The 3 Great Spelling Rules: Adding Suffixes

When you hear the ‘3 great spelling rules’ this refers to three rules we use when adding suffixes for base words. These three rules help students spell base words with suffixes as they grow their writing skills. As students are growing in their writing skills, it’s important to teach them concepts like these to build their spelling confidence.

Rule 1: Double Final Consonants

When the base word has 1 syllable, 1 short vowel sound, and ends in 1 consonant, the final consonant must be doubled before adding the suffix. For example, clap + ing = clapping. This is different from words that fall under the FLOSS or SLFZ rule like buzz, miss or bell because these words already have a doubled consonant before a suffix is added.

You can use the rhyme 1-2 Double I Do, 1-2-3 No Double for Me to help students remember to count from the vowel to the end of the word to help them determine whether they can double or not. To help students grasp this concept, they should be exposed to a variety of verbs and then determine whether or not they fall under this rule.

Here are some word examples:

Doubled: shopper, chatting, padded, winner
Not doubled: lighted, jumping, goaded, picker

Want activities to help your students practice this concept?

Rule 2: Drop the Final E

When the base word ends in a final e, you must drop the e when you add a vowel suffix (-ing, -ed, -er, -able) to the word. When adding a consonant suffix (-s, -ly, -ful, -less), you do not need to drop the final e. Your students must have already learned to recognize and read CVCe words before learning this spelling rule. They also must be familiar with present and past tense verbs and adding the -ed and -ing suffixes to these verbs.

To help students grasp this concept, they should be exposed to a variety of verbs and then determine whether the words have a final e that must be dropped or not.

Dropped final e: shared, raking, finer, adorable
No dropped final e: hopeless, peaceful, lively

Want activities to help your students practice adding suffixes like the ones pictured above?

Rule 3: Change Y to I

When the base word ends in a consonant and the letter y, you must change the y to and i before adding the suffix. For example, fry + s = fries. If it ends in a vowel + y, you do not change it. For example joy + ful = joyful. The exception to this rule is when the suffix starts with an i, like -ing. This can be tricky for students, so a lot of practice with adding suffixes to these words is best!

Change Y to I: puppies, worried, angrier
Do not change Y to I: trying, played, studying

Want activities to help your students practice adding suffixes like the ones pictured above?

When should you teach the 3 great spelling rules to add suffixes?

Typically when students are starting to get a hang of adding suffixes, these rules can be taught. I usually teach the doubling rule after my students have learned the -ed and -ing endings. Once I’ve taught CVCe words, I usually introduce the dropped final e rule. After my students learn that Y can make both long i and long e sounds, I’ll teach the third rule. These three rules can be difficult to master, so continue going back to review each of them.

After introducing each spelling rule for adding suffixes, I like to add activities like the ones pictured above to give my students more practice using these rules.

Looking for more ELA tips? Check out these blog posts!

Want more activities to practice inflectional endings? Check these out!