Twohigg’s Literacy Tips

Literacy Tip One

Confused about the rule for adding s to words, which end in y? Read on

• If the word has a vowel before the final y, (boy; day; donkey), just add s
   
  Boy + s = boys
  Day + s = days
  Donkey + s = donkeys
• If the word has a consonant before the final y, (baby; jelly; lorry), add ies
   
  Baby + s = babies
  Jelly + s = jellies
  Lorry + s = lorries

Literacy Tip Two

Unclear about whether the plural of a noun ends in s or es? Read on

1. Most nouns follow a simple pattern. To make a plural, just add s
    
   Balloon + s = balloons
   Meal + s = meals
   School + s = schools
2. If the noun ends in an e, simply add s
    
   Shoe + s = shoes
   Tongue + s = tongues
   Spade + s = spades
3. If the word ends with a hissing, buzzing or shushing sound (s/x/ch/sh), add es.
   This adds an extra syllable and makes the plural form of the word easier to say
    
   Box + s = boxes
   Bus + s = buses
   Church + s = churches
   Dish + s = dishes
   Kiss + s = kisses
   Watch + s = watches

Literacy Tip Three

Unclear about the rule for adding ing to verbs? Read on…

1. To form the present participle of a verb, you add ing to the end
    
   Sing + ing = singing
   Walk + ing = walking
   Talk + ing = talking
2. However, if the verb ends in e, you need to drop the e, before adding ing
   
   Hope + ing = hoping
   Make + ing = making
   Love + ing = loving
3. If the verb ends with the pattern of a single vowel and a consonant, you have to double the final consonant, before you add ing
    
   Hop + ing = hopping
   Travel + ing = travelling
   Shop + ing = shopping
   Drop + ing = dropping
   Drip + ing = dripping

Literacy Tip Four

Unclear about the rule for adding ed to verbs? Read on…

1. To form the simple past tense, (also called the ‘perfect tense’), of a verb, you usually add ed to the end
    
   Walk + ed = walked
   Play + ed = played

   There are some interesting cases, where alternative forms are acceptable;
    
   Burn + ed = burned or burnt
   Learn + ed = learned or learnt

2. However, if the verb ends in e, you need to drop the e, before adding ed
    
   Hope + ed = hoped
   Escape + ed = escaped
   Love + ed = loved
3. If the verb ends with the pattern of a single vowel and a consonant, you have to double the final consonant, before you add ed
    
   Hop + ed = hopped
   Slap + ed = slapped
   Prod + ed = prodded
   Drip + ed = dripped
   Star + ed = starred
4. There are a large number of verbs, where the simple past tense form is irregular;
    
   Run – ran
   Sit – sat
   Fall – fell
   Sleep – slept
   Catch – caught
   Feel – felt
   Weep – wept
   Stand – stood

Literacy Tip Five

Unclear about the rule for adding an s to words ending in f or fe? Then read on

1. For most words which end in f, you need to change the final f to a v, before you add es, to make the plural
    
   Calf + s = calves
   Half + s = halves
   Loaf + s = loaves
   Scarf + s = scarves
   Self + s = selves
   Thief + s = thieves
   Wolf + s = wolves
2. For words which end in fe, you change the final fe to ve, before adding s, to make the plural
    
   Life + s = lives
   Knife + s = knives
   Wife + s = wives
3. For words which end in ff, you do not change the f to v, you simply add s
    
   sniff + s = sniffs
   puff + s = puffs
   scoff + s = scoffs

 

4. There are some exceptions, such as :
   Roof + s = roofs

Literacy Tip Six

Unclear about the rule for adding able or ible to the end of words? (You need to do this, to convert a verb into an adjective). Then read on

1. When adding able or ible to words ending in e, you usually drop the final e first
   Reverse + ible = reversible
   Value + able = valuable
    
   However, there are some words where you need to keep the final e, because this keeps the preceding g or c as a soft sound
    
   Manage + able = manageable
   Notice + able = noticeable
2. Able endings are much more common than ible endings. There is not a hard and fast rule to distinguish them, but there are some general patterns, which can help you to choose the right ending.
    
