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Spelling rules

Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS by Pauline Cullen

Correct spelling is very important in IELTS tests. Here are seven simple rules to help you.

1 Capital lettersAlways use a capital letter for:● Days and months: M onday , F riday , J une , December .● Names of people (and their titles): Ana K yriaki , Dr Bauer .● Names of countries, cities, nationalities and languages:

Australia , Seoul , T hai .● The rst word in a sentence: W e cannot ignore this problem .NB: Donot write an essay using only capitals! (Not WE CANNOT IGNORE THIS PROBLEM)

2 “I before E except after C”This expression can help you spell words like bel ieve andrecei ve correctly.Remember, if the e+i are pronounced / ei /, the rule doesnot apply, (e.g. ei ght , nei ghbour ). Other exceptions: ei ther ,nei ther , lei sure .

3 Words that end in EWhen you add -ing or -ed to a word that ends in e, drop thenal e:lov e → lov ed writ e → writ ing

When you add - ment or -dom to a word that ends in e, keepthe nal e:amus ement bor edom

If there is a vowel before the e, (e.g. arg ue ), drop the e,before adding a suffi x:arg ued , arg uing , arg ument

If there is a soft c or g before the e, (e.g. manag e, notic e),keep the nal e:manag eable, manag ement, notic eable

4 Words that end in YWhen you add a suffi x to a word ending in y , change y to i :happ y → happ i erstud y → stud i ed

This rule does not apply when you add - ing, (e.g. cr y ing, pla y ing),or if there is a vowel before the y , (e.g. emplo y ment , obe y ed ).

5 Doubling ConsonantsYou sometimes need to double the nal consonant of a wordwhen you add a suffi x. This helps the reader to pronouncethe word correctly. It shows that the vowel before it has ashort sound.For example: sli m (short i sound) and sli me (long i sound).

To keep the short /i

/ sound in sli m, double the last consonantbefore you add a suffi x: sli mmed , sli mmer, sli mmest .(Not slimed, slimer, slimest ).

If the word ends in two consonants don’t double the nalconsonant:talent → talented

If the word contains more than one syllable, only double thenal consonant if the last syllable is stressed:occur → occurred

This rule does not apply if the last syllable is not stressed:happen → happened

6 Adding prexesWhen you add a prex, the spelling of a word does not normally change:unnecessary , dissatised , pre arranged

7 American or British Spelling?Both American and British spellings are acceptable, howeveryou must use the same style consistently:My fav orite col or is blue or My fav ourite col our is blue. (NotMy favourite color is blue .)

Some differences between American and British spellings:

American spellings British spellings

When words with more thanone syllable end in l , doublethe l if the last syllable isstressed:travel → travelled Do not double the l if there isno stress on the last syllable:traveled , traveling

When words with more thanone syllable end in l , alwaysdouble the l :travelled , travelling

Words end in or :color , av or , humor

Words end in our :colour , av our , humour

Words end in ize or yze:speciali ze, recogn ize, anal yze

Words end in ise or yse :special ise , recogn ise , anal yse

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