Doubling the final consonant in monosyllabic words when adding a suffix starting with a vowel.

SPELLING

Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

Уральский федеральный университет

имени первого Президента России Б. Н. Ельцина

ОРФОГРАФИЯ

Учебно-методическое пособие

Екатеринбург

УрФУ

УДК

ББК

Составители А. В. Антропова, Е. В. Жучкова

SPELLING: учеб.-метод. пособие / сост. А. В. Антропова, Е. В. Жучкова. Екатеринбург: УГТУ – УПИ, 2010. 36 с.

Данная работа представляет собой сборник упражнений и методических указаний по орфографии современного английского языка, материалы которого могут быть использованы для проведения практических занятий по орфографии и самоконтроля студентов.

Пособие предназначено для студентов английских отделений факультетов иностранных языков, преподавателей, аспирантов и всех интересующихся проблемами орфографии английского языка.

Подготовлено кафедрой иностранных языков.

Ответственный за английский текст Ж. А. Храмушина.

УрФУ, 2010

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

GENERAL RULES

UNIT 1. Combinations -ei-/-ie- in the middle of words

UNIT 2. Adjective endings -able/-ible. Prefixes of negation in-/im-/ir-/il-/un-/dis /mis-

UNIT 3. Adding suffixes to words ending in ‘y’. Words with endings -s/-es

UNIT 4. Doubling final consonants

UNIT 5. Silent ‘e’ at the end of words. Letter combinations ‘-ch’/‘-tch’, ‘-ge’/‘-dge’, ‘-c’/‘-ic’ at the end of words

UNIT 6. Suffixes ‘-ous’, ‘-ious’, ‘-eous’, ‘-uous’. Adding ‘-ly’ to form adverbs

UNIT 7. Differences between American and English spelling

UNIT 8. Additional rules

UNIT 9. Homonyms

UNIT 10. REVISION

SILENT LETTERS

UNIT 1. Silent letters ‘b’, ‘n’, ‘k’, ‘s’, ‘z’.

UNIT 2. Silent letters ‘gh’, ‘g’, ‘h’

UNIT 3. Silent letters ‘l’, ‘w’

UNIT 4. Silent letters ‘p’, ‘d’, ‘f’, ‘c’, ‘ch’, ‘t’

UNIT 5. REVISION

TEST YOUR PRONUNCIATION SKILLS

INTRODUCTION

English spelling is difficult, isn’t it? English people also think so. No wonder! There are so many ways to represent one and the same sound in writing! Just read “A Spelling Rhyme” written by an English teacher:

It’s easy: should and would and could

all rhyme with stood and wood and good.

But then we find another – mould,

which rhymes instead with bold and gold.

Thought, bought and fought all rhyme with sort,

but so do caught and taught (and taut).

Light, might, night, sight, tight, height, but wait

for neigh and sleigh and eight and weight.

Though, bough and cough are not enough,

there’s also dough and rough and tough.

I haven’t even mentioned ‘ through ’

or ‘ ought ’ and ‘ brought ’

Because I threw my pencil at the teacher’s head

and with a naughtylaugh I fled!

Task:

1. Consult the dictionary for the pronunciation (and meaning) of the underlined words.

2. Think of a reason of such a disparity between spelling and pronunciation (phonetics).

3. Recall and write down several other examples of the difficulties the English language presents.

4. Learn the poem by heart.

GENERAL SPELLING RULES.

UNIT 1.

Combinations -ei-/-ie- in the middle of words.

Exercise 1. Translate the words below into Russian, check their pronunciation in the dictionary, then memorize them paying special attention to their spelling.

Surfeit, belief, gaiety, siege, yield, experience, skein, feint, receipt, freight, diesel, lieutenant, reign, conceit, sieve, acquiesce, medieval, grievance, retrieve, beige, lie, perceive, sheik, conscience, tier, relief, pierce, series, efficient, geisha, bier, quiet, recipient, movies, oriental, relieve, atheist, eiderdown, fiend, alien, seismic, piety, sienna, deity.

Exercise 2. Complete the words in the text below with combinations -ei-/-ie-.

Please, write a br…f p…ce about the rel…f work in the Sudan. We bel…ve the work you did in this f…ld was for charity organizations who rec…ve medicines from the West and teach hyg…ne. We do not wish to dec…ve the public who often perc…ve the problem in Africa as ch…fly one on lack of food, particularly prot…n.

