Guide to Spelling - Hooked on Phonics

Chapter Guide to Spelling: Hooked on Phonics In This Chapter • Learn how to attach prefixes and suffixes • Form contractions, plurals, and possessives • Learn the rules!. For each gro

Chapter

Guide to Spelling:

Hooked on Phonics

In This Chapter

• Learn how to attach prefixes and suffixes

• Form contractions, plurals, and possessives

• Learn the rules!

"Waiter, waiter!" said the irate patron in the fancy restaurant

What's this fly doing in my soup?"

"Looks like the backstroke to me," replied the waiter

Right or wrong, good or bad—you know that spelling matters A fly in your soup doesn't do much for your appetite; likewise, a misspelled word can destroy the effect of an entire document This chapter gives you some quick and dirty ways to learn to spell (Getting rid of the fly is a subject for another book, however!)

U k Part k: Tools of the Trade

Bee a Good Speller

Can you spell? I dare you to prove it! Take this pretest to see how well you spell Use what you learn here to focus on the sections of this chapter that you need the most

In each of the following groups of words, only one of the words is misspelled For each group, select the misspelled word and spell it correctly Write your answer in the space provided

1 arguering

2 baggy

3 contagious

4 millinery

5 publicity

6 bridle

7 civillian

8 uncanny

9 trigonometry

10 bewitches

knives unreleived obituary sacrafice promontory loosely primeval statuesque exhaust satchel

shepherd canine lonliness caramel sieze breakage apologetic ajournment Artie vegetable

Answers

1 arguing

2 unrelieved

3 loneliness

4 sacrifice

5 seize

Score Yourself

8 to 10 correct

5 to 7 correct

3 to 6 correct

0 to 2 correct

thousandth vengeful cadence burglarize patriarch symtom truancy aisle visualize obstinite

6 symptom

7 civilian

8 adjournment

9 Arctic

10 obstinate

You can proofread my work anytime

You'll be okay with a good spell checker

Treading on thin ice, kiddo

Are you Mr Potatoe, Dan Quayle?

Chapter 1 8 : Guide to Spelling: Hooked on Phonics 2 3 5

If U Cn Reed This

Why don't we simply spell words the way they sound? You're not the first smart person

to ask that question In the year 1200, an Augustinian monk named Orm developed a phonetic spelling system It didn't catch on, but that didn't stop others from following

in his footsteps (in spelling, not monkhood) Among those who tried to overhaul our spelling system were Benjamin Franklin, Theodore Roosevelt, George Bernard Shaw,

and Upton Sinclair And look where it got them

In The Devil's Dictionary, writer and wit Ambrose Bierce defines orthography as "the

science of spelling by the eye instead of the ear Advocated with more heat than light

by the outmates of every asylum for the insane." So why haven't we gotten around to

reforming spelling to bridge the chasm between phonology (the way we say words) and orthography (the way we write them)? And while we're at it, why haven't we worked out

the kinks with Olestra, fixed the ozone layer, and done something about those Mets? Here are some reasons why our spelling

remains the way it is:

• Uniform spelling would rob English of

its rich legacy of homophones

• We'd also lose the fascinating and useful

etymological history of many words

• Creating a unified system of spelling

is a job for Superman, and he's busy

with evil Lex Luthor and luscious

Lois Lane

• We can't agree on a soft drink but we'll

agree on a spelling system? Get a grip!

So now that you know you can run but you

can't hide, let's get to work polishing your

spelling

You Could Look It Up Homophones are words

that are pronounced the same but spelled differently

Take My Word for It

Spelling is important The word spell itself underscores this

importance It derives from the

Middle English word spellen,

which means "to read out."

The word spelling is related to

an Old English word meaning

"to talk."

Quick and Dirty Tricks of the Trade

Whatever your level of skill, you can benefit from the following eight time-tested spelling tricks They're easy—and they work Try them all, or pick and choose the ones that suit your needs

2 3 6 P a r U : Tools of the Trade

Classify errors Why not specialize? Figure out what words pose the most

trou-ble for you and concentrate on those errors For example, if you have a protrou-blem

with words that contain ie, study the "ie" rule and concentrate on the words that

follow the rules and the major exceptions

Break words down into smaller parts For example, to spell bookkeeper, break

the word down to its two parts: book and keeper Then you won't forget there's a double k in the middle of the word

Strictly Speaking

Compound words divide most

easily into parts because they

are made by combining

individ-ual words For example:

cross-dressing, chambermaid,

four-poster

J H i ^ y Quoth the Maven

^ J Y Print dictionaries don't run out

of batteries; handheld

computer-ized dictionaries are light and

easy to carry It's your call Just

be sure to use a dictionary

mSa)^ J/ Quoth the Maven _

^ ^ f Mnemonics are memory tricks

rhat help you remember

every-thing from the order of the planets

to your grocery list For example,

to remember how to spell

princi-pal, look at the last three letters:

the principal is your pal Principle,

in contrast, ends in Ie, like rule

(which is what principle means)

Create your own mnemonics to

conquer spelling demons

3 Do word puzzles and games There are many

different kinds to choose from, including cross-words, acrostics, Scrabble, and Boggle Each type of word puzzle or game gives you practice in spelling As a bonus, doing puzzles also teaches you vocabulary So what if it includes some use-less words? You want, maybe, everything?

