Silent E

Who can turn a can into a cane?
Who can turn a pan into a pane?
It's not too hard to see
It's Silent E

Who can turn a cub into a cube?
Who can turn a tub into a tube?
It's elementary
For Silent E

He took a pin and turned it into pine
He took a twin and turned him into twine

Who can turn a cap into a cape?
Who can turn a tap into a tape?
A little glob becomes a globe instantly
If you just add Silent E

He turned a dam - Alikazam! - into a dame
But my friend Sam stayed just the same

Who can turn a man into a mane?
Who can turn a van into a vane?
A little hug becomes huge instantly
Don't add W, don't add X, and don't add Y or Z,
Just add Silent E

SILENT E SPELLING RULE

Introduction

When do we drop silent "e"?
We want to add a suffix.
Can you tell me, what's the rule?
This is what we learn in school.

If you see (snap) "e-r",
(snap) "e-s-t",
(snap) "e-d", "i-n-g",

But leave "e" to add "ly"
It's so easy when you try.

LEARN THE RULE


come + ing

"Does the root word (come) end in silent 'e'?" (yes)
"Does the suffix begin with a vowel? (yes, i)
If it does, then take off the silent e and add the suffix.

come + ing = coming


like + ed

"Does the root word (like) end in silent 'e'?" (yes)
"Does the suffix begin with a vowel? (yes, e)
If it does, then take off the silent e and add the suffix.

like + ed = liked
like + ing = liking

wise + ly

"Does the root word (wise) end in silent 'e'? "(yes)
"Does the suffix begin with a vowel? (NO! it begins with l) Do not change the root word, just add the suffix.

wise + ly = wisely


PRACTICE THE SILENT E RULE

Find the correct spelling.

smile smilling smiling smileing
shine shining shineing shinning
wise wiseest wissest wisest
use usless useless useles
cure curd cured curred
come comeing comming coming
race raced racet racced
brave bravist bravvest bravest
name nameless namless nameles
peace peacful peaceful peacfull
skate skatting skateing skating
erase erasser erasir eraser
hope hopeful hopful hoppful
bake bakked baked baket
quote quoteed quotted quoted
blame blamed blamd blammed
rare rarely rarly rarrely
cute cutr cutter cuter
twinkle twinkleing twinkling twinklling
lone lonesome lonsome lonesum

Restrictive & Nonrestrictive Clauses

Restrictive Clause--That
A restrictive clause is just part of a sentence that you can't get rid of because it specifically restricts some other part of the sentence. Here's an example:

* Gems that sparkle often elicit forgiveness.

The words that sparkle restrict the kind of gems you're talking about. Without them, the meaning of the sentence would change. Without them, you'd be saying that all gems elicit forgiveness, not just the gems that sparkle. (And note that you don't need commas around the words that sparkle.)


Nonrestrictive Clause--Which
A nonrestrictive clause is something that can be left off without changing the meaning of the sentence. You can think of a nonrestrictive clause as simply additional information. Here's an example:

* Diamonds, which are expensive, often elicit forgiveness.

Alas, in Grammar Girl's world, diamonds are always expensive, so leaving out the words which are expensive doesn't change the meaning of the sentence. (Also note that the phrase is surrounded by commas. Nonrestrictive clauses are usually surrounded by, or preceded by, commas.) Here's another example:

* There was an earthquake in China, which is bad news.

Expendable--Which
If you leave off the clause that says which is bad news, it doesn't change the meaning of the rest of the sentence.
A quick and dirty tip (with apologies to Wiccans and Hermione Granger) is to remember that you can throw out the “whiches” and no harm will be done. You use which in nonrestrictive clauses, and if you eliminate a nonrestrictive clause, the meaning of the remaining part of the sentence will be the same as it was before.
Needed--That
On the other hand, if it would change the meaning to throw out the clause, you need a that. Do all cars use hybrid technology? No. So you would say,

"Cars that have hybrid technology get great gas mileage."

Is every leaf green? No. So you would say,
"Leaves that are green contain chlorophyll.
It would change the meaning to throw out the clause in those examples, so you need a that. (Also note that the that clause isn't surrounded by commas. Restrictive clauses usually aren't set off by commas.)

Remembering to use that with restrictive clauses and which with nonrestrictive clauses is the best method, but the quick and dirty tip of using which when you could throw out the clause will also get you to the right answer most of the time.