Exercise 3. Unscramble the words containing combinations -ei-/-ie-.

Ithef, hegit, wive, difle, ite, frakehidench, dilshe, roselid.

Exercise 4. Fill in the gaps with combinations -ei-/-ie-. Make sure you know how to correctly pronounce the signs of the horoscope.

Aquarius. You will rec…ve a gift.

Pisces. Don’t get too t…d up with other people’s problems.

Aries. Have a night out with fr…nds.

Taurus. Watch out for counterf…t money.

Gemini. The results of a sc…ntific experiment will interest you.

Cancer. You will take …ther a boat or plane trip.

Leo. Make a recipe using unusual ingred…nts.

Virgo. Don’t let a stranger dec…ve you.

Libra. S…ze the chance for a new exper…nce.

Scorpio. It’s a good time to begin learning a for…gn language.

Sagittarius. Visit some anc…nt ruins.

Capricorn. You will hear from a distant relation, perhaps a nephew or a n…ce.

Exercise 5. Finish the words. Each of them contains combinations -ei-/-ie-. The number of points coincides with the number of letters required.

1. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Patel are next-door n……….

2. “Pat….. is a virtue,” the pr…. Told his congregation.

3. The E….. Tower is in Paris.

4. Max is a very diso……. dog.

5. Pirates’ gold is also known as “p..ces of e…t”.

6. Santa Claus’s sl…. Is drawn by seven r……..

7. When the portrait was unv….., they all saw it had gone!

8. He was h… to the throne.

Exercise 6. In the news item that follows the words society, reprieve, chief, brief, feigned, achievement, lenient are missed. Insert them into the text following the logic. Pay special attention to all the words containing combinations -ei-/-ie-.

FIERCE JUSTICE!

Bank robber sentenced to 125 years.

A judge has sentenced two men accused of robbing a bank at gunpoint to 125 years in prison. Throughout their ………. trial the men ………. innocence, in the hope of a ……….. But the judge said he could not be ………. as the pair were obviously a menace to ……….. ………. inspector Lawless said that putting these bad criminals behind bars was a great ………..

Exercise 7. Unscramble the words in bold. Don’t forget they all contain combinations -ei-/-ie-.

TIPS FOR TOPS

1. Make sure your tide contains plenty of tirpone.

2. Watch your thewig.

3. Reduce your cholesterol intake – it is bad for your seniv.

4. Drink dacefatfendie coffee.

5. Eat a yearvit of foods, to make sure you get all the sunnitret and vitamins necessary for good health.

6. Spend some of your reelius time each week exercising.

7. Meditate regularly, in order to reeveil stress and texyain.

8. Make sure you have a bath or shower every day. Personal heegyin is very important.

Linguistic commentary on UNIT 1.

Combinations -ei-/-ie- can be pronounced in different ways:

-ei- – [ei] 1) most frequent as in veil

2) in some borrowings as in nucleic, deity, feign, feint

3) in letter combinations -eign-, -eigh- as in feign, reign, eight

[i:] less frequent as in receive, perceive

[ai] height, freight, either, neither (BrE)

[e] as in heifer (a young cow that has not had a calf)

[eə] as in their, heir

[iə] as in weird, weirdo, weir

-ie- – [i:] most frequent as in piece, believe, achieve, grievous, fiend

[ai] most often at the ends of words as in die, tie, lie

[iə] as in fierce, bier, pierce

[e] as in friend, frieze

[i] as in sieve, handkerchief

You can see that some variants of pronunciation of these combinations coincide. Words containing sounds [ai], [e], [iə] are regarded mostly as exceptions which are to be memorized. On the other hand, words pronounced with [i:] are subdued to the rule which claims that combination -ie- is used in all the cases except after ‘c’. For example, believe, piece, but receive, perceive, etc. However, there are some exceptions out of the rule: protein, seize, caffeine, counterfeit.

NB! At the end of words and in the endings we usually have -ie-. For example, fancied (from fancy), cities (from city), busiest (from busy), pinkie, cookie, etc.

UNIT 2.

Adjective endings -able/-ible.

Prefixes of negation in-/im-/ir-/il-/un-/dis-/mis-.

