CHAPTER II
PRONUNCIATION
We are judged by our speech. If we clip syllables, run words together, or pronounce them incorrectly, we shall merit the criticism of being careless or even ignorant. Yet clear enunciation and correct pronunciation are sometimes difficult. We learn most words by hearing others say them, and, if we do not hear the true values given to the different syllables, we shall find it hard to distinguish the correct from the incorrect forms. Children whose parents speak a foreign language usually have to watch their speech with especial care; Germans, for example, find difficulty in saying th and Irish people in saying oi as in oil. The exercises in this chapter are given for the purpose of correcting such habits. The words in the exercises should be pronounced repeatedly, until the correct forms are instinctive.
Train the ear to hear the difference between sounds, as in just and in jest. Don't slide over the final consonant in such words as going and reading. Watch words containing wh. The dictionary tells us that where was originally written hwar, the h coming before the w; and we still pronounce it so, although we write the w before the h. The word whether is of the same kind. The dictionary tells us that it was first spelled hweder. Such words should be carefully noted and their pronunciation practiced.
Then there is the habit of slurring syllables. We may understand what is meant by the expression "C'm' on" or "Waja say?", but most of us would prefer not to be included in the class of people who use either. Correct speech cannot be mastered without an effort.
In the following exercises watch every vowel and every consonant so that you may give each one its full value.
Exercise 10—Diacritical Marks
Although an a is always written a, it is not always given the same quality or length of sound. When we discover a new word, it is important that we know exactly the quality to give each of the vowels in it. For this purpose diacritical marks have been invented. They are illustrated in the following list from Webster's International Dictionary.
Transcriber's Note: Due to the constraints of HTML, a letter with a tack above such as
cannot be displayed. For this reason [+x] has been used to denote a letter with a tack above it.
| ā | as | in | āte, fāte, lāb´or |
| [+a] | " | " | sen´[+a]te, del´ic[+a]te, [+a]e´rial |
| â | " | " | câre, shâre, pâr´ent |
| ă | " | " | ăm, ădd, răn´dom |
| ä | " | " | ärm, fär, fä´ther |
| ȧ | " | " | ȧsk, grȧss, pȧss, dȧnce |
| a̠ | " | " | fi´na̠l, in´fa̠nt, guid´ānce |
| a̤ | " | " | a̤ll, a̤we, swa̤rm, ta̤lk |
| ē | " | " | ēve, mēte, serēne´ |
| [+e] | " | " | [+e]vent´, d[+e]pend´, soci´[+e]ty |
| ĕ | " | " | ĕnd, mĕt, ĕxcuse´, ĕfface´ |
| ẽ | " | " | fẽrn, hẽr, ẽr´mine, ev´ẽr |
| e | " | " | re´cent, de´cency, pru´dence |
| ī | " | " | īce, tīme, sīght, inspīre´ |
| [+i] | " | " | [+i]dea´, tr[+i]bu´nal, b[+i]ol´ogy |
| ĭ | " | " | ĭll, pĭn, pĭt´y, admĭt´ |
| ō | " | " | ōld, nōte, ō´ver, prōpose´ |
| [+o] | " | " | [+o]bey´, t[+o]bac´co, sor´r[+o]w |
| ô | " | " | ôrb, lôrd, ôr´der, abhôr´ |
| ŏ | " | " | ŏdd, nŏt, tŏr´rid, ŏccur´ |
| ū | " | " | ūse, pūre, dū´ty, assūme´ |
| [+u] | " | " | [+u]nite´, ac´t[+u]ate, ed[+u]ca´tion |
| ṳ | " | " | rṳde, rṳ´mor, intrṳde´ |
| ụ | " | " | fụll, pụt, fụlfill´ |
| ŭ | " | " | ŭp, tŭb, stŭd´y |
| û | " | " | ûrn, fûr, concûr´ |
| y̆ | " | " | pit´y̆, in´jury̆, divin´ity̆ |
| o͞o | " | " | fo͞ol, fo͞od, mo͞on |
| o͝o | " | " | fo͝ot, wo͝ol, bo͝ok |
| ou | " | " | out, thou, devour´ |
| oi | " | " | oil, noi´sy, avoid´ |
| ā is called long a, and is marked with the macron |
| ă is called short a, and is marked with the breve |
| â is called caret a, and is marked with the caret |
| ä is called Italian a, and is marked with the diaeresis |
| ȧ is called short Italian a, and is marked with the dot |
| ẽ is called tilde e, and is marked with the tilde or wave |
Exercise 11—Vowels
Of the twenty-six letters in the alphabet, how many are vowels? Name them. What are the other letters called?
