SPELLING RULES FOR THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE (third person, he / she / it)

1. Add –s for most verbs:

work – works buy – buys ride – rides return - returns

2. Add –es for words that end in –ch, -s , -sh, -x, or –z.

watch – watches pass – passes rush – rushes relax – relaxes buzz - buzzes

play – plays enjoy - enjoys

4. A few verbs have irregular forms:

be – is do – does go - goes have - has

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SPELLING RULES FOR THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

2. Drop the final -e and add –ing if a verb ends in a silent –e,.

leave – leaving take – taking receive - receiving

3. Double the last consonant before adding –ing in a one-syllable word, if the last three

letters are consonant-vowel-consonan combination:

sit – sitting run – running hop - hopping

admit – admitting regret – regretting (stress on second syllable)

5. If a verb ends in –ie, change the –ie to y before adding -ing.

die – dying lie - lying

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SPELLING RULES FOR PAST SIMPLE TENSE OF REGULAR VERBS

1. If the verb ends in a consonant, add –ed.

return – returned help – helped cook - cooked

2. If the verb ends in –e, add –d.

live – lived create – created die - died

However, do not double one-syllable words ending in –w, -x, or –y.

bow – bowed play – played mix - mixed

4. In words of two or more syllables that end in consonant-vowel-consonant combination,

double the last consonant only if the last syllable is stressed.

prefer - preferred (last syllable stressed) visit - visited (last syllable isn’t stressed)

5. If the verb ends in a consonant + y, change the -y to -i and –ed.

Exception: pay - paid, lay - laid, say – said

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SPELLING RULES FOR PRESENT CONTINUOUS / PARTICIPLE

* Except if the noun has 2 or more syllables and the last syllable is stressed: regret-regretting

SPELLING RULES FOR PAST SIMPLE / PARTICIPLE OF REGULAR VERBS

EXERCISES

SPELLING OF THE MAIN VERB - PRESENT SIMPLE: Complete the chart.

ANSWERS