Transcript Slide 1
Improving Your Spelling Why is good spelling important? Good spelling habits ie and ei –cede, –ceed, and –sede Prefixes Suffixes Plurals of nouns Writing numbers Review A Review B Why is good spelling important? Over the centuries, English has been influenced by many other languages. The result? Some sounds can be represented by different letters. fatigue campaign descent cough As you say these words, what do you notice about the sounds some letters make—or don’t make? Why is good spelling important? Poor spelling distracts from communication, and it also sends the wrong message about you. I can’t make any sense of this report. What a mess! Apparently he doesn’t care about his work. [End of Section] Good spelling habits Good spelling habits are important. Most of us are not “natural” spellers. But we can all improve if we • pronounce words carefully • spell words by syllable • use a dictionary • proofread for careless errors • keep a spelling notebook Good spelling habits Pronounce words carefully How do you pronounce candidate? Mispronunciation can lead to misspelling. If you say canidate instead of candidate, you might spell the word incorrectly. • Practice saying a word. • Study it. • Write it from memory. Good spelling habits Spell by syllable A syllable is a word part that is awk/ward awkward pronounced as one uninterrupted can/di/date candidate sound. When you’re learning to pronounce and spell a new word, it’s easier to break it up into syllables. Use a dictionary Don’t guess. Even good spellers have to look up words. Good spelling habits Proofread for careless errors Read your work. Dot your i’s. Cross your t’s. Is that a g or a q? Should that word be its or it’s? REMEMBER: Spell-checkers can help, but they cannot point out words that sound alike but are spelled differently (such as peace and piece). Good spelling habits Keep a spelling notebook Correct Spelling Syllables Trouble and Accents Spots Comments emperor ′ emperor Pronounce emperor clearly desirable Never enter a misspelled word. ′ desirable Use a dictionary! desirable Study adding suffixes Which letters give you problems? Anything that will help you remember [End of Section] ie and ei Write ie when the sound is a long e. achieve chief niece believe yield relief When the long e comes after c, write ei. ceiling receive perceive ie and ei Write ei when the sound is not a long e. height weigh heir foreign veil counterfeit Exceptions kerchief seize mischief leisure friend either [End of Section] –cede, –ceed, and –sede Only one English word ends in –sede. supersede Only three words end in –ceed. exceed proceed succeed Almost all other words with this sound end with –cede. precede intercede concede secede recede accede ie and ei –cede, –ceed, and –sede On Your Own Correct any misspelled words in these sentences. If all the words are spelled correctly, write C. 1. Bill will preceed me in line at graduation. 2. Neither of the boys makes friends easily. 3. Please procede with your speech, Laura. 4. I beleive I have a good chance to win the trophy. 5. One of our nieghbors has lost his dog. [End of Section] Prefixes When you add a prefix to a word, don’t change the spelling of the original word. A prefix is a word part that is added before a base word, or root. in + correct = incorrect pre + historic = prehistoric re + adjust = readjust [End of Section] Suffixes Suffixes are more complicated than prefixes. A suffix is a word part that is added after a base word or root. help + less = helpless move + ment = movement social + ly = socially Suffixes When you add –ly or –ness, the spelling of the original word usually remains the same. openly Exception openness Change y to I, except for onesyllable words. heavy heavily heaviness sly slyly slyness Suffixes Drop a final silent e when you add a suffix that begins with a vowel. create creative creation use user usable Keep a final silent e when you add a suffix that begins with a consonant. fateful careless amusement Suffixes When you add a suffix to a word that ends in y: • Change the y to i if there’s a consonant right before the y, unless the suffix begins with i. sunny sunniest modify modifying • Just add the suffix if there’s a vowel right before the y. enjoy enjoyment Suffixes When a word ends in a consonant, double the final consonant if • the suffix begins with a vowel, • the word is one syllable or is accented on the last syllable, • and the word ends with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel. occur + ence oc/cur occur′ + ence occur + ence occurrence Suffixes Don’t double the final consonant unless the answer to every question is “yes.” 1. Does the suffix start with a vowel? win + er prevent + ing YES YES 2. Does the word have one syllable or the accent on the last syllable? YES YES 3. Does the word end in a single consonant preceded by one vowel? YES NO winner preventing Prefixes and suffixes On Your Own Provide the correct spelling of the word and the prefix or suffix in parentheses. 