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fixed forever in the mind. Most spelling-books commit this error, and so are responsible for a considerable
amount of bad spelling, which their method has actually introduced and instilled into the child's mind.
Persons who read much are not likely to make these errors, since they remember words by the form as it
appeals to the eye, not by the sound in which there is no distinction. The study of such words should therefore
be conducted chiefly while writing or reading, not orally.
While we must memorize, one at a time as we come to them in reading or writing, the words or syllables in
which the same sound is represented by different spellings, still we should know clearly what classes of words
to be on the lookout for. We will now consider some of the classes of words in which a single syllable may be
spelled in various ways.
Vowel Substitutions in Simple Words.
ea for e` short or e obscure before r.
already bread breakfast breast breadth death earth dead deaf dread= early earn earnest earth feather head
health heaven heavy= heard lead learn leather meadow measure pearl pleasant read= search sergeant spread
steady thread threaten tread wealth weather
ee for e: long.
agree beef breed cheek cheese creek creep cheer deer deed deep feed= feel feet fleece green heel heed indeed
keep keel keen kneel meek= need needle peel peep queer screen seed seen sheet sheep sleep sleeve= sneeze
squeeze street speech steeple steet sweep sleet teeth weep weed week
ea for e: long.
CHAPTER III. 32
appear bead beach bean beast beat beneath breathe cease cheap cheat clean clear congeal cream crease
creature dear deal dream defeat= each ear eager easy east eaves feast fear feat grease heap hear heat increase
knead lead leaf leak lean least leave= meat meal mean neat near peas (pease) peal peace peach please preach
reach read reap rear reason repeat scream= seam seat season seal speak steam streak stream tea team tear tease
teach veal weave weak wheat wreath (wreathe) year yeast
ai for a: long.
afraid aid braid brain complain daily dairy daisy drain dainty explain fail fain= gain gait gaiter grain hail jail
laid maid mail maim nail paid= pail paint plain prairie praise quail rail rain raise raisin remain sail= saint snail
sprain stain straight strain tail train vain waist wait waive
ai for i or e obscure.
bargain captain certain curtain mountain
oa for o: long.
board boat cloak coax coal coast coarse= float foam goat gloam groan hoarse load= loan loaf oak oar oats
roast road= roam shoal soap soar throat toad toast
ie for e: long.
believe chief= fierce grief= niece priest= piece thief
ei for e long.
neither receipt receive
In sieve, ie has the sound of i short.
In eight, skein, neighbor, rein, reign, sleigh, vein, veil, weigh, and weight, ei has the sound of a long.
In height, sleight, and a few other words ei has the sound of i long.
In great, break, and steak ea has the sound of a long; in heart and hearth it has the sound of a Italian, and in
tear and bear it has the sound of a as in care.
Silent Consonants etc.
although answer bouquet bridge calf calm catch castle caught chalk climb ditch dumb edge folks comb
daughter debt depot forehead gnaw hatchet hedge hiccough= hitch honest honor hustle island itch judge
judgment knack knead kneel knew knife knit knuckle knock knot know knowledge lamb latch laugh limb
listen= match might muscle naughty night notch numb often palm pitcher pitch pledge ridge right rough scene
scratch should sigh sketch snatch soften stitch switch= sword talk though through thought thumb tough twitch
thigh walk watch whole witch would write written wrapper wring wrong wrung wrote wrestle yacht
Unusual Spellings.
The following words have irregularities peculiar to themselves.
ache any air apron among again aunt against biscuit build busy business bureau because carriage coffee collar
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color country couple cousin cover does dose= done double diamond every especially February flourish flown
fourteen forty fruit gauge glue gluey guide goes handkerchief honey heifer impatient iron juice liar lion=
liquor marriage mayor many melon minute money necessary ninety ninth nothing nuisance obey ocean once
onion only other owe owner patient people pigeon prayer= pray prepare rogue scheme scholar screw shoe
shoulder soldier stomach sugar succeed precede proceed procedure suspicion they tongue touch trouble
wagon were where wholly
C with the sound of s.
In the following words the sound of s is represented by c followed by a vowel that makes this letter soft:
city face ice juice lace necessary nuisance once pencil police policy pace race rice space trace twice trice
thrice nice price slice= lice spice circus citron circumstance centre cent cellar certain circle concert concern
cell dunce decide December dance disgrace exercise excellent except force= fleece fierce furnace fence grocer
grace icicle instance innocent indecent decent introduce juice justice lettuce medicine mercy niece ounce
officer patience peace= piece place principal principle parcel produce prejudice trace voice receipt recite cite
sauce saucer sentence scarcely since silence service crevice novice
Words ending in cal and cle.
Words in cal are nearly all derived from other words ending in ic, as classical, cubical, clerical, etc. Words
ending in cle are (as far as English is concerned) original words, as cuticle, miracle, manacle, etc. When in
doubt, ask the question if, on dropping the al or le, a complete word ending in ic would be left. If such a word
is left, the ending is al, if not, it is probably le.
Er and re.
Webster spells theater, center, meter, etc., with the termination er, but most English writers prefer re. Meter is
more used to denote a device for measuring (as a "gas meter"), meter as the French unit of length (in the
"Metric system"). In words like acre even Webster retains re because er would make the c (or g) soft.
Words ending in er, ar, or.
First, let it be said that in most words these three syllables (er, ar, or), are pronounced very nearly if not
exactly alike (except a few legal terms in or, like mort'gageor), and we should not try to give an essentially
different sound to ar or or* from that we give to er. The ending er is the regular one, and those words ending
in ar or or are very few in number. They constitute the exceptions.
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