   Dropping able usually leaves a recognisable root word, whereas dropping ible usually leaves an incomplete stem

   Agreeable – able = agree
   Enjoyable – able = enjoy
   Respectable – able = respect
   Edible – ible = ed
   Horrible – ible = horr

   Another tip is this. If you can put the root word into this sentence, ‘I am able to …’ then the suffix (ending) is more likely to be able than ible.

   ‘I am able to value…’ = valuable
   ‘I am able to enjoy…’ = enjoyable

Literacy Tip Seven

Unclear about whether to use ie or ei in a word? Then read on

1. The ie pattern is more common than ei
2. Ie is the only word ending;
   die; lie; pie; tie
3. Ei is the only word beginning;
   eight; either
4. C is usually followed by ei;
   ceiling; conceit; deceit; perceive; receipt;

   However, there are exceptions;
   Ancient; glacier; science

5. The long ‘a’ sound in this class of words usually indicates ei.;
   eight; foreign; freight; neighbour; reign
   sovereign; veil; vein; weigh
6. There are some common ei words, which you have to learn as exceptions to any general rule;
   height; heir; neither; protein; their; weird

Literacy Tip Eight

Unclear about whether a word ends in cian, tion or sion? Then read on

1. The tion ending is the most common
   Attention; direction; fraction; reduction
2. When words end in cian, the word usually relates to people, often used to refer to occupations and identity.
   Dietician; electrician; magician; optician; physician; politician
3. sion is used when the base word ends in d/de or s/se
    
   collide – collision
   confuse – confusion
   corrode – corrosion
   exclude – exclusion
   explode – explosion
   extend – explosion
   transfuse – transfusion

Literacy Tip Nine

Unclear about whether a word ends in ssion, ation, usion or ution? Then read on

1. Ssion is needed when you can hear a clear, soft ‘sh’ sound in the middle of the word.
   Discussion; mission; oppression; passion; percussion; possession; profession; session
2. A long a sound is usually followed by tion
   Demonstration; education; foundation; nation; station; translation
3. Ution words are usually longer than three syllables.
   Constitution; contribution; distribution; institution; revolution.
4. Usion words tend to be shorter.
   Confusion; infusion; exclusion; transfusion

Literacy Tip Ten

Unclear about how to use the apostrophe? Then read on

The apostrophe of omission is used where two words have been contracted (stuck together). The apostrophe shows the position of the letters, which have been lost.

1. This is common when we use a combination of verbs and pronouns, (I, you, he. she, we, they)

   I am – I’m
   I will – I’ll
   You are – You’re
   She is – She’s
   We are – We’re
   They are – They’re
   We have – We’ve

2. There are other common contractions, which also use the apostrophe in this way.

   Are not – aren’t
   Cannot – can’t
   Could not – couldn’t
   Does not – doesn’t
   Were not – weren’t
   Should not – shouldn’t

3. Some contractions are unusual, as the base word actually changes too.

   Will not – won’t
   Shall not – shan’t

Literacy Tip Eleven

Unclear about how to use the apostrophe? Then read on

The apostrophe of possession is used to show ownership of one noun by another.

1. If a singular noun owns the object, you add apostrophe and s.

   The skateboard belonging to John
   John’s skateboard

   The sentence of the judge
   The judge’s sentence

   The phone number of my mother
   My mother’s phone number

2. If a plural noun owns the object, you simply put an apostrophe after the final s.

   The time of two hours
   Two hours’ time

   The car belonging to the boys
   The boys’ car

   The coats of the ladies
   The ladies’ coats

3. If the plural does not end in an s, you add apostrophe and s.

   The rights of women
   Women’s rights

   The books belonging to the children
   The children’s books

   The will of the people
   The people’s will

4. The apostrophe was introduced from French in the 16th Century. Conventions of use are changing. If you have a singular noun, which ends in s, such as in a surname, there are two acceptable forms.

   The house of Mrs. Jones
   Mrs. Jones’s house (or)
   Mrs Jones’ house

   The teaching of Jesus
   Jesus’s teaching (or)
   Jesus’ teaching.

