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sea

gleam chisel plow

firkin esophagus

elm seize thread heifer

muscle geography

plaque hoarseness

health sovereign

priest

sought privilege

egg cease slight opaque SOW pause chorus sluice maul skein tyrant soar guard urchin trough knit wield heaves steady whet choir fillet dreary dawn knead woeful source kiln sight spread grieve fawn depot bruise quorum wean bough pauper ravine once toast porous debris duly croup hawser wreath veil cough cudgel fierce toad daisy cougar slight warp truly twinge belief omit dryly league ermine axil sword swathe writhe yolk basin cereal coarse idyl least phlegm malign nigh realm mirage medium high solid chaise isle auger liquor facial cell creak futile legion soil flour loathe feudal

squeal

shriek acknowledge height cocoanut crease paralyze afraid opportunity chrome prophecy sprawl tyrannical shrewd physique

square whimsical sphere liquidate friend lineament double syndicate

stream turquoise beaver librarian bought traceable preach atmosphere breath financier tongue etiquette

pigeon antiquity

serial university listen parachute

dyeing singular

echo groan visual nephew meddle grammai dose grate history palatial hearth commence hue thing copious tempest college command. awry awe time moment plural awkward triumph etiquette pure arithmetic

out

cure

RULES FOR SPELLING

PLURALS OF NOUNS

The plurals of nouns are generally made by adding to the singular.

Nouns ending in 8, x, z, sh, or soft ch, and nouns that end in i, o, u, or y, preceded each by a consonant, are made plural by adding es to the singular. (Y is changed to i when adding es.)

In our language, as written in England, the plural of story, or storey, meaning floor, is storeys. We write stories. When reading books printed in England, we notice these interesting differences.

A few nouns in o are exceptions to the above rule, and add 8 only. See opposite page.

Nouns ending in o or y, preceded by a vowel, add 8 to the singular to form the plural.

Nouns ending in silent e, preceded by the sound of 8, x, z, j, sh, or soft ch, add s to the singular.

Some nouns ending in ƒ and fe change ƒ to v and add es, and others add only 8 to form the plural.

The plurals of letters, figures, and other characters are formed by adding the apostrophe (') and s, that is ('s), to the singular.

EXCEPTION.- Wharf has both forms, wharfs and wharves. Staff becomes staves in the plural, but its compounds are regular; as, flagstaff, flagstaffs.

The plural of many nouns is irregular, as man,

men.

Give the singular form of each of the following

nouns and the rule, if any, for forming the plural:

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phrases

daisies altos

strifes

porticoes

markets matches purses wives

dominoes mottoes volcanoes

lives turkeys poppies chaises elves twos

cuckoos cuffs

halves

reefs mosquitoes monkeys wolves

guesses

thrushes

trios

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taxes kangaroos waifs

leaves

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Make lists of verbs singular and plural.
Write the pronouns singular and plural.

GENERAL RULES FOR SPELLING

1. Words of one syllable ending in f, l, or 8, pre ceded by a single vowel, have the final consonant doubled; as, mill, pass.

EXCEPTIONS.-Clef, if, of, sol, as, gas, has, was, yes, is, his, this, us, thus, pus.

2. Words ending in any other consonant than ƒ, l, or s, do not double the final letter except in the following: abb, add, ebb, odd, egg, inn, err, burr, purr, butt, buzz, fuzz, and some proper nouns.

3. Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable, double the final consonant when preceded by a single vowel, or by a vowel after qu, before a suffix beginning with a vowel.

EXCEPTIONS.—X, k, and v are never doubled.

EXCEPTIONS.-L and 8 are sometimes doubled when the last syllable is not accented.

4. Words ending in any double letter retain it doubled before a suffix not beginning with the same letter.

EXCEPTIONS.-Fled, sold, told, dwelt, spelt, split, shalt, wilt, blest, and past.

5. Primitive words ending in silent e

(a) Generally drop the e when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.

(b) Retain the e when preceded by e or g before the suffixes able and ous, to preserve the soft sounds of c and g.

(c) Retain the e in the derivatives of certain words to preserve the identity of the primitive word; as, hoeing, dyeing.

(d) Generally retain the e when adding a suffix beginning with a consonant.

(e) Preceded by dg drop the e in their derivatives, the d preserving the soft sound of g.

(f) Preceded by a vowel, in certain words, drop e before a suffix beginning with a consonant; as, true, truly.

6. Primitive words ending in y, preceded by a consonant, change y into i when adding a suffix beginning with any other letter than i

EXCEPTIONS.

Pity, piteous; beauty, beauteous; plenty, plenteous; duty, duteous; gassy, gaseous. EXCEPTIONS. Most words derived from dry, shy, sly, spry, and wry, retain y. Exception, drier, driest.

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EXCEPTIONS. Before ing, the y is retained to prevent doubling i. Words ending in ie, drop e and change i to y before suffixes beginning with i.

7. Primitive words ending in y, preceded by a vowel, retain y in their derivatives.

EXCEPTIONS. - Pay, paid; say, said, saith; gay, gaily; day, daily; lay, laid; slay, slain; stay, staid.

8. Compounds generally retain the spelling of the simple words composing them; as, horseman.

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