Spelling: How to Add Vowel Suffixes to Long-Vowel Words

Knowing a few basic rules about adding vowel suffixes to long-vowel words can help you avoid common spelling mistakes.

A suffix is one or more letters added to the end of a word. A vowel suffix is a suffix that begins with a vowel, such as -able, -ed, -er, -est, -ing, and -ist.

A long-vowel word is a word that has a long-vowel sound. A vowel is long if you hear its name, the way you pronounce it in the alphabet. For example, the i in nice is long because when you say nice you hear the letter name i. Therefore, nice is a long-vowel word.

The long vowel may also come at the beginning (use) or the end (be) of a word. And variant long-vowel spellings are possible, such as long a spelled as ay (stay) and long o spelled as oa (soak).

Dropping a Silent E

Many long-vowel words end with a silent e. A silent e is an e that does not represent a pronounced sound. You nearly always have to drop a silent e before adding a vowel suffix.

Save, for example, ends with a silent e. To add a vowel suffix, you must first drop the silent e: save + -ed = saved.

Here are some more examples of long-vowel words where you must drop a silent e at the end before adding a vowel suffix:

note + -able = notable
ripe + -en = ripen
write + -er = writer
late + -est = latest
use + -ing = using
type + -ist = typist
create + -or = creator

No Silent E

When a long-vowel word does not end with a silent e, you simply add the vowel suffix to the word.

Comb, for example, does not end with a silent e. So you just add the vowel suffix to the existing word: comb + -ed = combed.

Here are some more examples of long-vowel words where there is no silent e at the end and you simply add a vowel suffix:

pay + -able = payable
sight + -ed = sighted
eat + -en = eaten
bowl + -er = bowler
kind + -est = kindest
be + -ing = being
feed + -ing = feeding

Exceptions to the Silent-E Rule

A few long-vowel words keep the silent e at the end when you add a vowel suffix.

The most common words in this category are those that end with two e's: a long e and a silent e. For example, see + -ing = seeing.

Here are some other long-vowel words that are exceptions to the silent-e rule:

agree + -able = agreeable
mile + -age = mileage
flee + -ing = fleeing
free + -ing = freeing
tee + -ing = teeing