Civil Service

Word relationships form the foundation of effective written and verbal communication in civil service positions. Government employees must command spelling, grammar, and language conventions to produce accurate documents, correspondence, and reports. This section covers the rules and patterns that govern English usage in professional settings and the errors civil service exams most often test.

Correct spelling is non-negotiable in civil service work. Misspelled words in official documents undermine credibility and can cause confusion or legal complications. Spelling rules give you a systematic way to handle the thousands of words encountered in government work.

The IE/EI Rule

The traditional rule states: "I before E, except after C, or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh."

Pattern	Examples
IbeforeE	believe achieve field piece relief brief chief grief thief yield shield wield fierce pierce tier , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
	pier cashier frontier , ,
EbeforeIafterC	receive deceive perceive conceive ceiling receipt deceit conceit , , , , , , ,
EIsoundinglikeA	neighbor weigh weight freight sleigh vein reign rein feign beige veil surveillance , , , , , , , , , , ,
Exceptionstomemorize	weird seize either neither leisure forfeit counterfeit foreign sovereign protein caffeine , , , , , , , , , , ,
	codeine science species sufficient efficient ancient conscience glacier , , , , , , ,

Doubling Final Consonants

When adding a suffix that begins with a vowel to a word ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant if the word has one syllable or the accent falls on the last syllable.

Shouldthefinalconsonantdouble?

If no, do not double: ship + ment = shipment.

▼

If no, do not double: need → needed, help → helping.

▼

If yes, double: stop → stopping, refer → referred. If no, do not double: benefit

Case	Examples
One-syllable words (double)	stop → stopping , stopped; run → running , runner; sit → sitting; hop → hopping , hopped; plan →
	planning planned; ship shipping shipped; swim swimming swimmer; drop dropping , → , → , → ,
	dropped
Accentonlastsyllable(double)	begin → beginning , beginner; occur → occurring , occurred; refer → referring , referred; admit →
	admitting; permit permitting; submit submitted; control controlled; prefer preferred → → → →
Accentnotonlastsyllable(do	benefit benefiting benefited; travel traveling traveled; develop developing; offer → , → , → →
notdouble)	offering; differ differed; enter entered; listen listened → → →

Dropping Silent E

Rule	Examples
DroptheEbeforeavowelsuffix	make → making; write → writing; hope → hoping; love → loving; use → using; come → coming;
	give → giving; have → having; move → moving; prove → proving; argue → arguing
KeeptheEbeforeaconsonant	hope → hopeful , hopeless; care → careful , careless; use → useful; state → statement; manage →
suffix	management; arrange → arrangement; achieve → achievement; require → requirement; sincere →
	sincerely; complete completely; definite definitely → →
KeeptheEbeforeavowel	notice → noticeable; courage → courageous; change → changeable; manage → manageable; trace
suffix(exceptions)	→ traceable; service → serviceable; peace → peaceable; advantage → advantageous; outrage →
	outrageous; dye → dyeing; singe → singeing; mile → mileage; acre → acreage
DroptheEbeforeaconsonant	true → truly; due → duly; argue → argument; judge → judgment; acknowledge → acknowledgment
suffix(exceptions)

Changing Y to I

Rule	Examples
Consonant+Y:changeYtoI	happy → happiness , happier , happily; carry → carried , carrier; study → studied , studious; worry →
(except before -ing)	worried; busy → business , busily; easy → easier; heavy → heaviest; necessary → necessarily;
	ordinary ordinarily →
KeeptheYbeforesuffixes	carry → carrying; study → studying; worry → worrying; hurry → hurrying; try → trying; fly → flying;
beginningwithI	apply applying; supply supplying; deny denying → → →
Vowel+Y:keeptheY	play played player playful; stay stayed; employ employer employment; enjoy → , , → → , →
	enjoyment; delay → delayed; survey → surveyed; convey → conveyed; obey → obeyed; journey →
	journeyed

Adding Prefixes

Adding a prefix does not change the spelling of the root word. When the prefix ends with the same letter the root begins with, both letters stay: misspell, unnecessary, dissatisfied, unnatural, overrate, underrate, illegal, irregular, immature, immortal, disservice, misstate, misshapen, overreach, preeminent, reevaluate, cooperate, coordinate. Other examples: disappear, disappoint, disagree, underestimate.

Words Ending in CEDE, CEED, and SEDE

Commonly Misspelled Words in Civil Service Contexts