Regras de Ortografia do Inglês: Guia Completo
A ortografia inglesa segue padrões definidos — uma vez que você conhece as regras, as palavras difíceis tornam-se previsíveis. Este guia cobre as regras ortográficas mais importantes com exemplos claros.
48 items · 6 topics
"i before e"
Write "ie" after most consonants (not c)
""believe", "achieve", "field", "piece""
"e before i after c"
Write "ei" after the letter c
""receive", "ceiling", "deceive", "perceive""
"ei for /eɪ/ sound"
Write "ei" when the sound is "ay"
""eight", "weight", "vein", "neighbor""
"weird exceptions"
A few common words break the ie/ei rule
""weird", "seize", "either", "leisure""
"science words"
"ei" appears in many scientific terms
""protein", "caffeine", "Einstein""
"grief / brief"
"ie" gives the /iː/ sound after g, r, b
""grief", "brief", "chief", "thief""
"neither / neither"
"ei" is used in "neither" and "either"
""Neither option is correct." (common exception)"
"financier"
French loanwords sometimes use "ier" without breaking the rule
""financier", "glacier", "cavalier""
"magic e makes vowel long"
A final "e" makes the preceding vowel say its name
""hop" → "hope"; "kit" → "kite"; "cap" → "cape""
"drop e before vowel suffix"
Remove silent e before -ing, -ed, -er, -able
""make" → "making"; "love" → "lovable""
"keep e before consonant suffix"
Keep silent e before -ment, -ness, -less, -ful
""hope" → "hopeful"; "care" → "careless""
"keep e after soft c or g"
Keep e in -ce/-ge before -able/-ous to preserve soft sound
""notice" → "noticeable"; "change" → "changeable""
"dye → dyeing"
Keep e in "dye", "hoe", "toe" before -ing to avoid confusion
""dye" → "dyeing" (not "dying")"
"e after v"
English words almost never end in v; add e
""have", "give", "live", "love", "dove""
"e after u"
"ue" at the end signals the /juː/ or /uː/ sound
""blue", "true", "argue", "continue""
"judge / bridge"
Write "dge" not "dj" after a short vowel
""judge", "bridge", "badge", "hedge""
"1-1-1 doubling rule"
Double the final consonant: 1 syllable, 1 vowel, 1 consonant
""run" → "running"; "sit" → "sitting"; "big" → "bigger""
"stressed final syllable"
Double when the final syllable is stressed before a vowel suffix
""begin" → "beginning"; "prefer" → "preferred""
"no doubling for two vowels"
Do not double after two vowels
""read" → "reading" (not "readding")"
"no doubling for two consonants"
Do not double when consonant cluster already exists
""help" → "helping" (not "helpping")"
"no doubling x or w"
"x" and "w" are never doubled before a suffix
""box" → "boxing"; "flow" → "flowing""
"British -l doubling"
British English doubles final -l even in unstressed syllables
"UK: "travel" → "travelling"; US: "traveling""
"stop → stopped"
CVC words ending in -p, -t, -n, -m follow the 1-1-1 rule
""stop" → "stopped"; "plan" → "planned""
"panic → panicked"
Add -k before -ed/-ing when word ends in -c
""panic" → "panicked"; "mimic" → "mimicking""
"add -s"
Most nouns simply add -s
""cat" → "cats"; "book" → "books"; "day" → "days""
"add -es after sibilants"
Add -es after -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z
""bus" → "buses"; "box" → "boxes"; "watch" → "watches""
"consonant + y → ies"
Change y to i and add -es when a consonant precedes y
""city" → "cities"; "baby" → "babies"; "fly" → "flies""
"vowel + y → ys"
Just add -s when a vowel precedes y
""day" → "days"; "boy" → "boys"; "key" → "keys""
"f / fe → ves"
Many nouns ending in -f or -fe change to -ves
""leaf" → "leaves"; "knife" → "knives"; "wolf" → "wolves""
"o endings vary"
Some -o words add -es, others just -s
""tomato" → "tomatoes"; "photo" → "photos"; "piano" → "pianos""
"irregular plurals"
A set of common nouns have irregular plural forms
""man" → "men"; "tooth" → "teeth"; "mouse" → "mice""
"unchanged plurals"
