Page 69 - Improve_Your_Written_English [Marion_Field]
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C H ECKING Y O U R S PEL LING / 55



               brush    –     brushes
               buzz     –     buzzes
               church   –     churches
               duchess  –     duchesses
               fox      –     foxes


        Changing the form of a verb
        When a verb ends in ‘y’ and it is necessary to change the
        tense by adding other letters, the ‘y’ is changed into an ‘i’
        and ‘es’ or ‘ed’ is added.


            He will marry her tomorrow.

            He was married yesterday.

            A dog likes to bury his bone.

            A dog always buries his bone.


        Using ‘long’ vowels and ‘short’ vowels
        There is often a silent ‘e’ at the end of the word if the vowel
        is ‘long’:


            bite, date, dupe, hope, late.


        Each of  these  words consists of one syllable  (one unit of
        sound). If another syllable is added, the ‘e’ is removed:


               bite     –     biting
               date     –     dating
               hope     –     hoping
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