Dropping the Final 'e'

The “Dropping the Final ’e’” rule in English spelling is a guideline used to modify the spelling of words when certain suffixes are added.

Rule#

When a word ends in a silent ’e’, the ’e’ is usually dropped before adding a suffix that begins with a vowel (e.g., -ing, -ed, -er, -able, -ous).

Examples

Adding -ing:

• love + -ing = loving
• make + -ing = making

Adding -ed:

• hope + -ed = hoped
• bake + -ed = baked

Adding -er:

• write + -er = writer
• dance + -er = dancer

Adding -able:

• advise + -able = advisable
• desire + -able = desirable

Adding -ous:

• fame + -ous = famous
• danger + -ous = dangerous

Exceptions#

Words ending in ’ee’ or ‘ye’#

When a word ends in ’ee’ or ‘ye’, the final ’e’ is not dropped.

Examples

• agree + -ing = agreeing
• dye + -ing = dyeing

Words ending in ‘ce’ or ‘ge’#

When adding suffixes like -able or -ous, the final ’e’ is retained to keep the soft sound of ‘c’ and ‘g’.

Examples

• notice + -able = noticeable
• courage + -ous = courageous

Words ending in ’le’#

If the final ’e’ is part of a consonant-le syllable, it is not dropped.

Examples

• handle + -ing = handling
• simple + -er = simpler