Compare the ă in hat and the ā in hate. Which has more nearly the sound of a in the alphabet? This is called the natural or long sound of the vowel. The other is called the short sound.
Drop the e from hate. Explain the result.
Name other monosyllables ending in e and containing the long a sound.
Explain the difference in pronunciation between Pete, pet, ripe, rip, hope, hop, cube, cub.
Find other monosyllables ending in e and containing a long vowel that becomes short if the e is dropped.
Monosyllables ending in silent e usually contain a long vowel sound, which becomes short when the final e is dropped.
Exercise 12
Pronounce carefully the following words containing the short Italian a:
| advȧnce | clȧss | lȧnce | plȧster |
| advȧntage | contrȧst | lȧst | pȧstor |
| ȧfter | enchȧnt | mȧsk | prȧnce |
| bȧsket | Frȧnce | mȧster | rȧfter |
| brȧnch | glȧnce | mȧstiff | shȧft |
| brȧss | glȧss | pȧss | surpȧss |
| chȧff | grȧss | pȧst | tȧsk |
Exercise 13
Pronounce the following carefully, noting each a that is marked:
| hälf | ideȧ | cälm | audācious |
| pȧth | cȧn't | āpricot | ȧghȧst |
| ȧsk | cătch | mȧdrăs | ălgebrȧ |
| fäther | v[+a]cātion | ăgile | forbăde |
| dȧnce | extrȧ | cȧst | trȧnce |
| lȧss | cȧsket | grȧnt | āviātion |
Exercise 14
Pronounce the vowel o in the following very carefully. Don't give the sound feller or fella when you mean fellow.
| fellow | swallow | theory | borrow |
| potato | follow | position | heroism |
| window | original | factory | donkey |
| pillow | evaporate | ivory | memory |
| chocolate | mosquito | licorice | oriental |
Exercise 15
The vowel u needs particular attention. When it is long, it is sounded naturally, as it is in the alphabet. Do not say redooce for reduce.
| reduce | picture | educate | figure |
| produce | stupid | judicial | duty |
| conducive | student | calculate | accumulate |
| endure | genuine | curiosity | Tuesday |
| duration | induce | regular | particular |
| singular | avenue | tune | institute |
| nutriment | constitution | culinary | January |
| revenue | introduce | opportunity | manufacture |
Exercise 16
Using diacritical marks indicate the value of the vowels in the following. Try marking them without first consulting a dictionary. After you have marked them, compare your markings with those used in a dictionary.
| pupil | different | diacritical | gigantic |
| alphabet | several | radiating | gymnasium |
| natural | letter | Wyoming | system |
| result | eraser | typical | merchant |
Exercise 17
Pronounce carefully, noting that in each word at least one consonant is silent, and sometimes a vowel as well. Draw an oblique line through the silent letter or letters in each.
| through | chasten | sword | island |
| although | often | fasten | daughter |
| wrong | soften | calf | might |
| yacht | subtle | hasten | bouquet |
| gnaw | almond | naughty | honest |
| psalm | glisten | thumb | palm |
| whistle | salve | should | knack |
| salmon | chestnut | knowledge | castle |
| answer | folks | listen | thigh |
| knot | right | debt | honor |
Exercise 18
Pronounce the following, paying particular attention to the vowels. Distinguish between the meanings of the words in each group.
| accept | bile | least | prevision |
| except | boil | lest | provision |
| affect | carol | eleven | poor |
| effect | coral | leaven | pure |
| addition | descent | neither | radish |
| edition | dissent | nether | reddish |
| assay | emerge | pasture | sentry |
| essay | immerge | pastor | century |
| baron | Francis | pillar | sit |
| barren | Frances | pillow | set |
| been | jest | point | wrench |
| bean | just | pint | rinse |
| gist |
Exercise 19
Enunciate the consonant sounds carefully in the following. Distinguish between the meanings of the words in each group.