Some nouns are the same in singular and plural
""sheep", "deer", "fish", "species", "aircraft""
"y → i before suffix"
Change y to i before most suffixes (except -ing)
""happy" → "happily", "happiness"; "carry" → "carried""
"keep y before -ing"
Always keep y before -ing to avoid double i
""try" → "trying"; "fly" → "flying"; "carry" → "carrying""
"y stays after vowel"
Do not change y when a vowel comes before it
""enjoy" → "enjoyed"; "play" → "played", "plays""
"-ify verbs"
Verbs ending in -ify follow y → i before -es, -ed, -er
""identify" → "identifies"; "clarify" → "clarified""
"final y adjective comparatives"
Change y to i for -er and -est comparatives
""easy" → "easier", "easiest"; "funny" → "funnier""
"y at word start"
Initial y is a consonant and never changes
""yellow", "yes", "year", "yet" — y stays as is"
"words ending -ey keep e"
Nouns ending -ey simply add -s for plural
""monkey" → "monkeys"; "turkey" → "turkeys"; "valley" → "valleys""
"dry → drily / dryly"
A few -y adjectives allow both y→i and y-kept adverbs
""dry" → "drily" or "dryly"; "shy" → "shily" or "shyly""
"-or vs -our"
American English drops the u in -our words
"US: "color", "honor", "flavor"; UK: "colour", "honour", "flavour""
"-ize vs -ise"
American English prefers -ize; British accepts both but -ise is common
"US: "organize", "realize"; UK: "organise", "realise""
"-er vs -re"
American reverses -re endings to -er
"US: "center", "theater", "fiber"; UK: "centre", "theatre", "fibre""
"-ense vs -ence"
Several nouns differ between -ense (US) and -ence (UK)
"US: "defense", "offense"; UK: "defence", "offence""
"-og vs -ogue"
American English shortens -ogue to -og
"US: "catalog", "dialog"; UK: "catalogue", "dialogue""
"double l in British"
British doubles -l in verbs before vowel suffixes; American does not
"UK: "travelled", "labelled"; US: "traveled", "labeled""
"-yze vs -yse"
American uses -yze; British uses -yse
"US: "analyze", "paralyze"; UK: "analyse", "paralyse""
"-ment spellings"
A handful of common nouns differ in -ment endings
"US: "judgment"; UK: "judgement" (both acceptable in US too)"
Perguntas frequentes
Qual é a regra ortográfica mais importante do inglês?
A regra "i antes de e, exceto após c" é a mais citada, mas a regra de duplicação (1-1-1: uma sílaba, uma vogal, uma consoante final → duplicar antes de sufixo vocálico) é igualmente essencial.
Quando se duplica a consoante final em inglês?
A consoante final é duplicada ao adicionar um sufixo vocálico (-ing, -ed, -er) a uma palavra de uma sílaba, com uma vogal e uma consoante final. Em palavras de várias sílabas, apenas se a última sílaba é tônica (ex: "begin" → "beginning").
Quais são as principais diferenças entre a ortografia americana e a britânica?
As diferenças principais são: -or (EUA) vs -our (Reino Unido) em palavras como "color/colour"; -ize vs -ise; -er vs -re em "center/centre"; -ense vs -ence em "defense/defence"; e -l simples vs duplo em palavras como "traveling/travelling".
Como se forma o plural de palavras terminadas em -f?
Muitos substantivos terminados em -f ou -fe mudam o f para v e acrescentam -es: "leaf" → "leaves", "knife" → "knives". No entanto, outros apenas adicionam -s: "roof" → "roofs", "belief" → "beliefs". As exceções precisam ser memorizadas.
Por que o e mudo é importante na ortografia?
O e mudo no final de uma palavra torna a vogal anterior "longa": "hop" → "hope", "kit" → "kite". Também afeta os sufixos: o e mudo é removido antes de sufixos vocálicos (-ing, -ed) mas mantido antes de sufixos consonantais (-ness, -ful, -ment).
A forma mais rápida de internalizar os padrões de ortografia é ler e ouvir inglês autêntico. O input real treina a vista e o ouvido simultaneamente.
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