Exercise 1. There are some adjectives with the ending -ible. Make sure you know the meaning and the pronunciation of these words and memorize their spelling.

Exhaustible, negligible, indigestible, discernible, divisible, legible, dismissible, reprehensible, contemptible, imperceptible, susceptible, forcible, edible, plausible, eligible, incomprehensible, irresistible, ostensible, tangible, indestructible, flexible, incorrigible, admissible, corruptible, reversible, permissible, extendible, accessible, indelible, feasible, fallible, deductible.

Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps with -able/-ible.

Last night, I was driving with the roof of my convert…. car down, when a strange light became vis…. in the sky. It landed in a nearby field, and I set off to investigate. As I drew nearer to the light, a spaceship became recogniz….. It wasn’t advis…. to hang around, but I was unmov…. at the terr…. sight. Suddenly, a kind of collaps…. ladder appeared – whatever horr…. things were lurking inside, they wanted to be soci….. I didn’t wait to find out if they were peace…. but ran for my life. It’s understand…. if you find my incred…. story unbeliev…. as I have no reli…. proof. But I am sens…., respons…. and not at all gull….. I never thought life in outer space was poss…. but this unforgett…. experience has made me change my mind.

Exercise 3. Complete the words in the sentences below with endings -able/-ible. Make any spelling changes that are required.

1. I think higher taxes are prefer…. to higher unemployment.

2. The company has been profit…. since it started.

3. She is a friendly and person…. young woman.

4. The UN report says the conditions in Sudan are terr…..

5. Of course, the water is drink…..

6. I don’t think the work is manag….. for one person alone.

7. Is your room comfort….?

8. His story was full of lies and completely unbeliev…..

9. It is now poss…. to fly to the USA in under five hours.

10. This video is only us…. in America and Japan.

11. His cooking was so bad that the food was indigest…..

12. Is it accept…. to wear jeans to the interview?

Exercise 4. Complete the adjectives in each set by using the correct letter. In addition, form the opposite by using the correct prefix. The prefix will be one of the following: il-, im-, in-, ir-, un-. Finally, match the adjective formed with a suitable noun. Use each word once only. Write your answer in the space provided.

Set 1

attain..ble	………………..	difficulties
compat..ble	………………..	goal
leg..ble	………………..	handwriting
palat..ble	………………..	lifestyles
reli..ble	………………..	source
surmount..ble	………………..	suggestion

Set 2

access..ble	………………..	decision
admiss..ble	………………..	evidence
bear..ble	………………..	heat
envi..ble	………………..	reputation
print..ble	………………..	place
revers..ble	………………..	story

Set 3

cur..ble	………………..	action
defens..ble	………………..	component
hospit..ble	………………..	disease
plaus..ble	………………..	environment
profit..ble	………………..	explanation
replace..ble	………………..	meeting

Exercise 5. Form words with the opposite meaning from the words given in bold with the help of prefixes un-, il-, mis-, in-, ir-, dis-, im-.

1. “How dare you obey me!” the king shouted.

2. Cruelty to animals is completely necessary.

3. Her writing was so bad it was legible.

4. The 16^th century vase I had smashed was replaceable.

5. Cats have very dependent natures.

6. It is very probable that we will have snow in August.

7. Drugs are legal in most countries.

8. Due to our calculations, the carpet was the wrong size.

9. I could see by the scowl on her face that she approved.

10. At present, it is possible for men to have babies.

11. “Hurry up! We haven’t got all day,” she yelled patiently.

12. To waste paper is to be environmentally responsible.

13. We had the fortune to miss each other at the airport.

14. Although he regretted it, his decision was reversible.

15. In both looks and personality, the twins were similar.

16. The manageable children ran riot in the classroom.

17. I used to be decisive, but now I’m quite confident.

18. It is polite to open your mouth while chewing your food.

Exercise 6. Form as many new words as you can from the words below using prefixes un-, il-, mis-, in-, ir-, dis-, im-.

Experienced, human, worked, sold, conscious, valued, normal, valuable, mature, rational, loaded, liked, legible, cook, developed, look, use, charge, fund, dress, line, expensive, perfect, replaceable, affordable, logical, honest, judge, solve, satisfy, spell, statement, serve, spend, section, memorial, literate, mortal, respective, resolute, legal, regular, recognizable, reducible, liberal, moderate, mobile, radiant, movable, material, responsible, relevant.