| acts | close | treaties | rows |
| ax | clothes | treatise | rouse |
| advice | crossed | princes | rues |
| advise | across | princess | ruse |
| alms | formerly | prince | either |
| elms | formally | prints | ether |
| bodice | grays | price | running |
| bodies | grace | prize | ruin |
| cease | lose | recent | walking |
| seize | loose | resent | walk in |
| chance | plaintive | sects | weather |
| chants | plaintiff | sex | whether |
| does | pair | news | worst |
| dose | payer | noose | worsted (yarn) |
| doze |
Exercise 20
Pronounce the following, making sure that each syllable is correct. Guard against slurring the words in the last column.
| been | such | barrel | Did you? |
| gone | put | faucet | Don't you? |
| to | with | suburb | Go on. |
| for | tiny | hearth | Our education |
| aunt | and | nothing | You are |
| far | poem | office | You're not |
| our | catch | peril | We're coming |
| kept | toward | forbade | They're coming |
| says | donkey | spirit | What did you say? |
| rid | again | semi | Where are you going? |
| since | against | scared | Where have you been? |
| sleek | honest | saucy | I want to go. |
| creek | savage | turnip | I'm going to go. |
| where | swept | roof | To-morrow morning |
| boil | velvet | proof | Next month |
| hoist | direct | hydrant | Last Saturday |
Exercise 21
Enunciate carefully:
| salary | gentleman | supple | gymnasium |
| because | library | subtle | perspiration |
| ideal | wrestle | italic | clapboards |
| suite | vessel | insect | cupboard |
| thirty | friendship | orchid | archangel |
| tomato | judgment | hovel | candelabra |
| grimy | cowardice | several | extraordinary |
| patron | miserable | pumpkin | civilization |
| omelet | guarantee | accurate | horseshoe |
| hundred | gelatine | guardian | laboratory |
| coupon | glycerine | delinquent | tenacious |
| awkward | paraffine | secretary | measure |
| hurrah | portrait | audacious | February |
| pigeon | mercantile | conquer | cellar |
| history | juvenile | conquest | perfect |
| diamond | thousand | congress | grandmother |
| asylum | overalls | licorice | generally |
Exercise 22
Be especially careful of the sounds th and wh. Add no syllable to a word and omit none. Consult a dictionary for any word below about which you are not certain:
Exercise 23—Homonyms
A homonym is a word having the same sound as another but differing from it in meaning. Use each of the following in a sentence to show its meaning.
| aloud | draft | fowl | principal |
| allowed | draught | foul | principle |
| ascent | faint | gate | peal |
| assent | feint | gait | peel |
| aught | canvas | great | quire |
| ought | canvass | grate | choir |
| bad | cereal | hew | seen |
| bade | serial | hue | scene |
| bale | cession | kernel | soul |
| bail | session | colonel | sole |
| berry | cite | leased | strait |
| bury | site | least | straight |
| boy | coarse | lesser | stair |
| buoy | course | lessor | stare |
| by | compliment | mite | sweet |
| buy | complement | might | suite |
| council | feign | miner | there |
| counsel | fain | minor | their |
| current | flour | need | wood |
| currant | flower | knead | would |
Exercise 24
Do the same with the following:
Exercise 25—Syllabication
What is a syllable?
Choose a word and notice that every vowel sound in it makes a syllable. Therefore, you never have two vowels in one syllable unless the two are pronounced as one sound.
In pronouncing notice carefully to which syllable a consonant belongs; as in dif-fer-ent, beau-ti-fy, dai-sy.
Divide the following words into syllables. If you cannot decide with which syllable a consonant belongs, consult a dictionary.
| paper | grocer | rotate | mystery |
| tomato | erect | repeat | regular |
| vinegar | polish | general | arithmetic |
If a syllable, especially an accented syllable, ends in a vowel, what is usually the length of the vowel?
If the syllable ends in a consonant, what is usually the length of the vowel of the syllable?
When a consonant is doubled, the division is usually made between the two letters; as,
| blot-ter | skip-ping | remit-tance |
| neces-sary | throt-tle | span-ning |
As a rule, a prefix constitutes one syllable; as,
| pro-long | pre-fer | con-stant | de-fect | ad-mit |
| re-ceive | se-lect | dis-trust | e-merge | im-merse |
As a rule, a suffix constitutes one syllable; as,
| labor-er | soft-ly | beauti-fy | selec-tion |
| mole-cule | revolution-ist | percent-age | fanat-ic |
When two or more letters together give one sound, they must not be divided; as,
| math-ematics | ex-change | paragraph-ing | abolish-ing |
| bow-ing | toil-ing | nation-al | gra-cious |
Can a word of one syllable be divided?
