Calve

calf. price.

B. Verbs from nouns :

1. Advise from advice. | Grease from

grease. half. shelf.' &c.

Halve
Shelve

&c.

1. It is a general rule that no final consonant is doubled, except ƒ, l, and s.

EXCEPTIONS Add, bunn, burr, butt, buzz, ebb, egg, err, inn, odd, purr.

2. Monosyllables ending with f, l, or s, preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant; as, cuff, ball, puss.

yes.

EXCEPTIONS.-If, of ; as, gas, his, has, is, this, thus, us, was,

3. Words of more than one syllable ending with f, l, or s, preceded by a single vowel, double final f; generally double final s; but have final I single; as, distaff, mastiff, rebuff; harass, mistress; channel, until, gambol.

EXCEPTIONS. Alas, bias, dowlas; Christmas, and other compounds in mas; the inflected forms of nouns and verbs in s; and words ending in s, taken from other languages, as, atlas, basis, omnibus.

4. K final is omitted in all words of more than one syllable, as, almanac, critic, terrific.

Monosyllables take ck after a single vowel, as, sack, beck, thick, duck; but k alone after a diphthong or consonant, as, hawk, seek, shriek, look; bank, task.

EXCEPTIONS.-Arrack, attack, cassock, fetlock, forelock, padlock, matlock, ransack; shell-lac, disc, zinc.

K is restored before ing; as, traffic, trafficking; mimic, mimicking.

5. Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable, ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant, on taking a suffix beginning with a vowel; as, glad, gladden; beg, beggar; begin, beginning; rebel, rebellion; confer, conferred.

EXCEPTIONS.-Words ending in a, as, tax, taxation.

If the affix cause the original accent to be changed, the final consonant is not doubled; as, prefer, preference.

6. If in a word of more than one syllable, ending in a single consonant, the accent does not fall on the last syllable, the final consonant is not doubled before a suffix; as, offer, offering; visit, visitor.

In words ending in lor p, though not accented on the last syllable, the l or p is generally doubled before a suffix ;* as, travel, travelling; metal, metalliferous; wool, woollen; worship, worshipper.

7. Compound words generally follow the spelling of the simple words of which they are composed; as, windmill, all-wise, foot-ball, tell-tale, &c.

EXCEPTIONS.-Words ending in l, drop one lin composition, when the compound is written as a single word; thus, Almighty, already, spoonful, fulfil, &c.

8. Words ending in any double consonant but ll, retain the double consonant upon taking a suffix; as, stiff, stiffly; odd, oddity; success, successful.

9. Words ending in ll drop one 7 before a suffix beginning with a consonant; as, dull, dulness; skill, skilful; thrall, thraldom.

EXCEPTIONS.-Illness, shrillness, smallness, stillness, tallness. According to Webster, the should always be retained before the suffix ness.

10. Words ending in ll upon taking a prefix, are said by some to retain, and by others to reject the second 7; thus we find, befal and befall; foretel and foretell; enrol and enroll, &c. (see above, rule 7.)

II. VERBS.

1. Words ending in silent e, reject the e upon taking a suffix beginning with a vowel; as, cure, curable; write, writing; rogue, roguish ; pore, porous. EXCEPTIONS.-Moveable, proveable.

E final, preceded by c or g soft, is retained before suffixes beginning with a; as, peace, peaceable; change, changeable. E final, preceded by c soft, is changed into i before -ous; as, space, spacious.

* Except the suffixes -ous, -ize, -ist, -ity, before which the final is not doubled; as, scandal, scandalous; tranquil, tranquilize; moral, moralist; real, reality.

Libel, libellous; marvel, marvellous; duel, duellist; tranquil, tranquillity; follow the general rule.

E final, preceded by g soft, is retained before -ous; as, cou

rage, courageous.

Te final is changed into y before a suffix beginning with i; as, die, dying; lie, lying; that i may not be doubled when the e is omitted according to the rule.

2. Words ending in silent e retain the before suffixes beginning with a consonant; as, pale, paleness; tame, tamely; improve, improvement; change, changeful.

EXCEPTIONS.-Duly, duty, only, truly, wholly; truth, width, ruth; awful; abridgment, acknowledgment, lodgment, judgment, argument; wisdom; nursling; hatred.

3. Words in le usually reject those letters, on taking the suffix ly; as, able, ably; single, singly. EXCEPTIONS.-Solely, supplely, subtilely, vilely.

4. It is a general rule that y is only to be written at the end of a word, unless it forms part of a diphthong.

When, therefore, words ending in y, preceded by a consonant, take a suffix, the y is changed into i. This occurs more especially in forming the plurals of nouns, the comparatives and superlatives of adjectives, the inflexions of verbs, and verbal nouns; as, duty, duties; try, triest, tries, tried; holy, holier, holiest; envy, envious; comply, compliance; carry, carriage.

EXCEPTIONS.-Y final is retained before the suffixes -ing and -ish, that the i may not be doubled; as, baby, babyish; reply, replying.

Dry, shy, sly, retain y before -ly and -ness; as, dryly, dry. ness, &c.

Ty before -ous, changes y into e; as, pity, piteous.

5. Y final is retained when it is preceded by a vowel, or forms part of a diphthong; as, day, days; joy, joyous; boy, boyish; betray, betrayal.

EXCEPTIONS.-Laid, paid, said, saith, slain, daily, gaily, gaiety, their, theirs.