Lesson · E.1.1
Standard English spelling
The spelling rules and homophone pairs the TEAS tests most often, and how to apply them without hesitating on exam day.
By the end of this lesson you can
- Apply the four spelling rules that cover most exam questions.
- Tell apart homophones such as its/it's and homographs by context.
- Form regular and irregular plurals correctly.
A TEAS spelling question rarely asks you to spell a word from scratch. It asks you to recognise which of four choices breaks a rule, so the fastest route to the right answer is knowing the rule, not trusting how a word looks on the page.
Four rules to know cold
Most spelling questions on the exam draw from a small set of patterns.
- "i" before "e", except after "c", or when the sound is "ay" as in neighbour and weigh. Correct: believe, receive, sleigh. Exceptions to learn by sight: weird, seize, height, protein.
- Drop the final "e" before a vowel suffix, keep it before a consonant suffix. Advise plus ing becomes advising; nice plus ly stays nicely.
- Double the final consonant when a single vowel sits before it and the stress falls on the last syllable. Refer becomes referred because the stress is on fer. Travel is stressed on the first syllable, so US spelling keeps one "l": traveling.
- Change a final "y" to "i" after a consonant, but leave it alone after a vowel or before a suffix that already starts with "i". Worry becomes worried, but worrying keeps the "y", and day stays days because a vowel comes before the "y".
Homophones and homographs
A homophone sounds like another word but means something different: its shows possession, it's is short for it is. Their shows possession, there points to a place, and they're is short for they are. Mixing these up is one of the most common errors the exam presents as a "correct the sentence" item, so read the sentence for meaning before you check the spelling.
A homograph is spelled the same as another word but carries a different meaning, and sometimes a different pronunciation. Lead can mean "to guide" or name the metal. Bow can mean "to bend at the waist" or "the front of a boat." Context, not spelling, tells you which one a sentence needs.
Plurals
Three patterns cover almost every plural the TEAS presents.
- Most words simply take "-s": chart to charts, nurse to nurses.
- Words that hiss at the end, those finishing in "-s", "-ss", "-sh", "-ch", "-x", or "-z", take "-es" instead: class to classes, box to boxes.
- Change "-f" or "-fe" to "-ves" for some words: to , to . A few keep the "f": to , to .
- Learn the four spelling rules, i before e, drop the final e, double the consonant, change y to i, well enough to apply them under time pressure, not just recognise them.
- Its/it's and their/there/they're are the homophone pairs the exam returns to most often. Check meaning first, spelling second.
- A homograph's spelling will not tell you its meaning. Read the sentence around it.
- Regular plurals add "-s", sibilant endings add "-es", and some "-f"/"-fe" words switch to "-ves".
Check yourself
0 / 51According to the lesson, which word is a sight exception to the 'i before e' rule rather than following the standard pattern?
2When adding 'ing' to 'advise', what happens to the final 'e' and why?
3Why does 'refer' double its final consonant to form 'referred'?
4Why does 'worry' become 'worried' but stay as 'worrying' with the '-ing' suffix?
5Why does 'day' simply add 's' to form 'days' instead of changing the 'y' to 'i'?