Do not divide a syllable of one letter from the rest of the word. The division ever-y is wrong.
Exercise 26
Divide the following words into syllables, using the suggestions given in the preceding exercise:
| accountant | dissatisfaction | manufacturer | reference |
| advertisement | economy | material | repeatedly |
| anecdote | employment | mechanical | salesman |
| annually | energetic | neighborhood | security |
| application | environment | occupation | separate |
| automobile | especially | opportunity | signature |
| beginning | establishment | organized | specification |
| collection | expenditure | permanent | stenography |
| comparison | factory | preparation | suburban |
| competent | furniture | president | superintend |
| confirmation | illustration | quotation | systematic |
| consequence | impression | realize | telephone |
| correspondence | improvement | receptacle | treasurer |
| counterfeit | judgment | recognition | unanimous |
| customer | machinist | recommend | unusual |
Exercise 27—Accent
What is accent?
Divide into syllables, indicate the accent, and pronounce the following:
| expand | volume | defect | interesting |
| mischievous | usually | incomparable | theatre |
| exquisite | tedious | hospitable | generally |
| column | inquiry | impious |
In the following words the meaning changes with the accent. Use each word in a sentence to show its meaning.
| ob´ject | subject | contrast | desert |
| ob-ject´ | insult | protest | extract |
| tor´ment | essay | conflict | compact |
| tor-ment´ | transfer | compound | survey |
| minute (notice the vowel change) | |||
| refuse (notice the consonant change) | |||
Bring to class a list of words that you have heard mispronounced in your classes. Be sure that you can pronounce them correctly.
Exercise 28
The following words are frequently mispronounced. Divide them into syllables, mark the accent, and pronounce carefully.
| municipal | exquisite | champion | accurately |
| interesting | gondola | inquiry | Genoa |
| influence | finance | inexplicable | alias |
| illustrate | deficit | despicable | expert |
| inventory | pretense | mischievous | impious |
| alternate | dirigible | perfume | detail |
CHAPTER III
SPELLING RULES
Exercise 29—Plurals of Nouns
| (a) | dress, dresses | (b) | chair, chairs |
| splash, splashes | wave, waves | ||
| business, businesses | book, books | ||
| church, churches | pencil, pencils | ||
| fox, foxes | paper, papers |
The usual way of forming the plural of English nouns is illustrated by the words in column (b) above. What is it?
If you add s to the singular form dress, could you distinguish the pronunciation of the plural from the pronunciation of the singular? Does this suggest a reason for adding es to form the plural?
How many syllables must you use to pronounce the plural of fox? Does this suggest another reason for adding es to form the plural?
Every word that ends in a sibilant or hissing sound (ch, s, sh, ss, x, z) forms its plural like fox. Give several illustrations.
Rule 1.—Nouns regularly form the plural by adding s, but those ending in a sibilant must addes.
Exercise 30
| (a) | lady, ladies | (b) | valley, valleys |
| ally, allies | alley, alleys | ||
| soliloquy, soliloquies | journey, journeys |
Name five words belonging to group (a) above. Does a vowel or a consonant precede the y in each case?
Name other words belonging to the group (b) above. Does a vowel or a consonant precede the y in each case?
Rule 2.—Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant (and nouns ending in quy) form the plural by changing y to i and adding es.
Exercise 31—Words ending in o
| (a) | ||
| potato, potatoes | hero, heroes | mulatto, mulattoes |
| tomato, tomatoes | buffalo, buffaloes | cargo, cargoes |
| negro, negroes | echo, echoes | motto, mottoes |
| (b) | ||
| solo, solos | piano, pianos | memento, mementos |
| halo, halos | lasso, lassos | canto, cantos |
| zero, zeros | quarto, quartos | soprano, sopranos |
| stilletto, stillettos | ||
The older English words ending in o form the plural by adding es, as in potatoes; those more recently taken into the language form the plural by adding s, as in quartos.