Exercise 7. Some of the words in the sentences have double letters. Choose the correct spelling.

Great in(n)equalities in wealth cause social unrest.

Man sometimes behaves like an ir(r)ational animal.

The room was poorly il(l)uminated by one candle.

A statement must display i(n)nitiative.

At last there appeared that tourist with his in(n)evitable camera.

Il(l)ustration is often more useful than definition for giving the meanings of words.

I(m)mitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

He that is in(n)ocent may well be confident.

Such harmony is in i(m)mortal souls.

We were forced to the in(n)escapable conclusion that he was an embezzler.

She was tired of that i(n)nanimate conversation.

His breast heaved with i(m)mense sighs.

I(m)moderate sorrow causes great mischief.

It i(r)ritated me to learn that she had been promoted.

Linguistic commentary on UNIT 2.

Adjective endings -able/-ible.

The adjective endings -able/-ible are often confused as they have the same meaning and pronunciation. However, -able is more commonly used as it is one of the modern productive English suffixes.

Both suffixes were borrowed from Latin –bilis which added to the verb formed an adjective.

-Able is usually added to complete nouns and verbs to make adjectives: enjoy – enjoyable, reason – reasonable. On the other hand, if a word was borrowed from Latin, you won’t be able to identify the word it was formed of: capable, inevitable, vulnerable.

The rule: if a word ends in ‘e’ and this ‘e’ is preceded by the letters ‘g’ or ‘c’, the ‘e’ is preserved when adding suffix ‘-able’ to preserve pronunciation. In all the other cases ‘e’ is dropped. For example, notice – noticeable, manage – manageable, like – likable, but agree – agreeable.

NB! If a word ends in consonant + ‘y’, ‘y’ will change into ‘i’ when adding ‘-able’: rely – reliable. Sometimes when adding ‘–able’ the final consonant is doubled to preserve pronunciation (for further information see UNIT 4): regret – regrettable, forget – unforgettable.

-Ible is usually added to parts of words to make adjectives but sometimes it can be added to the whole stems (don’t forget that in modern English this suffix is a non-productive one). It usually occurs after -ss,-s, -rr, -ince, -ige,-pt, -st: possible, responsible, horrible, convincible, intelligible, corruptible, digestible. But: dispo s able, indispen s able, excu s able, u s able, acce pt able, adju st able, dete st able, etc.

Not to confuse suffixes -able/-ible it is advisable to memorize the words spelt with –ible as they are less numerous.

NB! The word sol u ble is the only word which has neither ‘a’ nor ‘i’.

Prefixes of negation in-/im-/ir-/il-/un-/dis-/mis-.

When adding prefixes, no letters of the words or prefixes are dropped: mis + spell =mi ss pell, etc.

Prefixes in-/im-/ir-/il-/un- show that the word has the opposite meaning and mean non-. Prefixes im-/ir-/il- are variants of the prefix in-: informal. Im- is usually used with words starting with ‘m’, ‘p’: immoral, impolite. Ir- is used with words starting with ‘r’: irresponsible. Il- is used with words starting with ‘l’: illegible. Un- is the most frequently used prefix: unmanageable.

Dis-, apart from giving the opposite meaning (disobedient), can also give the meaning of deprivation (disarm).

Mis- shows either the lack of something (mistrust) or something incorrect (misunderstand).

UNIT 3.

Adding suffixes to words ending in ‘y’.

Words with endings –s/-es.

Exercise 1. Guess the words. All of them end in ‘y’ and are given either in plural, if they are nouns, or in the 3d person singular, if they are verbs. The number of letters contained in the form you need is given in brackets.

1. Large buildings where things are made (9 letters).

2. Real or imaginary events told to you (7 letters).

3. Things that are not true (4 letters).

4. His mother ……… about him when he goes parachuting (7 letters).

5. People who try to discover another country’s secrets (5 letters).

6. Animals with long ears, often thought to be lazy and stupid (7 letters).

7. Another word for ‘floors of the building’ (7 letters).

8. Insects that carry a lot of diseases (5 letters).

9. Joe is musical and ……… the guitar and the piano (5 letters).

10. Ships that carry people and cars across the sea (7 letters).

11. My sister ……… at Sussex University (7 letters).

12. Tree-climbing animals with long tails that look similar to us (7 letters).

13. He ……. on a different hat every week but he never buys anything (5 letters).

14. That woman always ……….. ‘Good morning!’ to us (4 letters).

15. Large vehicles that carry many things around the country (7 letters).

16. He loves being with children, so he …………. helping at the local school (6 letters).

17. Needed to open your locked doors (4 letters).

Exercise 2. Make the words plural.

