Spelling patterns that help
English · Key Stage 2 · The School
Rules that pay for themselves
Three patterns cover a great many words. A short word ending in one vowel and one consonant DOUBLES the consonant before a vowel suffix: hop → hopping, run → running. A word ending in silent `e` DROPS it before a vowel suffix: hope → hoping, make → making. A word ending in consonant + `y` CHANGES the y to i: carry → carried, happy → happier. Notice that hopping and hoping differ by exactly one letter and one rule.
The ones that really are exceptions
Some words genuinely break the pattern and simply have to be learned: `said`, `because`, `friend`, `people`, `once`, `enough`. Calling everything an exception is what makes spelling feel impossible. Most words follow a rule; a small list does not, and that list is short enough to learn deliberately rather than dread.
When you cannot hear it
For a sound that could be spelled several ways, try the strategies rather than guessing. Say it in syllables. Think of a word in the same family — `sign` explains the g in `signal`. Look for the word inside it. Write two versions and see which looks right, because your eye has read more than you remember. And check a dictionary, which is a skill and not an admission of defeat.
HOP: one syllable, one short vowel, one final consonant — double it: hopping. Otherwise 'hoping' means something else entirely. HOPE: ends in a silent e — drop it: hoping. VISIT: two syllables, stress on the first, so no doubling: visiting. Three verbs, three rules, and saying which rule applies out loud is what stops you guessing. Try it on run, make and open.