Unit 19: Soft g: ge, gi and gy words
Page 8 of 11
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Suffixes and the soft g sound: Important reminders: |
1. If you add a vowel suffix to a word that ends in e,
drop the e.
For example:
| bake + ing = baking | nerve + ous = nervous | excite + able = excitable |
2. If you add a consonant suffix to a word that ends in e,
keep the e.
For example:
| love + ly = lovely | shame + ful = shameful | close + ness = closeness |
If you need to review these rules, go back to Unit 9 page 10.
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There are special rules for adding suffixes to words ending in ge: |
If a word ends in ge, the e is there to make g say /j/, not /g/:
| judge | manage | edge |
The only letters that can make g soft /j /
are e, i and y.
So if you add a suffix that begins with there letters, you
can drop the e from the root word because it is not needed:
| judge + ing = judging |
| manage + er = manager |
| edge + y = edgy |
But, if the suffix begins with a or o (as well as any consonant) keep the e, otherwise the g would say /g/ not /j/. Take these examples:
| manage + able = manageable |
| large + ly = largely |
| engage + ment = engagement |
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In US spelling the letter e
is sometimes dropped before a consonant suffix. For example: judge + ment = judgment |
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