4 Use dictionaries I know, I know, looking up a

word is a pain So is exercise, but they both work Using a dictionary will help you remem-ber a word's spelling and its exact meaning

5 Try air writing No, it's not a New Age crystal

thing; it's what Miss Nelson taught you in the fourth grade To check the spelling of a word or

to learn the spelling of an unfamiliar word, try writing it in the air

6 Guess and check It's a free country; you're

allowed to guess To check the spelling of a word, make a guess Write it down and see how

it looks If the planets are aligned, you'll be able

to see if you're right or wrong You'll probably also be able to see where you went wrong: omit-ted letter, double letter, wrong letter

7 Use word cards Those flash cards you used in

elementary school still work quite nicely with spelling, thank you very much Try this three-step plan:

• As you read through this chapter, write each difficult-to-spell word on a 3x5 index card, one word per card

Chapter 1 8 : Guide to Spelling: Hooked on Phonics Z $ 7

• Study the cards every chance you get

• Take them with you on the bus, train, and plane; hide them in your lap and sneak a peek during dull meetings

Visualize Think about how the word is spelled; get a clear mental picture of the

word This will help you remember the word and spell it correctly in the future

Attaching Prefixes and Suffixes: Bits and Pieces

Prefixes are word parts you add to the beginning of a word to change its meaning; suf-fixes are word parts you add to the end of a word to change its meaning Because many useful words are created by adding prefixes and suffixes to root words, you can save a

lot of time wondering "Did I spell this sucker correctly?" by knowing how to add pre-fixes and sufpre-fixes Let's take a look at the

guidelines

Attaching Prefixes: Front-End Collision

The rule here is simple: Don't add or omit a

letter when you attach a prefix Keep all the

letters—every one of them Here are some

examples

You Could Look It U p Prefixes are word parts

you add to the beginning of a

word to change its meaning;

suf-fixes are word parts you add to

the end of a word to change its meaning

dis

mis

un

re

inter

+ + + + +

satisfied spell acceptable election related =

dissatisfied misspell unacceptable reelection interrelated

Attaching Suffixes: Rear-End Collision

Keep all the letters when you add a suffix unless the word ends in a y or a silent e We'll talk about them later The following chart and guidelines show you how to

master the suffix situation

2 J 8 Partit: Tools of the Trade

Word Suffix New Word

accidental

drunken

ski

foresee

+ + + +

iy

ness ing able

=

=

=

=

accidentally drunkenness skiing foreseeable

1 If the letter before the final y is a consonant, change the y to / and add the suffix

Study these examples

Word Suffix New Word

hurry + ed = hurried greedy + ly = greedily

Hurry doesn't follow the rule: hurry + ing = hurrying Here are some other

exceptions: dryly, dryness, shyly, shyness, babyish, ladylike

2 If the letter before the final y is a vowel, do not change the y before attaching a

suffix

Word Suffix New Word

play + ing = playing destroy + ed = destroyed

Here are some exceptions: laid, paid, said, mislaid, underpaid, unsaid

3 If the suffix begins with a vowel, drop the silent e Here are some examples

Word

write love use

+ + +

Suffix

ing able age

=

New Word

writing lovable usage

When the word ends in ce or ge, keep the e if the suffix begins with a or o:

noticeable, manageable, advantageous Here are some common exceptions: acreage, mileage, singeing, canoeing, hoeing

Chapter 1 8 : Guide to Spelling: Hooked on Phonics 2 3 9

4 If the suffix begins with a consonant, keep the silent e Here are some examples

excite

care

fierce

+ + +

ment

ml

ly

excitement careful fiercely

Of course there are some exceptions: argument, duly, truly, wholly, and ninth

5 If the word ends in ie, drop the e and change the / to y Check out these examples

Word Suffix

lie + ing =

die + ing

tie + ing

6 Add ly to change an adjective to an adverb Here

Word Suffix

brave + ly =

calm + ly

If the adjective ends in ic, add al before ly

Word Al

drastic + al +

scientific + al +

If the adjective ends in ble, change ble to bly

Word New Word

New Word

lying dying tying

are some examples

New Word

bravely calmly

Suffix New Word

ly

ly

drastically

= scientifically

able

noble

ably nobly

2 M ) P a r U : Tools of the Trade

7 In a one-syllable word, double the final consonant before a suffix beginning with

a vowel

plan big

er est

planner biggest

Don't double the final consonant if it comes after two vowels or another

conso-nant For example: failed, stooped, warmer, lasting

In a word of two or more syllables, double the final consonant only if it is in an accented syllable before a suffix beginning with a vowel Here are some examples:

defer + resubmit +

ed ing

deferred resubmitting

Don't double the final consonant if it comes after two vowels or another conso-nant For example: obtained, concealed, abducting, commendable

