Spelling Patterns & Rules
📋 What it is
Reliable rules help: "i before e except after c", drop the silent-e before adding -ing, and double the last letter before a vowel suffix in short words.
🗣️ Coach says
You don’t have to memorise every word if you know the PATTERN. "Hope" → "hoping" (drop the e). "Run" → "running" (double the n). One rule spells hundreds of words.
🧠 Memory hook
"Drop the e, then -ing." "Short word + vowel suffix → double the last letter."
😂 Giggle
The past, the present, and the future walked into a spelling bee.
It was really tense!
😲 Whoa!
English has patterns that cover thousands of words — learning one rule is like learning a spelling shortcut.
✅ Quick check: Add "-ing" to "make". What happens to the silent e?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Drop the e → "making".
The drop-the-silent-e rule generalises to a huge set of words, unlike memorising each one.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Take three verbs ending in silent-e and add "-ing" to each using the drop-the-e rule.