Activity, enemy, dictionary, key, trolley, convoy, ally, valley, display, century, essay, fly, reply, cherry, abbey, toy holiday, body, opportunity, galaxy, journey, delay, party, factory, bully.

Exercise 3. Make as many forms and derivatives of the words given below with the help of different suffixes as you only can. Pay special attention to the spelling of the new words.

Worry, destroy, hurry, employ, mystery, happy, sly, tidy, lazy, crazy, dry, glory, beauty, busy, carry, easy, economy, gay, heavy, joy, lucky, pay, pity, shy, vary.

Exercise 4. Write the third person singular of the Present Indefinite and the Past Indefinite form for the verbs listed below.

Cry, imply, try, enjoy, lay, pay, fry, employ, repay, play, delay, beautify, destroy, supply, stay.

Exercise 5. Write and pronounce the Present Participle form of the verbs listed below.

Vary, copy, pity, worry, tidy, hurry, study, empty, marry, fancy.

How would it be necessary to pronounce these words if the y's were not kept?

Exercise 6. Write the forms of the comparative and superlative degrees for the following adjectives:

Busy, shy, sly, easy, dry, gay, pretty, angry, witty, early, lucky, tidy, lovely, lazy, heavy.

Exercise 7. Nine of these words are misspelled. Correct mistakes.

Fried, replied, dirtiness, said, paid, plaid, laid, mislaid, delaid, happiness, shiness, easily, dayly, coyly, icily, wrily, various, plentious, furious, pitious, mysterious, arrage, luggage, passage, fairitale, ready-made, philologist, copyist.

Exercise 8. Here is a page from a student’s homework book. There are ten words that are wrongly spelt. Find them and correct them.

My brother David lives in Sydney where he workes for a Japanese computer company. They make office machines such as typewriteres and word processors. He deals with the workers’ pay conditions.

His wife Sandy is a nurse who helps old people. Sometimes she visites them in their homes and sometimes she takes them to the hospital. Their daughter Zoe is seven yeares old. She goes to school every day but when she comes home she likes playing with the dog and cat. After she finishs her homework she usually watches TV.

On Sundays my brother playes hockey. Sometimes Sandy, Zoe and the dog go to watch one of his matchs. Afterwards David drives to one of the beachs nearby. Everybody swims except for the dog who runs along the sand and barkes at the waves.

Sometimes Zoe thinks she is a dog too and copys him until my brother gets angry and shouts at them both to stop.

Exercise 9. In the poem below put nouns ending in ‘o’ in plural.

If I were a Martian and I lived in outer space

I’d like to visit Earth one day and look around the place.

I’d like to meet an Eskimo and visit his igloo,

Then travel to Australia to see a kangaroo.

I’d roam the vast and grassy plains to find the buffalo

And tremble at the bottom of a fiery volcano.

I’d suffer from mosquito bites in hot exotic lands

And I’d learned to play the piano and I’d march with big brass bands.

I’d have a little vegetable patch where I could dig and sow,

Then watch potato and tomato plants take root and grow

And just in case one day I should forget the things I’d done

I’d be sure to take a photo of each and every one,

So when the time came to return to work on my space-station

I should always have these souvenirs of my earthly vacation.

Exercise 10. Put the words in bold in plural.

1) It took him three puff to blow out the candles on his birthday cake.

2) “Put on the scarf, take a handkerchief, and behave yourself,” their mother said.

3) The hoof of the galloping horses thundered over the race course.

4) Deciduous trees shed their leaf every year.

5) The team played badly in both half of the match.

6) The thief blew open all the safe and escaped with treasures worth millions.

7) It is said that cats have nine life.

8) The shelf were stacked with loaf of bread of all shapes and sizes.

9) At night in the mountains, they could hear wolf howling.

10) King Henry VIII had six wife.

11) Some very modern cars come with sun roof.

Exercise 11. Make the words in bold plural.

I fell asleep on the bus and ended up at the terminus.

