Common Letter Patterns in Spelling

The concept of spellings can seem difficult and complex when first introduced to children. However, there are certain rules that they can learn to make this concept easier for them. The spelling rules and pattern in the English language should be memorized for better use of them in the future. Here are some common letter patterns in spellings.

I Before E Except After C

This is a common spelling pattern rule that can be useful when it comes to spelling words. This pattern of spelling includes three letters i, e, and c. Whenever you feel confusion in a word that has the vowel team of i and e together, this spelling pattern can be used to overcome the confusion. This pattern says that i will always come before e in words. However, if there is a c before this vowel team, then the situation will be reversed. In this case, you will be using e before and i after.

For example,
Receive
Believe
Y to "ies"

Another spelling pattern that is common in so many words is that changing of y to "ies". When some common and simple words that end with the letter "y" are converted into plurals, you replace the letter "y" with the combination of letters "ies". You will notice this spelling pattern in several words. For example,

Baby - babies
Company - companies
legacy - legacies
difficulty - difficulties

However, this rule is changed when there is a vowel before the ending letter "y". Then you only add an s at the end to make it plural. For example,

key - keys
tray- trays
delay - delays
Trolley - trolleys
Drop the "e" Rule

Usually, when a word has a silent "e" at the ending, it is dropped when the form of the word is changed. The silent e is totally eliminated from the word. For example,

Write - writing
close - closing
sense - sensible
Joke - joker
Imagine - imagination
hope - hoping

What are Word Families, Position-based Spellings, Ending Rules?

The English language has numerous rules to offer regarding grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. Moreover, all words, spellings and sentences fall into one category or the other to make it easier for the audience to understand. In order to thrive as a writer, one must be aware of certain rules and categories in English language. Otherwise, your writings reflect carelessness, inconsistency and confusion. Word families, positioned-based spellings, and ending rules are a few of the many common concepts in English language that everyone needs to know.

Word Families

Word families are groups of words that share similar features. They usually have the same combination of letters or their pronunciations have little to no difference. You can teach the concept of word families using various methods. One of the most common ones is to provide a list of simple words to students and ask them to separate words with similar letters and sounds.

You can also ask the students to expand a certain word family using their own knowledge. This helps retain information faster. Moreover, you can also design activities for this purpose. For example, asking students to write small paragraphs using words from a specific family. Examples of words from the same family include fat, hat, cat, mat, etc.

Position-based Spellings

To spell words perfectly, you need to fully understand the concept of position-based spellings. There are certain spellings that create confusion because of the position of a letter or two. The most common position-based rule is I before E. This means that when a part of a word is pronounced as 'ee', you add I before E. For example niece, piece, relieve. The second half of the rule says except after C. I before E rule does not apply when these vowels come after C. For example, receive, deceive, ceiling.

Ending Rules

In English language, we have proper ending rules for words. There's not a single word that ends with letters like v or j. It's mandatory to add a silent 'e' at the end of such words. For example, crave. Moreover, vowels a, e, o and u at the end of words have their original sound. For example, me, go, plethora. However, this is not always the case. Take 'have' as an example.