9 If a words ends in ic, insert a k after the c

mimic traffic

+ +

ing ing

mimicking trafficking

10 There's only one hint for adding able or ible: an adjective usually ends in -able if you can trace it back to a noun ending in -ation Sensible is the exception

adaptation commendation

adaptable commendable

But there are many words that don't fit this rule, so this isn't the rule to have tat-tooed on your palm

Chapter 1 8 : Guide to Spelling: Hooked on Phonics lk\

Go for the Gusto

In the space provided, spell each misspelled word correctly

1 dissorganized

2 diservice

3 disagreable

4 lazyness

5 acrage

6 unatural

7 suddeness

8 costlyness

9 mislayd

10 truely

Answers

1 disorganized

2 disservice

3 disagreeable

4 laziness

5 acreage

6 unnatural

7 suddenness

8 costliness

9 mislaid

10 truly

Contractions: Suck It In

Strictly Speaking

Traditionally, contractions are not used in formal writing, such as reports and letters

Creating contractions is another useful skill,

right up there with knowing how to work an

ATM, execute a three-point turn, and rappel

down a cliff Fortunately, it's much easier to

learn how to form contractions than it is to

work an ATM or do a three-point turn I'm

not even going to discuss mountain-type stuff

like rappelling

Using contractions adds a more informal tone to your writing and reproduces the spo-ken word more accurately in your prose

I k l Part k: Tools of the Trade

Danger, Will Robinson

Here's a key exception:

will + not = won't (not willn't)

The basic rule for forming a contraction is a snap: to combine two words, just insert an apostrophe in the space where the letter or letters have been omitted Here are some examples

1

you

he

we

+ + + +

am are

is are

=

=

=

=

I'm you're he's we're

Follow the Rules! Spelling Rules

Who can trust the rules of life? You really can go swimming right after you eat; men

do buy the cow even after they've gotten the milk for free Spelling, fortunately, has

some valid rules Here are three nifty ones that will serve you well

1 The -ceedl-cede rule There are only three verbs in English that end in -ceed: succeed, proceed, and exceed All the other verbs with that sound end in -cede For example:

• secede

• intercede

• concede

• accede

• cede

• precede

2 The -ful rule Remember that the sound full at the end of a word is spelled with

only one / For example:

Danger, Will Robinson

There's only one English

verb that ends in sede: supersede

Danger, Will Robinson

The one exception to the

" rule? The word full itself!

• careful

• graceful

• healthful

• hopeful

Chapter 1 8 : Guide to Spelling: Hooked on Phonics 2 4 3

3 / before e except after c Remember this baby from the eighth grade? (Or were

you too busy putting Clearasil on your nose and ogling the teacher to pay atten-tion to something as mundane as spelling?) Here's the rule (and it even has a

bouncy rhyme to it):

/ before e except after c or when sounded as a as in neighbor and weigh

Here are some words that fit the rule

i before e except after c sounded as a

achieve conceit

believe ceiling

siege receive

relief conceive

grief deceit

chief deceive

fierce perceive

fiend receipt

piece receive

shriek

And here are some words that don't:

• either

• neither

• foreign

• height

• leisure

• seize

• weird

(Hey, is anything perfect? I never promised you a rose garden, only some neat-o spelling rules.)

neighbor weigh freight reign sleigh vein weight

2 W P a r U : Tools of the Trade

ieeeeeeeeeeeee!

Add ie or ei to complete each word

1 f rce

2- s ge

3 bel ve

4 rec pt

5 cone t

6 dec ve

Answers

1 fierce

2 siege

3 believe

4 receipt

5 conceit

6 deceive

7

8

9

10

11

12

7

8

9

10

11

12

n ghbor

c ling for gn rel f

w rd

v n

neighbor ceiling foreign relief weird vein

See and Say

Some words are misspelled because they are often mispronounced Sometimes extra letters are added; other times, letters are omitted How many of the following words

do you mispronounce?

1 Leaving out a consonant: February, recognize, surprise, government, library,

eighth, Arctic, candidate, probably

2 Adding an unnecessary vowel: forty, pronunciation, schedule, chimney,

disas-trous, umbrella

3 Leaving out an unstressed syllable: accidentally, superintendent, incidentally

4 Leaving out an unstressed vowel: temperature, vegetable, original, miniature,

interesting, diamond, chocolate