Endings

Endings

When to Drop a Final e
It's hard to remember when to drop letters and when to keep them. This lesson will nail down some simple rules to help you with those decisions.

Rule1

Drop the final e when you add an ending that begins with a vowel

• With -ing: change + -ing = changing
  
• With -able: argue + -able = arguable
  
• With -ous: virtue + -ous = virtuous (có đạo đức, tiết hạnh)
  
• With -ity: opportune + -ity = opportunity

The Exceptions

• Keep the final e after soft c or g in order to keep the soft sound.

peace + -able = peaceable
courage + -ous = courageous

• Keep the final e in other cases when you need to protect pronunciation.

shoe + -ing = shoeing (not shoing)
guarantee + -ing = guaranteeing (not guaranteing)

Rule 2

Keep the final e before endings that beging with consonants. Here are some examples of words that use this rule:

• With -ment: advertise + -ment = advertisement
  
• With -ness: appropriate + -ness = appropriateness
  
• With -less: care + -less = careless
  
• With -ful: grace + -ful = graceful

The Exception
There's one important exception to the rule about keeping the final e when you add an ending that begins with a consonant:

• Drop the final e when it occurs after the letters u or w: argue + -ment = argument; awe + -ful = awful; true + -ly = truly;