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Sharpen Your Spelling

If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone who has a piece of spinach stuck to his or her tooth, you know what a big distraction something so small can be. It’s the same with misspelled words in an e-mail. No matter how well put together the prose, a spelling mistake can be distracting because it interrupts the reader’s flow and diminishes your credibility. Consider the following example:

“We are verry excited about your perchase of our Little Farmer Composting Unit. We will be shipping the unit from our warehouse in the next few dys.”

Even though the little farmer inside you may be excited about the delivery, the misspelled words might make you wonder whether the company will accurately process your order and even send it to the correct address.

Even though there are exceptions, knowing even these four basic rules of English spelling can help eliminate common errors.

Rule #1: i before e, except after c.

Example: Mischief, believe, field (i before e)

Example: Receive, conceit (except after c).

Exception: When it sounds like an a, as in eight or: freight.

Rule #2: Drop the e before a suffix that starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), but not before a suffix that begins with a consonant.

Example: love + ing = loving, row + ing = rowing (suffix begins with a vowel).

Example: displace + ment = displacement, like + ness = likeness (suffix begins with a consonant).

Exception: noticeable, truly.

*A suffix is a letter or group of letters added at the end of a word to form another word; for example, -ly in briskly or -ing in caring.

Rule #3: Change a final y to i before a suffix, unless the suffix begins with i.

Example: Supply + es = supplies, happy + ness = happiness (suffix does not begin with an i)

Example: play + ing = playing, study + ing = studying (suffix begins with an i).

Exception: obeyed.

Rule #4: Adding a prefix to a word does not change its spelling.

Example: Dis + interested = disinterested, un + necessary = unnecessary.