Exercise 32—Nouns in f and fe
| leaf, leaves | calf, calves | wife, wives |
| loaf, loaves | sheaf, sheaves | shelf, shelves |
| half, halves | wolf, wolves | elf, elves |
| life, lives | beef, beeves | wharf, wharves (or wharfs) |
| self, selves | knife, knives |
With the exception of the words given above, nouns ending in an f sound form the plural in the regular way; as,
| hoof, hoofs | scarf, scarfs | beliefs, beliefs |
| chief, chiefs | reef, reefs | grief, griefs |
Exercise 33—Irregular Plurals
Some nouns form their plural by a change of vowel; as,
| man | men | foot | feet |
| woman | women | tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese | mouse | mice |
A few words retain the old time plural en; as,
| brother brethren | |||
| child | children | ox | oxen |
A few words are the same in both singular and plural; as,
sheep, trout, deer
Some nouns have two plurals which differ in meaning; as,
| Singular | Plural | |
| brother | brothers | brethren |
| penny | pennies | pence |
| pea | peas | pease |
| die | dies | dice |
Consult a dictionary for the difference in meaning between the two plurals of each word.
Exercise 34—Compound Nouns
| Singular | Plural |
| brother-in-law | brothers-in-law |
| father-in-law | fathers-in-law |
| court-martial | courts-martial |
| commander-in-chief | commanders-in-chief |
| man-of-war | men-of-war |
| major general | major generals |
| goose quill | goose quills |
| bill of fare | bills of fare |
| spoonful | spoonfuls |
| cupful | cupfuls |
Rule 3.—Compound nouns usually add the sign of the plural to the fundamental part of the word.
Note.—In spoonfuls the thought is of one spoon many times full.
Plural of Letters and Figures
Rule 4.—Letters and figures form the plural by adding the apostrophe (') and s; as,
| a | a's | 3 | 3's |
| w | w's | 5 | 5's |
The same rule applies to the plural of words which ordinarily have no plural; as,
Don't use so many and's and if's.
Exercise 35—Foreign Plurals
Some nouns derived from foreign languages retain their original plural. The following are in common use.
Consult a dictionary for their pronunciation and definition.
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| crisis | crises | stratum | strata |
| thesis | theses | radius | radii |
| hypothesis | hypotheses | parenthesis | parentheses |
| focus | foci | synopsis | synopses |
| datum | data | basis | bases |
| alumnus | alumni | automaton | automata |
| alumna | alumnae | analysis | analyses |
| oasis | oases | nucleus | nuclei |
| axis | axes | phenomenon | phenomena |
| genus | genera |
Some words admit of two plurals, one the foreign plural, and one the regular English plural; as,
| Singular | Plural | |
| beau | beaux | beaus |
| formula | formulae | formulas |
| vertex | vertices | vertexes |
| index | indices | indexes |
| cherub | cherubim | cherubs |
| seraph | seraphim | seraphs |
| bandit | banditti | bandits |
Consult a dictionary to see whether there is any difference of meaning between the two plurals of these words.
Exercise 36—The Formation of Participles
| Rap, rapping, rapped | Reap, reaping, reaped |
Rap is a monosyllable ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel. The final consonant in such words is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel is added.
In reap the final consonant is not doubled because it is preceded by two vowels.
Make the participles of the following verbs:
| chat | lap | suit | step |
| cheat | leap | sit | steep |
| rot | train | sop | trot |
| root | trim | soap | treat |
| Trap, trapping, trapped | Track, tracking, tracked |
Why is the final consonant in trap doubled before ing or ed is added?
The final consonant in track is not doubled because track ends with two consonants.
| Pin, pinning | Pine, pining |
Pine drops the silent e because the tendency in English is to drop endings that are not needed for pronunciation before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.
Form the participles of the following verbs:
| knot | rob | flop | |
| note | robe | elope | |
| deal | swim | quit | (u is not here a vowel) |
| clap | strike | crawl | (w is here a vowel) |
| stop | oil | wax | (x equals cks) |
| peal | rush | bow | (w is here a vowel) |
Exercise 37
Exercise 36 applies also to words of more than one syllable accented on the last syllable, if they retain the accent on the same syllable after the suffix is added. Thus we have
Rule 5.—Monosyllables or words accented on the last syllable, ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.
