English spelling rules made simple: the 7 worth knowing
English spelling has a reputation for chaos, but a small set of rules handles a large share of everyday words. Learn these seven and you remove a lot of guessing.
1. I before E, except after C
When the sound is "ee", write ie: believe, field, piece. After c, write ei: receive, ceiling, deceive.
Exceptions to know: weird, seize, either, neither, protein. When the sound is "ay", it is ei: neighbour, weigh, eight.
2. Drop the silent E before a vowel ending
If a word ends in silent e and you add an ending that starts with a vowel, drop the e: make → making, hope → hoping, use → usable.
Keep the e when the ending starts with a consonant: hope → hopeful, late → lately. Exceptions: truly, argument, judgment (in American spelling).
3. Double the last letter in short words
When a one-syllable word ends in one vowel plus one consonant, double the consonant before a vowel ending: run → running, stop → stopped, big → bigger.
Do not double when there are two vowels or two consonants at the end: rain → raining, jump → jumped. In longer words, double only when the stress is on the last syllable: begin → beginning, but open → opening.
4. Change Y to I
If a word ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i before most endings: happy → happiness, carry → carried, baby → babies.
Keep the y before -ing: carrying, studying. Keep it after a vowel: play → played, key → keys.
5. Add ES after hissing sounds
Most plurals just add s. Add es when the word ends in s, x, z, ch or sh: buses, boxes, quizzes, lunches, wishes. You can hear the extra syllable, which is a helpful check.
6. Q is followed by U
In English words, q is almost always followed by u: queen, quick, quiet, square.
7. English words do not end in V or J
That is why there is a silent e on have, give, love, and why the "j" sound at the end of a word is spelled ge or dge: page, bridge.
What rules cannot do
Rules do not cover words like said, friend, people or Wednesday. Those have to be remembered by how they look. For those, use the picture method in how to learn spelling, and see our list of commonly misspelled words.
Common questions
What is the most useful English spelling rule?
The doubling rule and the silent-e rule together cover a very large number of everyday words: run, running; hope, hoping; hop, hopping.
Does "i before e except after c" really work?
It works when the sound is "ee", as in believe and receive. It has exceptions such as weird and seize, and it does not apply when the sound is "ay", as in neighbour and weigh.