The Ending “an” or “en” Spelling Rule
The Ending “an” or “en” Spelling Rule
Check out the song! The Ending “an” or “en” Spelling Rule
End a word with “ance”, “ancy”, or “ant” (vacancy, arrogance) if the root before has a hard /c/ or /g/ sound or if the root ends with “ear” or “ure” (clearance, insurance). End a word with “ence”, “ency”, or “ent” if the root before has a soft /c/ or /g/ sound (magnificent, emergency), after “id” (residence), or if the root ends with “ere” (reverence).
Exceptions to the rule: assistance, different, perseverance, resistance, violence
This Old “an” or “en”
(to the tune of “This Old Man”)
If you see, “e-a-r”, or there is a “u-r-e”,
This old man, he played one, he played nick-nack on my thumb
In the root, or if you hear hard c or g,
With a nick-nack paddy-whack, give a dog a bone,
Then spell “ant”, “ance”, or “ancy”.
This old man came rolling home.
If you see, “id” like “fid”, or there is an “e-r-e”
This old man, he played two, he played nick-nack on my shoe
In the root, or if you hear soft c or g,
With a nick-nack paddy-whack, give a dog a bone,
Then spell “ent”, “ence”, or “ency”.
This old man came rolling home.
Find spelling rules with memorable raps and songs on CD, with a comprehensive whole-class diagnostic spelling assessment, enabling 4th–12th grade teachers to differentiate instruction with 35 remedial and 32 advanced spelling-vocabulary worksheets, spelling word lists/tests, Greek and Latin affixes/roots, syllable practice, and spelling-vocabulary games, and more in Mark’s book, Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary.
