For example :

“i before e except after c or when it sounds “A”.

Yes, there are “exceptions to the rule” but not as many as our children are led to believe.  In the Resources section of the website yet to be released, an A to Z of phonics will be added to over a period of time with lots of information about the spelling rules, word patterns, phonics, digraphs etc as well as all the “exceptions” that my research has uncovered.

SPELLING RULES

This is a spelling rule guide that also includes some other helpful information about the use of certain word patterns.

Every word and syllable must have a vowel or a y as a vowel.

Small sounding vowels :

Big Sounding Vowels

Bossy e at the end of a word in the pattern VCV (vowel consonant vowel) makes the preceding vowel a Big sound.  This is not always the case after v and u though (see rule below)      stage     stove

q is always followed by his best friend or bodyguard u….  queen   quit  quite

c before e,  i  or  y sounds “s”…..cent   city  fancy

g before e,  i  or  y sounds “j”……..stage   gym   giant

a can make 6 different sounds depending on the letters it is playing with :
*  “A” with Bossy e…………   made          cake
*  “a” before a single consonant   dge    tch   or   ck……..   badge  batch  back
*  “o” after w/wh………….. was    want  what
*  “aw” before ll   lk  and   ld ………. ball    walk   bald
*  “o” before   lp  and  lt  …….   scalp    halt
*   “u” as a prefix …..  anew  aflutter  ablaze or on its own in a syllable… volatile vagabond.  It is often pronounced “u” in the word pattern able………suitable  compatable.

ar – sounds “ar” before a consonant….art….but “air” before an e  care  share
–   sounds “or” after a w/wh………  war  warden  wharf except when followed by a double r…….warrior  warrant when it sounds “o”

or sounds “er” after w…….. word   worth  work

English words do not end in an i but have a y…. fly   deny

f  s and z double at the end of a word after a small vowel sound……..  business  fluff  buzz

l also doubles at the end of single syllable words but not in multi syllable words………. full  will but  instil  cancel   until

e is the busiest letter of the alphabet!  At the end of a word it can :
*  be bossy and make the preceding vowel a BIG sound ………   spade  stove cave
*  be silent to give the syllable a vowel. le words are a great example……..candle    google  struggle
*  follow v and u  (see rule above) ………….  give  true
*  makes ar an “air” sound …………   care  dare (except for are)
*  follow s and c when they are after another consonant……….   fence   sense

sh – is used at the beginning and ending of words but not in the middle except in the word “ship” (exception is bishop)  ……… worship   warship

The “sh” sound in the middle of words is made by  ti  si  ci  su …  special   nation  tension  tissue  (it can also be made by ch in French words that we use such as chalet  champagne  chef

The letter x never sits next to s. ………    box   boxes    A good way to work out whether a word has a cks or an x on the end when spelling is to say the word without the “s” sound and see if it is a real word.
rocks – rock             box – bok???

ay is used for the “A” sound at the end of a word and ai for the middle “A” sound because no English words end in i……….play      raid

oi is used in the middle of words for the same reason and oy at the end……  voice   boy

ck is used for the “k” sound after a small vowel except in multi syllable words after i……………..   slick  stack  flock ………..mimic   panic

c is the most common “k” sound and is rarely on its own at the end of  words  except in zinc  disc   tarmac   talc  molusc  mosaic  prosaic

Words that begin with a “z” sound always start with z and not s even though s can sound “z” ………..  zoo   zest

i before e except after c or when it sounds “A”……………….  thief  receive  neighbour

y (after a consonant) becomes i when adding endings except  ing …………  hungrier    funniest         hurrying   marrying

e drops off  or runs away from words when adding endings beginning with i ……..  racing  fencing   posing
but stays with endings starting with a  (able)  to keep the c a “s” sound……….   racing  posing  serviceable
and changes to an i when adding endings beginning with an o……….  grace  gracious      space   spacious

i and o can make BIG sounds when followed by two different consonants……  old     find

When all   till and full are added to words, the one l drops off……..  always   also  wonderful  beautiful   until

el is often used at the end of words after the letters m n w v r s and c….  camel   tunnel  vowel  travel  barrel   damsel  cancel

ey is often used at the end of words after the letters l  k  and n………  honey   valley   donkey

f often becomes v when forming a plural ……….  belief  believes    life  lives  wife  wives

able or ible as endings

able is generally added to whole words or words that are recognisable on their own…………..taxable    affordable.    It means “able to be, subject to –  or having the quality to”.
ible is generally part of words where the core is not recognisable on its own …….poss   possible      ed    ible. It means “able to be, suitable for being or causing”.

When two vowels go walking, the first usually does the talking and says its name………. boat  fruit  glue  feet  play  rain  toe
BUT
some vowels together make different sounds …  soon  book  naughty  laugh
OR
more than one sound….. tough  cough  thought  though  count
thief   neigh   please   head

English words do not end in v or u and have to have an e…… have blueNames and foreign words such as spaghetti, do not follow English spelling rules.