In the basket of mushrooms I had picked was a poisonous fungus.

Another name for a grub that turns into an insect is a larva.

My birthday cake was a huge, creamy, chocolate gateau.

I looked at the test and realized we had been taught the wrong syllabus.

CO2 is the chemical formula for carbon dioxide.

The worst thing to do in a crisis is panic.

People’s lives can be changed by the medium of television.

Linguistic commentary on UNIT 3.

Adding suffixes to words ending in ‘y’.

General rule: if a word ends in the combination ‘consonant + y’, ‘y’ is changed into ‘i’ when a suffix is added: carry – carried, funny – funnier, heavy – heaviness, plenty – plentiful. If a word ends in the combination ‘vowel + y’, letter ‘y’ is preserved: enjoy – enjoyment, fray – frays, play - played.

There are some exceptions out of this rule:

1) letter ‘y’ is always preserved before the suffix ‘-ing’: bury – burying ( but: buried), play – playing;

2) letter ‘y’ is always preserved before the suffix ‘-ish’: baby – babyish;

3) letter ‘y’ is preserved in the final position when pronounced as [ai]: shy – shyly, dry – dryness; though sometimes this ‘y’ can be changed into ‘i’ in these words;

4) letter ‘y’ is changed into ‘e’, not ‘i’, when the suffix ‘-ous’ is added to the following three words: pity – piteous, beauty – beauteous, plenty – plenteous;

5) letter ‘y’ is dropped when the suffix ‘-ous’ is added to the word calamity – calamitous;

6) there are some words to be memorized: lay – laid, pay – paid, say – said, slay – slain, day – daily, gay – gaily – gaiety.

Words with endings -s/-es.

Endings -s/-es are used to form nouns in plurals and verbs in third person singular. Ending –s is the most frequently used one. These are the cases of using –es:

1. if a word ends in -ch, -tch, -sh, -s, -ss, -x, -z: torch – torches, dish – dishes, bus – buses, kiss – kisses, box – boxes, waltz – waltzes (exceptions: words ending in –ch pronounced as [k]: epoch – epochs, stomach – stomachs, monarch – monarchs, etc.);

2. if a word ends in consonant + ‘o’: tomato – tomatoes (exceptions: radio – radios, photo – photos, auto – autos, casino – casinos, kilo – kilos, memo – memos, etc.). If a word ends in vowel + ‘o’, or if it is a musical term, or if it is a nationality, add –s: zoo – zoos, solo – solos, piano – pianos, disco – discos, Filipino – Filipinos;

3. if a word ends in -f or -fe, they are changed into –ves: leaf – leaves, knife – knives. Exceptions: dwarf – dwarfs, chief – chiefs, chef – chefs, roof – roofs, proof – proofs, belief – beliefs, safe – safes, handkerchief – handkerchiefs, etc. There are also some words which can have both forms: wharf – wharfs/wharves, hoof – hoofs/hooves, scarf – scarfs/scarves. But: if a word ends in –ff, leave it without changes and add –s: cuff – cuffs, cliff – cliffs.

4. if a word ends in consonant + ‘y’, ‘y’ is changed into ‘-ies’ to form plural or third person singular: baby – babies. If a word ends in vowel + ‘y’, leave it without changes and add –s: monkey – monkeys.

Special rules of forming plural in English.

Some words of French origin have the same spelling but different pronunciation in singular and plural. In singular the final ‘s’ is not pronounced while in plural it is pronounced as [z]: chamois, chassis, précis, bourgeois, etc.

Some words of French origin add silent ‘x’ (or ‘s’) to form plural: bureau – bureaux (bureaus), gateau – gateaux, etc.

In English there are some words of Latin and Greek origin which preserved their original forms of plural. All these words can be divided into several groups according to the endings they take:

words having the ending –us in singular and –i in plural: focus – foci, nucleus – nuclei, radius – radii, stimulus – stimuli, etc.;

words having the ending –um/-on in singular and –a in plural: aquarium – aquaria, memorandum – memoranda, spectrum – spectra, stratum – strata, phenomenon – phenomena, criterion – criteria, etc.;

most words ending in –is have –es in plural: analysis – analyses, axis – axes, basis – bases, crisis – crises, diagnosis – diagnoses, thesis – theses, parenthesis – parentheses, etc.;

some words ending in –a add –e in plural: larva – larvae, vertebra – vertebrae, formula – formulae, etc.;

there are some other words which are to be memorized: appendix – appendices, corpus – corpora, genus – genera, index – indices, matrix – matrices, vortex – vortices, etc.

