One of the best-known rules that has helped countless people figure out which comes first, the "i" or the "e," is this: "i" before "e" except after "c" or when sounding like "ay" as in "neighbor" or "weigh." Some examples of "ie" words are "believe," "chief" and "friend." Some examples of "ei" words are "ceiling," "deceit" and "receive."
The English Club explains that "ible" is an ending that's used on words that came from Latin, and it says no new words are being created with "ible" endings. The "able" ending is used primarily for words that don't have Latin roots and for modern words, but it's used on some Latin words too such as "dependable." The English Club offers this rule of thumb: If you remove "able" from a word, you have a complete word left, such as "affordable." If you remove "ible" from a word, you don't have a complete word. Think of "invisible" or "terrible."
For many words, all you have to do to make them plural is to add the letter "s." "Dogs," "cats," "trees" and "kids" are some examples. However, some words require a little more work. If the word ends in "ch," "s," "sh," "x" or "z," you add "es" to make it plural. Examples include "churches," "brushes" and "faxes." If the word ends with "f" or "fe," remove the "f" or "fe" and add "ves." For example, "wife" becomes "wives." The English Club warns there are some exceptions to this rule, too, such as "beliefs" and "proofs." If a word ends with a consonant followed by a "y," remove the "y" and add "ies". "Baby" becomes "babies" under this rule.
When you need to change a verb by adding and "ing" or "ed" at the end, often you need to do nothing more than tag on the ending. The English Club says exceptions occur in three major cases. When the verb ends with a consonant+vowel+consonant and the syllable is stressed, you double the final consonant and add the ending. Think of "stopping" or "tapped." If the verb ends with a consonant+"e", remove the "e" and add the ending. Some examples are "phoning" and "raked." Finally, if the word ends in "ie" and you want to add "ing," change the "ie" to a "y" first. "Lie becomes lying." If you need to add "ed" to an "ie" word, just add the "d." For example, "lie" becomes "lied."