Form participles from the following words that are accented on the last syllable:
| prefer | intervene | escape | expel |
| refer | reveal | acquire | contain |
| occur | repeal | secure | forbid |
| permit | pursue | conceal | incur |
| interfere | erase | arrange | forget |
| retain | control | acquit | repel |
Form participles from the following words not accented on the last syllable:
| benefit | travel | marvel | shelter |
| revel | answer | exhibit | render |
| quarrel | profit | shovel | limit |
Words in which the accent changes do not double the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel; as,
| confer | conference | infer | inference |
| refer | reference | prefer | preferable |
Explain why the final consonant is not doubled in each of the following words:
| neglect | neglecting | lean | leaning |
| prefer | preference | select | selecting |
| creep | creeping | receipt | receipting |
| wonder | wondering | answer | answering |
Exercise 38
Rule 6.—In forming the present participle of verbs ending in y, retain the y before adding ing; as,
| study | studying | obey | obeying |
| carry | carrying | convey | conveying |
| pity | pitying |
In forming the perfect participle, if in the present tense the y is preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i and ed added; if the y is preceded by a vowel, the y is retained; as,
| study | studied | carry | carried | pity | pitied |
but
| obey | obeyed | convey | conveyed |
Compare with [Rule 2].
Exercise 39
Rule 7.—In words containing a long e sound spelled either ie or ei, ei follows c; ie follows one of the other consonants; as,
| ei | ie | |
| deceive | relieve | siege |
| perceive | believe | yield |
| receive | belief | grief |
| conceive | chief | field |
| conceit | priest | piece |
| receipt | niece | wield |
| reprieve | lien | |
Exceptions.—Either, neither, weird, seize, leisure.
The following couplet may help in remembering when to write ie and when to write ei:
When the letter c you spy,
Put the e before the i.
Exercise 40—The Pronunciation of c and g
The letter c is pronounced sometimes like s and sometimes like k.
What sound does c have before a? Illustrate.
Before e? Illustrate.
Before i? Illustrate.
Before o? Illustrate.
Before u? Illustrate.
Before y? Illustrate.
If c is pronounced like k, it is called hard and is marked [\c].
If c is pronounced like s, it is called soft and is marked ç. The mark used to indicate the soft c is called the cedilla.
Make a statement telling when c is hard and when it is soft.
What sound does g have before each of the vowels, as in game, gone, gymnasium, Gunther, gentle?
Rule 8.—C and g usually are soft before e, i, and y.
Exercise 41
Words ending in silent e, according to Rule 5, drop the e before a suffix beginning with a vowel. Exceptions occur when the e is needed to preserve the soft sound of c and g. Tell why e is dropped in encouraging and retained in courageous.
In words containing dg, as in judge and lodge, the d gives the g the soft sound, and there is no need to retain the e before adding a suffix, as in judgment.
Rule 9.—Words ending in silent e usually drop the e before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, unless the e is needed to preserve the pronunciation; as after soft c and g, when the suffix begins with a or o.
Tell why the e is retained before the suffix in the following:
| noticeable | damageable | pronounceable | outrageous |
| courageous | peaceable | serviceable | manageable |
Tell why the e is dropped before adding the suffix in the following:
| managing | curable | erasure |
| besieging | admirable | realization |
| receiving | obliging | precedence |
| perseverance |
The fact that c has two different sounds causes a slight peculiarity in words ending in c. Final c has the sound of k. When words end in c, the letter k is usually added before a suffix beginning with either e, i, or y, to show that c is not pronounced like s; as,
frolic frolicked frolicking
If the k is not added, the c changes its pronunciation; as,
public publicity
Exercise 42
It follows by inference from Rule 9 that words ending in silent e retain the e before a suffix beginning with a consonant; as,
| move | movement | disgrace | disgraceful |
| defense | defenseless | fate | fateful |
| arrange | arrangement | fierce | fiercely |
| noise | noiseless | manage | management |
| severe | severely | rude | rudeness |
Exceptions.—Truly, duly, wisdom, awful, wholly.
Bring to class a list of twenty words that retain the final e before a suffix beginning with a consonant.
Exercise 43
What spelling rule does each of the following words illustrate?
| advantageous | gigantic | boxes | admittance |
| mimicking | piece | libraries | occurrence |
| arrangement | receipt | keys | acquittal |
Exercise 44—Abbreviations
Write abbreviations for the months of the year. Are there any that should not be abbreviated?
The abbreviations for the states and territories are:
Note.—It is much better to write the full name rather than the abbreviation whenever the former would make the address clearer, especially as regards similar abbreviations, such as Cal. and Colo.
Exercise 45—Abbreviations of Commercial Terms