In this post, we look at some commonly mispronounced syllables and explain rules to spell them correctly.
-ous vs -us words
Both endings are pronounced the same way (as the last syllable in “marvelous”). The rule here is: adjectives usually go “-ous”, and nouns usually go “-us”. So ask for part of speech before deciding to go “-us” or “-ous”. There are a few exceptions to the rule in WoC, listed below:
- vitreous (audio)
- various (audio)
- bogus (audio)
- genius (audio)
- omnibus (audio)
- Nostradamus (audio)
- Celsius (audio)
- surplus (audio)
- Bauhaus (audio)
Words ending with -ful or -ness
Mostly, “-ful” or “-ness” words are constructed just by adding the suffix to an existing word. The only thing to remember is when the root word ends in y, you need to replace it with an ‘i’ before adding the suffix. For example, here are some words from the Words of Champions:
- bounty -> bountiful (audio)
- pity -> pitiful (audio)
- soppy -> soppiness (audio)
- ritzy -> ritziness (audio)
- fleecy -> fleeciness (audio)
Suffixes that begin with a vowel (-able, -ing, -ion)
In root words that end with a silent ‘e’, drop the ‘e’ before adding the suffix. So, “desire” becomes “desiring” or “desirable”, “excavate” becomes “excavating”, “skydive” becomes “skydiving”, etc.
There is only exception to this rule in the Words of Champions – that is ‘forgeable‘ (audio) where the root words doesn’t lose the trailing ‘e’. In general, the trailing ‘ge’ making the soft ‘g’ sound or the trailing ‘ce’ making the soft ‘c’ sound do not lose the ‘e’ (therefore, “bouce” becomes “bounceable”).