   The novels of H. G. Wells
   H. G. Wells’s novels (or)
   H. G. Wells’ novels

   Many authorities now prefer the convention of s and apostrophe, as it avoids spluttering, when the word is read aloud.

Literacy Tip Twelve

Unclear about how to use a semi-colon? Then read on

1. Semi-colons are useful to break a sentence into chunks. This tends to be more emphatic than using a comma.

   Here is an example from ‘The Time Machine’ by H.G. Wells.
   ‘I seemed to reel; I felt a nightmare sensation of falling; and, looking round. I saw the Laboratory exactly as before.’

2. Semi-colons are interchangeable with full stops.
   ‘Bill tugged at the wooden door. The locks held tight.’

   Or ‘Bill tugged at the wooden door; the locks held tight.’
   (Note that a capital letter follows a full stop, but not a semi-colon.)

3. Semi-colons are a clever way of linking clauses, without using a conjunction (a joining word like ‘and’), which can make your style seem boring and repetitive.
   ‘Felicity fell over, because she was dizzy, because the fairground ride was so terrifyingly fast.’
   
   Or ‘Felicity fell over; she was dizzy; the fairground ride was so terrifyingly fast.’
4. Semi-colons often involve readers directly with the writing, because they have to work out the connection between clauses for themselves.

   ‘Mr Taylor had not been sleeping well recently, so he fell asleep at work.’
   
   Or ‘Mr Taylor had not been sleeping well recently; he fell asleep at work.’

Literacy Tip Thirteen

Unclear about how to distinguish words ending in cede, ceed, sede and seed? Then read on

1. The seed ending is a word in its own right. It means ‘germ or growth cell’.
   Words with this ending are products which derive from seeds. Linseed; birdseed; aniseed
2. There is only one word in the English language, which ends in sede.
   This is Supersede. This means ‘to replace’
3. There are very few words in English, which end in ceed, but they are high frequency words. This means that they are used a lot in speech and writing.
   
   A useful mnemonic to remember them is SPEED
   S is for succeed
   P is for proceed
   E is for exceed
   EED is for the ending
4. There are many words, which end in cede, but these are less common in everyday speech and writing. If the word does not meet the rules above, it is probably a cede word

Literacy Tip Fourteen

Unsure about how to open sentences with prepositions? Then read on

1. A common target that is often set for students is to, ‘develop the variety of sentences used in your writing.’ One way to do this is to begin your sentence with a preposition, relating to place.
   Look at the following pairs of sentences:
   • Kevin hesitated at the foot of the stairs.
     At the foot of the stairs, Kevin hesitated
   • Phil was arguing furiously with Jenny in the garage.
     Over in the garage, Phil was arguing furiously with Jenny
   • The rats were already gathering in the sewers.
     In the sewers, the rats were already gathering

   In each pair, the upper sentence focuses on the subject, (Kevin, Phil, the rats), whereas the lower sentence emphasizes the place where the event happened, (the foot of the stairs, the garage, the sewers).

   If you are writing a story and you need to change the scene, it makes sense to identify the scene at the beginning of the sentence, as the lower sentences do, by using a preposition relating to place

2. Here are some useful prepositions, for beginning a sentence with place,

   on; inside; within; outside; by; near; beyond; among; below; beneath; to; towards; from; into; out of; off; onto; along; down; past; throughout; round.

3. All sentences, which begin with these prepositions, need a comma, before the main clause.
   
   Inside her cell, Maureen gazed longingly at the countryside.

   Below the balcony, Romeo watched Juliet longingly.

   Round the corner of the bend, the taxi careered into the lamppost

4. Beginning some sentences in this way, adds variety and interest to the writing, helping students to meet the original target and make their work more varied and descriptive

Literacy Tip Fifteen

A helpful way to learn the spelling of those tricky, commonly misspelled words is to look for words within the words

Look at the following examples:

Environment – Ron; iron; men; me
Knowledge – know; ledge; now; edge
Miscellaneous – cell; lane; Ella
Definite – finite; in; nit
Explanation – plan; nation
Potential – potent; tent; ten
Conscience – science; con
Soldier – old; die; sold
Outrageous – out; rage; rag
Permanent – man; perm
Believe – lie; Eli