Spelling Rules and Conventions Flashcards
6 cards from real ICAS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Spelling Rules and Conventions flashcards as text
Which of the following sentences correctly uses the plural forms of 'roof' and 'echo'?
Answer: The loud echoes bounced off the roofs of the houses.
The standard plural of 'roof' is 'roofs', although 'rooves' is an older form it is rarely used now. For words ending in 'o' preceded by a consonant, the plural is typically formed by adding '-es', making 'echoes' the correct form.
When adding the suffix '-able' to the word 'notice', what is the correct resulting word and why?
Answer: Noticeable, because the final 'e' is kept to maintain the soft 'c' sound.
When a word ends in '-ce' or '-ge', the final 'e' is kept before adding a suffix like '-able' or '-ous'. This is done to preserve the soft 'c' (/s/) or 'g' (/j/) sound. Dropping the 'e' would result in 'noticable', which might incorrectly suggest a hard 'c' sound.
An editor reviewed a manuscript and found a spelling error in one sentence. Which sentence contains the error?
Answer: The long drought had a negative affect on the crops.
The sentence incorrectly uses 'affect' (a verb meaning 'to influence') where it should use 'effect' (a noun meaning 'a result' or 'consequence'). The correct sentence would be: 'The long drought had a negative effect on the crops.'
Which of the following words is an exception to the common "i before e, except after c" spelling rule?
Answer: Seize
The word 'seize' is a well-known exception to the 'i before e, except after c' rule, as the 'ei' combination does not follow a 'c'. 'Believe' and 'friend' correctly use 'ie'. 'Receive' correctly uses 'ei' after 'c'.
A student was asked to write a list of equipment needed for a camping trip. Which word in the list is spelled correctly?
Answer: Separate
'Separate' is the only correctly spelled word. The correct spellings for the others are 'accommodation' (double 'c', double 'm'), 'necessary' (one 'c', double 's'), and 'definitely' (contains the word 'finite').
In which sentence is the apostrophe used correctly to show plural possession?
Answer: The students' projects were all displayed in the hall.
To show possession for a plural noun that ends in 's' (like students), the apostrophe is placed after the 's'. 'It's' is a contraction of 'it is'; the possessive is 'its'. 'Student's' is singular possessive. 'The Joneses' is the plural of Jones; no apostrophe is needed to make a name plural.