* Words ending in ll, upon taking the suffix less, either insert a hyphen (-), as in thrall-less, or drop one l, and so become exceptions to the rule; thus, bel-less, for bell-less. Words ending with e silent commonly drop the e upon taking a suffix beginning with a vowel. * The second, in each of these words, ill, dull, full, shrill, small, is left out, as is plain, to prevent the tripling of that letter in the middle of a word; otherwise they would have to be written ill-ly, dull-ly, full-ly, shrill-ly, and small-ly, as in the case of skill-less, &c. See note, page 66. *Note that in lying, tying, vying, hying, dying, (from die), after the e is dropped according to rule, the i preceding is changed into y to prevent the doubling of i in the middle of a word. The e after c and g, in all these examples, is retained in order to preserve the soft sounds of these letters. The e, in dyeing, tingeing, swingeing, singeing, springeing, serves to distinguish these words from dying (to expire), tinging, swinging, etc. RULE XI. Words ending with e silent, retain the e before a suffix beginning with a consonant. Words ending with y, preceded by a consonant, on receiving a suffix, commonly change the y into i The final y when preceded by a vowel, or when coming before a suffix beginning with the letter i, remains *Note that drier and driest follow the rule, and that duty, pity, plenty, bounty, and beauty, change y final into e; while in puritan, and charitable, as in some similar cases, the y is simply omitted. |