1. Jamal ______________ to finish the project early. (plan + ed) 2. The governor described the ___________ benefits of wind power. (ecology + cal) 3. Those concert tickets are too ___________. (expense + ive) 4. The cast will hold the broken arm __________ until it can heal. (im + mobile) [End of Section] Plurals of nouns The plurals of most nouns are formed by adding either s or es. For most nouns, simply add s. Add es if the noun ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh. Singular Plural beagle beagles ship ships dress dresses fox foxes brush brushes Plurals of nouns Nouns ending in y Singular Plural If a noun ends in y preceded by a consonant, change y to I, and add es. sky skies trophy trophies cavity cavities Gregory Gregorys Brady Bradys Don’t change the y to i in proper nouns. There are two Bradys on my team. Plurals of nouns Nouns ending in y If a noun ends in y preceded by a vowel, just add s. Singular Plural tray trays monkey monkeys decoy decoys Plurals of nouns Nouns ending in f or fe For some nouns that end in f or fe, add s. For others, change the f to v before adding s or es. Singular Plural sheriff sheriffs gulf gulfs leaf leaves shelf shelves wolf wolves Plurals of nouns Nouns ending in o Singular Plural For nouns that end in o preceded by a vowel, add s. studio studios tatoo tatoos If the final o is preceded by a consonant, add es. veto vetoes echo echoes potato potatoes Plurals of nouns Nouns that have irregular plurals Some nouns form their plurals in irregular ways. Some nouns don’t change form at all. Singular Plural woman women child children mouse mice tooth teeth moose moose shrimp shrimp Plurals of nouns On Your Own Provide the correct plural of the noun in parentheses. 1. Kevin will be using the _________ for at least three more weeks. (crutch) 2. Three _________ were under a winter storm warning. (county) 3. This part of town does not have any __________. (alley) 4. The police have caught the _________. (thief) 5. How many _________ did you see at the lake? (goose) [End of Section] Writing numbers Cardinal numbers Spell out a cardinal number—a number that shows how many—if it can be expressed in one or two words. Otherwise, use numerals. seven juniors 203 juniors fifty-one votes 421 votes one thousand miles 1,242 miles Writing numbers Numbers beginning sentences Spell out a number that begins a sentence. Eighty-eight senators voted in favor of the bill. Three hundred thirty-two wreaths were sold. If spelling the number is awkward, revise the sentence to avoid beginning with the number. Improved Awkward Twocombined thousand five hundred sixtyThe weight of those sumo four pounds is the pounds. combined weight of wrestlers is 2,564 those sumo wrestlers. Writing numbers Ordinal numbers Spell out ordinal numbers—numbers that express order. The Rio Grande is the twentieth [not 20th] longest river in the world. Junko Tabei was the first [not 1st] woman to climb Mount Everest. Writing numbers Use numerals to express numbers in conventional situations. Identification numbers chapter 26 pages 41–54 Interstate 20 lines 10–14 Measurements and statistics 98.6 degrees 8 percent 14.3 ounces ratio of 5 to 1 Writing numbers Use numerals to express numbers in conventional situations. Addresses Route 6 P.O. Box 105 Dates July 23, 2008 44 B.C. Times of day 6:20 P.M. 8:00 EST Writing numbers On Your Own Correct each error in the writing of numbers in the following sentences. If a sentence is already correct, label it C. 1. Three were delivered yesterday; the other 4 should be here tomorrow. 2. The temperature at which water boils is one hundred degrees Celsius. 3. My brother’s first choice of a college major is computer science; his second choice is math. 4. See the chart on page three for more information. [End of Section] Review A For each sentence, choose the correctly spelled word in parentheses. 1. The team (exceded, exceeded) our expectations. 2. The news came as a great (relief, releif). 3. What happens when an (iresistible, irresistible) force meets an (immovable, imovable) object? 4. That’s the (funnyest, funniest) joke I’ve heard in a long time. 5. The boys will perform their (solos, soloes) for the (1st, first) time tonight. [End of Section] Review B Correct each misspelled word in the following sentences. 1. 150 people attended the program on San Francisco. 2. We discoverred that the “City by the Bay” is an enchantting place. 3. I did not know that the Golden Gate Park covers more than 1,000 acres. 4. Everyone enjoied the photoes of Chinatown. 5. Later we explored the city at our liesure, and we were not disatisfied. [End of Section] The End