SPELLING
LESSON 13
There are a few more rules governing the spelling of derivative words. Words ending in silent e keep the e before the suffix beginning with a consonant. Notice the following words:
| excite | excitement |
| like | likeness |
| force | forceful |
| shame | shameless |
| lone | lonesome |
| live | lively |
Words ending in silent e drop the e before the suffix beginning with a vowel, as:
| excite | excitable |
| live | living |
| grieve | grievous |
| force | forcible |
Some words ending in silent e retain the e before the suffix beginning with a vowel, to prevent a change in the pronunciation or to preserve the identity of the word. Notice the following words:
| peace | peaceable |
| courage | courageous |
| singe | singeing |
| change | changeable |
| shoe | shoeing |
| notice | noticeable |
These are words ending in the soft sound of c and g, where the e is retained to preserve the correct pronunciation of the c and g, and with some few words like toe, dye, etc., where the dropping of the e would lose the identity of the word.
The e is dropped in a few words before the suffix beginning with a consonant, as in wholly, nursling, judgment, wisdom, lodgment.