 'A' appears at the end of the syllable, and it says its name like "ay" in cake.

Rule 5: I and Y may say /ĭ/ or /ī/ at the end of a syllable.

"City" - In this word, both the 'I' and 'Y' appear at the end of the syllable, and they make the /ĭ/ sound, creating the "sit-ee" pronunciation.

Rule 6: When a one-syllable word ends in a single vowel Y, it says /ī/.

"Sky" - In this one-syllable word, the final Y says /ī/, resulting in the "ski" pronunciation.

Rule 7: Y says /ē/ only at the end of a multi-syllable base word. I says /ē/ at the end of a syllable that is followed by a vowel and at the end of foreign words.

"Happy" - In this word, the Y is at the end of a multi-syllable base word and says /ē/, resulting in the "hap-ee" pronunciation.

"Piano" - In this word, the I is at the end of a syllable followed by a vowel, and it says /ē/, resulting in the "pi-ah-no" pronunciation.

Rule 8: I and O may say /ī/ and /ō/ when followed by two consonants.

"Pilot" - In this word, the I is followed by two consonants (L and T), and it says /ī/, resulting in the "pī-lot" pronunciation.

Rule 9: AY usually spells the sound /ā/ at the end of a base word.

"Play" - In this word, AY is at the end of the base word and spells the /ā/ sound, resulting in the "play" pronunciation.

Rule 10: When a word ends with the phonogram A, it says /ä/. A may also say /ä/ after a W or before an L.

"Walnut" - In this word, the A follows a W, and it says /ä/, resulting in the "wal-nut" pronunciation.

Rule 11: Q always needs a U; therefore, U is not a vowel here.

"Queen" - In this word, Q is always followed by U, adhering to the rule that Q requires U. The presence of U after Q helps create the "kw" sound in "queen."

Rule 12: Silent Final E Rules

(i) The vowel says its name because of the E:

• Example: "Hope"
• Rule: The presence of the silent E at the end of the word makes the O say its name, resulting in the long vowel sound.

(ii) English words do not end in V or U:

• Example: "Dog" (Following this rule by not having words like "dov" or "blu")
• Rule: English words typically do not end with the letters V or U.

(iii) The C says /s/ and the G says /j/ because of the E:

• Example: "Cage"
• Rule: The E at the end of the word influences the C to say /s/ and the G to say /j/.

(iv) Every syllable must have a written vowel:

• Example: "Rabbit"
• Rule: Each syllable in the word must contain a written vowel.

(v) Add an E to keep singular words that end in the letter S from looking plural:

• Example: "Bus" vs. "Buse" (with an added E)
• Rule: Adding an E at the end helps maintain the singular form and prevents it from looking like a plural word.

(vi) Add an E to make the word look bigger:

• Example: "Hop" vs. "Hope" (with an added E)
• Rule: Adding an E can give the impression of a larger or longer word.

(vii) TH says its voiced sound /TH/ because of the E:

• Example: "Breathe"
• Rule: The presence of E after TH influences it to say its voiced sound /TH/.

(viii) Add an E to clarify the meaning:

• Example: "Use" vs. "Fuse" (with an added E)
• Rule: Adding an E can help clarify the meaning or pronunciation of a word.

(ix) Unseen reason:

• Example: "Blue"
• Rule: Sometimes the reasons behind certain spellings might not be immediately apparent, like the silent E in "blue."

Rule 13: Drop the silent final E when adding a vowel suffix only if it is allowed by other spelling rules.

Example: "hope" becomes "hoping" (the final E is dropped before adding the -ing suffix)

Rule 14: Double the last consonant when adding a vowel suffix to words ending in one vowel followed by one consonant only if the syllable before the suffix is accented.

Example: "hop" becomes "hopping" (the final P is doubled before adding the -ing suffix)

Rule 15: Single vowel Y changes to I when adding any ending unless the ending begins with I.

Example: "study" becomes "studying" (the Y changes to I before adding the -ing suffix)

Rule 16: Two I’s cannot be next to one another in English words.

Example: Incorrect spelling: "wiird" (two I's next to each other); Correct spelling: "weird"

Rule 17: TI, CI, and SI are used only at the beginning of any syllable after the first one.

Example: "action" (TI is at the beginning of the second syllable)

Rule 18: SH spells /sh/ at the beginning of a base word and at the end of the syllable. SH never spells /sh/ at the beginning of any syllable after the first one, except for the ending -ship.

Example: "shovel" (SH is at the beginning of the first syllable)

Rule 19: To make a verb past tense, add the ending -ED unless it is an irregular verb.

Example: "play" becomes "played"

Rule 20: -ED, past tense ending, forms another syllable when the base word ends in /d/ or /t/. Otherwise, -ED says /d/ or /t/.

Example: "visit" becomes "visited" (an extra syllable is added)

Rule 21: To make a noun plural, add the ending -S, unless the word hisses or changes; then add -ES. Occasional nouns have no change or an irregular spelling.

Example: "cat" becomes "cats," "bus" becomes "buses"

Rule 22: To make a verb 3rd person singular, add the ending -S, unless the word hisses or changes; then add -ES. Only four verbs are irregular.

Example: "run" becomes "runs," "fix" becomes "fixes"

Rule 23: Al- is a prefix written with one L when preceding another syllable.

Example: "already" (AL- is followed by a different syllable)

Rule 24: -Ful is a suffix written with one L when added to another syllable.

Example: "graceful" (-FUL is added to "grace")

Rule 25: DGE is used only after a single vowel which says its short (first) sound.

Example: "badge" (DGE is after the short sound of A)

Rule 26: CK is used only after a single vowel which says its short (first) sound.

Example: "sock" (CK is after the short sound of O)

Rule 27: TCH is used only after a single vowel which does not say its name.

Example: "pitch" (TCH is after the short sound of I)

Rule 28: AUGH, EIGH, IGH, OUGH. Phonograms ending in GH are used only at the end of a base word or before the letter T. The GH is either silent or pronounced /f/.

Example: "laugh" (GH is at the end of the base word)

Rule 29: Z, never S, spells /z/ at the beginning of a base word.

Example: "zebra" (Z spells /z/ at the beginning)

Rule 30: We often double F, L, and S after a single vowel at the end of a base word. Occasionally other letters also are doubled.

Example: "fluff" (double F after a single vowel)

Rule 31: Schwa Rules

(i) Any vowel may say one of the schwa sounds, /ŭ/ or /ĭ/, in an unstressed syllable or unstressed word.

Example: "sofa" (the O says /ŭ/ in an unstressed syllable)

(ii) O may also say /ŭ/ in a stressed syllable next to W, TH, M, N, or V.

Example: "won" (O says /ŭ/ in a stressed syllable next to N)

(iii) AR and OR may say their schwa sound, /er/, in an unstressed syllable.

Example: "dollar" (AR says /er/ in an unstressed syllable)