Spelling.

Spelling is the art of expressing words by their correct letters properly arranged.

Note. While it is true that a large number of English words cannot be spelled by rule, it is also true that there are very many to the spelling of which the rules apply. Pupils should make themselves thoroughly familiar with these rules and test their practical application. The following are the most important

RULES FOR SPELLING.

Final E.

RULE 1.-Words ending in silent e generally drop the e on receiving an additional syllable beginning with a vowel; as, move, able, movable; ice, y, icy.

Exceptions.-I. Words ending in ce and ge retain the e when followed by a syllable beginning with a or o, in order to preserve the soft sound of c or g; as, changeable, peaceable.

2. The e is retained in verbs ending in oe or ee when taking an additional syllable beginning with a vowel; as, fleeing, hoeing.

3. Singe, swinge, and springe retain the e when followed by ing, to distinguish them from singing, swinging, and springing. 4. Dyeing also retains the e, to distinguish it from dying.

Exercise.

Form words from the following according to the rule:

Cure, knave, festive, observe, enforce, universe, induce, shame, rogue, juice, price, note, wedge, choose, lace, debate, refuse, force, scale, value, sale, persevere, advise.

RULE 2.-Words ending in silent e generally retain the e on receiving an additional syllable beginning with a consonant; as, shameful, lately.

Exceptions.-Duly, truly, wholly, awful, nursling, wisdom, judgment, abridgment, argument, acknowledgment, and (according to some authorities) lodgment.

Exercise.

Form words from the following according to the rule:

Hope, desire, tune, peace, name, cease, guile, strange, home, manage, commence, advance, feeble, rude, wise, concrete, safe, spice, refine.

Final Y.

RULE 3.-Words ending in y preceded by a consonant change the y into i before any other termination or additional syllable than 's and those beginning with i; as, witty, wittily.

Exceptions.-I. Y is changed to e in beauteous, duteous, bounteous, piteous, plenteous.

2. In the derivatives of dry (except drier, driest), shy, sky, sly. spry, wry, the y is not changed.

Exercise.

Form words from the following according to the rule:

Apply, simplify, comply, tardy, crazy, clumsy, ally, certify, hungry, steady, busy, mercy, happy, lazy, dingy, espy, many, friendly, fry, greedy, pity, plenty, sly, spry, dry, supply, occupy, qualify, cry, fallacy, holy, easy, shady.

RULE 4.—When a vowel precedes the final y, or when a suffix is added beginning with i, the y is generally retained in words on receiving an additional termination; as, boy, boyish.

Exceptions.-Pay, paid; lay, laid, lain; day, daily; say, said, saith; slay, slain; stay, staid,—with their compounds, unpaid, mislaid, etc.

Exercise.

Form words from the following according to the rule:

Boy, pray, gray, joy, obey, convey, allay, attorney, decoy, play, destroy, waylay, employ, lay, say, enjoy, try.

Final Consonant.

RULE 5.-Monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable, ending with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant on taking an additional syllable beginning with a vowel; as, put, putting; begin, beginning.

Exceptions.-I. In the derivatives of gas, s is not doubled. 2. The letters x, k, v, are never doubled.

Exercise.

Form words from the following according to the rule:

Bud, rob, distill, bed, thin, fin, gum, pet, acquit, compel, beg, refer, commit, excel, cut, tin, brag, hem, permit, begin, tug, omit, swim, hop, control, instill, expel, sin, plot, in, extol, repel.

RULE 6.-When a word ends with two consonants, when the last consonant is preceded by a diphthong, or when the accent is not on the last syllable, the final consonant is not doubled on receiving an additional syllable beginning with a vowel; as, cheat, cheated; benefit, benefited.

Exceptions. Tranquil, tranquillity; crystal, crystalline.

Remark. Many writers double the final consonant when writing derivatives of the following: bevel, cancel, level, kidnap, marvel, travel, worship; as, bevelled, cancellation, etc.

Exercise.

Form words from the following according to the rule:

Bold, wild, suffer, pardon, sand, halt, boat, plead, shear, boom, prosper, bigot, count, prison, inherit, carpet, bonnet, oppress, fatten, dark, scout, mail, heal, rock, demand, pick, steam, girl, soon, limit, plunder, exhibit, tart, bleed.

Special Rules.

RULE 7.-In derivative words ending in the syllable full one of the l's is dropped; as, spoonful.

Exercise.

Form words from the following according to the rule:
Jay, play, mind, will, pity, plenty, fancy, hand, cup.

RULE 8.-In such words as receive, deceive, etc., c is usually followed by ei, and the other letters of the alphabet by ie; as, relieve, retrieve, etc.

Exercise.

Correct any errors that may be found in the following:

Achieve, believe, reciept, aggrieve, apeice, decieve, relieve, reprieve, perceive, concieve, beseige, cashier, fronteir, conceit, deceit, seperate, begining, announcment, payd, cringing, clinging, hinging, peacable, changing, rateable, duely, truely, judgement, abridgement, awefull, easyest, unpayd, carpetting, tranquillize, tranquillity, bigotted, ricketty, inheritted.

PART II.

ETYMOLOGY.

1. Etymology treats of words, their classification, derivation, and properties.

Note The word etymology is derived from the Greek etymon, the true meaning of a word, and logos, discourse.

2. With regard to their use, words are divided into eight classes, called Parts of Speech; namely, Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, and Interjection.

Remark. Every word in the language is classified according to the use which is made of it in expressing thought.

A Noun is the name of anything; as, boy, Philadelphia, mercy.

A. Pronoun is a word used in place of a noun; as, her bonnet, our books, "Tell John he may recite to me."

An Adjective is a word used to limit or qualify a noun; as, five horses; good horses.

A Verb is a word used to express action, being, or state; as, "The boy runs" (action), "We are" (being), "They sleep" (state).

An Adverb is a word used to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or an adverb; as, "He eats greedily,' "The tree is very high," "The boy's kite flew too far."

A Preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show its relation to some other word; as, "The boy jumped over the brook."