NB! Most of the words mentioned above also have s-forms for plural when not used in scientific or official style: index – indexes, formula – formulas, etc.

UNIT 4.

Doubling final consonants.

Exercise 1. Copy the words listed below and mark off the suffix. Give the initial form and explain why the consonant letter is doubled.

Hotter, traveller, winner, reddish, quarrelling, marvellous, regrettable, referring, committee, excelled, levelled, stirred, planned, gladden, admittance, occurrence, madden, bidden, muddy, funny, thinner, saddest, flattest, long-legged.

Exercise 2. Copy the words listed below under the headings: (1) words in which the final consonant letter of the stem is doubled when followed by a suffix; 2) words in which it is not doubled. Give your reasons.

Bigger, cooler, hottest, blackest, runner, swimmer, toiler, redden, deepen, quicken, sunny, rainy, dirty, begged, stressed, blocked, called, digger, dropped, compelled, marveled, warned, suffered, stirred, fitted, admitted, exhibited, cutting, regrettable, regretful, quarrelling, quarrelsome, fulfilled, fulfillment, preferred, preferable.

Exercise 3. Read aloud the words given below and explain why the letter ‘r’ is not doubled in some words.

Prefer, preferred, preferring, refer, confer, conferred, conferring, preference, preferable, reference, conference, referee, transference, transferee, inference, inferring, transferred, transferring, infer, inferred, referred, referring, transfer.

Exercise 4. Write the comparative and superlative forms of the adjectives below.

Big, hot, rich, thin, flat, red, cool, low, sad, wet, slim, grim, fat, loud, small, new, mad, black.

Exercise 5. Write the Past Tense form of the following verbs:

Stir, offer, order, refer, prefer, appear, cool, pull, level, excel, quarrel, parallel, nod, add, need, drop, droop, equip, fit, outfit, permit, exhibit, fix, watch, fish, rub, slip, worship, visit, commit.

Exercise 6. Write the Present Participle form of the following verbs:

Sit, meet, get, greet, shut, shot, fill, rebel, travel, put, shoot, omit, pour, stir, occur, enter, cover, suffer, win, mean, run, rain, begin, shorten, stop, stoop, bud, grip, kidnap, box.

Exercise 7. Which of these words double the final consonant? Spell the words correctly adding a consonant where it is necessary.

1. It’s wet..er here than at home.

2. I hate wait..ing for the bus in the rain.

3. Weed..ing the garden is a tiring job.

4. They had their wed..ing in the local church.

5. It must be the hot..est day of the year.

6. The driver hoot..ed at the dog crossing the road.

7. You can’t see her now, she’s sleep..ing.

8. I enjoy shop..ing in London.

9. This cake will make me even fat..er.

10. If you want to go on a diet, you must buy a book on slim..ing.

11. You look thin..er than when I last saw you.

Exercise 8. Which of these words double the final consonant? Spell the words correctly adding a consonant where it is necessary.

1. It occur..ed to me that what matter..ed most was the develop..ment of new opportunities.

2. I regret..ed having profit..ed from the mistakes of other people and benefit..ed from their downfalls.

3. In my speech of resignation I refer..ed to what I called an unjust law which permit..ed such activities.

4. I prefer..ed to leave.

5. The judge is condemned when the accused is acquit..ed.

6. I am a man more sin..ed against than sin..ing.

7. Everyone takes his flog..ing in his own way.

8. Fan..ed fire and forced love never did well yet.

9. The weep..ing bride makes a laughing wife.

10. Crab..ed age and youth cannot live together.

11. Beg..ars and borrowers cannot be choosers.

12. In the multitude of counsel..ors there is safety.

13. I thought of Chatterton, the marvel..ous Boy.

14. There are no fool..ish trades, there are only fool..ish people.

15. I travel..ed among unknown men, in lands beyond the sea.

16. When statesmen gravely say – “We must be real..istic”, the chances are they’re weak and therefore pacifistic.

17. Your level..ers wish to level.. down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear level..ing up to themselves.

