Spelling Rules: to improve spelling & confidence

The silent 'e' at the end of words makes a huge difference to the meaning and pronunciation of words - that's why it's "magic" and such a powerful "little" letter. You'll find out how it works, why it's necessary and how it can improve not only your spelling but reading too.

Write the pairs of words you hear then pause the player to check your spelling.

This is a spelling test on video. Listen and write, then check your spelling letter by letter on the screen.

This special little 'e' can change the end sound of longer words too. And we'll look at some common first names that are influenced by this  'e'.

This 'e' can change the sound of other letters.

This rule is all about dropping the 'e' when adding vowel suffixes like -ing and -y  but sometimes we keep the 'e' too find out all about this useful rule.Top tip though - I hope you've watched the previous two videos on the vocabulary of spelling and the magic 'e' silent 'e' because you'll need some of the language and knowledge from these two lessons.

Learn about the important words that are exceptions to this rule.

Revise when we drop or keep the 'e' with the -able & -ible suffix endings. Learn why we keep the 'e' with some -able words.

The spelling of truly is the exception to the rule and that's why it's often misspelled, so to avoid spelling it with  an 'e' watch this video again and again.

The spelling of argument is the exception to the rule and that's why it's often misspelled, so to avoid spelling it with an 'e' watch this video again and again, and use memory tricks.

The spelling of awful is the exception to the rule and that's why it's often misspelled, so to avoid spelling it with an 'e' watch this video again and again.

The 1:1:1 doubling up spelling rule is about doubling up the end consonant with vowel suffixes in words like big - bigger, put - putting, begin - beginner. It also helps you figure out the difference between similar looking words with drop the magic 'e'  — hop vs hope (hopping vs. hoping), tap vs. tape (tapping vs. taping).

Get your pen and paper ready and test yourself on these spellings. Enjoy the test and don't worry about mistakes just learn from them.

Learn how and why we double up the end consonant with two syllables in common words like beginner, forgetting, forgotten. 

Test your spelling and knowledge of this 1:1:1 rule.

Have you got a pen and paper ready?  Remember, don't worry about making mistakes because they're good and you can learn from them. But please check your spelling carefully letter by letter

This rule is applied mostly in British English and with certain words in American English - learn all the rules for both British and American English with the exceptions too.

Find out all about why we have single consonants (maple, idle) and double consonants (apple, middle) before -le and how this will not only improve your spelling but reading and pronunciation too. 

Test your spelling and knowledge of these -le words and rules.

Discover the double letters that we use at the end of words.

Pick, peek, bake, magic.  Why does English have four ways to spell the "k" sound? In this spelling rules lesson, we'll look at the reasons for the "ck", "k", "ke" and "ic" endings.

quack vs. quake, Mick vs. Mike - do you know how to say and spell these words? We'll revise the short and long vowel sounds seen the in previous lessons and how knowing these and the magic 'e' silent 'e' will help your reading and how to say these words, too.

Spelling tests are a great way of testing your spelling. You have to think and write quickly, but you can make mistakes too and learn from them.

Keep coming back to this spelling test to continually test yourself and to get spelling into your long-term memory.

Learn all about the rules and patterns for words ending in -ic

This is one of the simplest rules to learn and by the end of the video you'll know why we add -es to words like wish -wishes, business - businesses, and quiz - quizzes (this has the 1:1:1 doubling up rule too)

Adding -es spelling test.

Adding -s or -es to words ending in O is a tricky rule but there are some rules that make sense, and some topics and themes that can help.

This is a multiple choice quiz so use your  knowledge of adding -es or -s to words ending in O to help you choose the right answer.

Revise how this important "little" letter can change the meaning and pronunciation of words.

Revise this useful rule with some key common words, and exceptions.

Do you have a pen and paper at the ready?  This test is for you, so don't worry about making mistakes, but please check your spelling carefully and see where you've made them and learn from them.

Revise how and why we double up the last consonant in 1 syllable words: shop - shopper, cat - catty, kid - kidding...

Revise when and why we double up, and don't double up, the end consonant with vowel suffixes for longer words: begin - beginner, admit - admitting, occur - occurrence... 

Revise how words ending in -ck and -ke affect the long and short vowel sounds and how knowing this can not only help your spelling but your reading too.

Review which end letters we add -es to to make plurals and third person verbs: business - businesses, relax - relaxes, wish - wishes...

Country - countries, baby - babies, trolley - trolleys, toy -  toys. Learn all about why we change words ending in "y" to either "ies" or "s" for plurals and third person verbs.

Test your spelling of the y to -ies or -s spelling rule. Do you have a pen and paper at the ready? Write what you hear then when you hear pause the player, pause it, and check your spelling.

Learn all about changing the end -y to -i- when adding suffixes, and the exceptions too: happy - happiness, apply - application, lazy - lazily.

This is the "y" to "i" spelling test. Do you have a pen and paper at the ready?

This is a great way to test your spelling, but please don't worry about mistakes a — if you make them then learn from them. OK?

Press the video and enjoy the test.

A quick silent video on changing y to i with 'happy' + suffixes

You're going to learn when, why, and how to add "-ly" to words to create great adverbs like slowly, truly, possibly, carefully, beautifully, uneasily, and lovely.

This is the adding -ly spelling test. Do you have a pen and paper at the ready?

This is a great way to test your spelling, but please don't worry about mistakes a — if you make them then learn from them. OK?

Press the video and enjoy the test.

A quick, silent, revision video on the very commonly misspelled word 'truly'

Know how and why we change words ending in "f", "fe" or "ff" to "ves" or just add "s" in words like half - halves, life - lives, roof - roofs, thief - thieves, belief - beliefs, cliff - cliffs...

This is the -f/-fe to -ves or -s spelling test. Do you have a pen and paper a the ready?