18. The al..mighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotees in these peculiar villages.

Exercise 9. Match the words on the right with the definitions on the left and double the final consonant where necessary.

money you receive after a relative dies	an iron..ing board
a large room where groups of people eat	the market..ing department
an elderly person who no longer works	defer..ed payment
the section in a company which deals with advertising	a pension..er
payment made at a later date	a banquet..ing hall
what clothes are pressed on	limit..ed edition
for those who want to lose weight	inherit..ed wealth
a small number of books published	a diet..ing programme

Exercise 10. Complete the words in the sentences below. Not all the words double the final consonant.

1. I’ve boil…. some water for coffee. Do you want a cup?

2. The neighbours often heard them quarrel…. about money.

3. Three policemen were kill…. in the accident.

4. You fail…. your exams because you didn’t work hard enough.

5. I’m not feel…. very well, so I’m staying at home today.

6. The wine was excel…..

7. Talk to an employment counsel…. about finding a new job.

8. The lighting is control…. by this button here.

Exercise 11. Double the consonant where necessary.

1. Panel: pane..ed, pane..ing, pane..ist.

2. Open: ope..er, ope..ing, ope..ess.

3. Model: mode..ed, mode..ing.

4. Occasion: occasio..al, occasion..ally.

5. Label: labe..ed, labe..ing.

6. Common: commo..er, commo..est, commo..ess.

7. Quarrel: quarre..some, quarre..ing, quarre..ed.

8. Forget: forge..able, forge..ing, forge..ful.

9. Commit: commi..ee, commi..ing, commi..ment.

10. Occur: occu..ed, occu..ing, occu..ence.

11. Cruel: crue..er, crue..est, crue..y, crue..ty.

12. Star: sta..dom, sta..ed, sta..ing.

13. Commission: commission..er, commission..ing.

14. Equal: equa..ize, equa..ity, equa..ed, equa..ing.

15. Happen: happe..ing, happe..ed.

Exercise 12. You are going to read an interview with Bob Barley, a vocalist of “The Howlers”. To make it understandable, add endings to the words in bold. Don’t forget to double final consonants where necessary.

A: How did you become a star?

B: I can dim remember asking for a guitar when I was three. I show that I was real talented as soon as I start playing.

A: Have you had any setbacks?

B: In the begin things moved slow and I had hard any money. But fail never cross my mind. I grab the chance of record my first single, “I’m fall for you, babe”, and I never look back.

A: What do you like best about your job?

B: Travel the world and sing live. Hear the crowd cheer at the open of a concert is the great feel in the world, man.

A: How do you like to spend Sundays?

B: Stay in bed and flip through the newspapers while sip a cup of coffee.

A: What’s the worst aspect of being famous?

B: Being spot by fans and mob wherever I go.

A: Do you ever think of quit the business?

B: As I get old, I do think about step down and let the youngsters take over. But although my hair’s get thin, I’m not giving up yet.

A: When can we expect a new album from “The Howlers”?

B: We’ve just scrap our latest material to try a change of direction. We’re jam in the studio at the moment.

A: What’s your deep fear?

B: Drop out of the charts and my fans forget me.

A: What are your remain aims?

B: I want to be an even big star!

Exercise 13. In the columns below write nouns and adjectives from the following verbs and mark the stresses in each of the words (verbs included).

VERBS	-ence	-ent	-ential	-able
abhor
prefer
occur
refer
differ
infer
confer

Linguistic commentary on UNIT 4.

Doubling the final consonant in monosyllabic words when adding a suffix starting with a vowel.

We must double the final consonant if a word is monosyllabic, contains one vowel letter, which gives one short vowel sound, and one consonant at the end (to preserve pronunciation). For example, swim – swi mm er – swi mm ing, fun – fu nn y, can – ca nn ed, cat – ca tt y.

Exceptions: words which have ‘w’, ‘x’ (as letter ‘x’ in transcription gives two consonant sounds – [ks], and letter ‘w’ together with the preceding vowel usually forms a diphthong): box – boxing, bow – bowed. Vowel letter ‘y’, though pronounced at the end of words as the consonant sound [j], is not doubled still: play – played.

If a word contains two vowel letters, a long vowel sound or a diphthong, or two consonants at the end, the final consonant is not doubled. For example, s ee m [s i: m] – seemed, ca tch – catcher.

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