English spellings a-z and their exceptions

Listed below are all English spelling patterns in alphabetical order, accompanied by the words which disobey them. When words with irregular spellings almost equal or outnumber those with regular ones, all common words are listed.        

        Words marked with x2 have two pronunciations,

        e.g. tearx2 [teer/tair].

A - (bad, cat, rang) - except:

       plaid, plait, meringue, have (cf. gave).

-able /-ible – (notable, audible) - (27 –able, 17 –ible):

Abominable, adorable, amiable, arable, available, capable, comparable, constable, desirable, doable, formidable, inevitable, inflammable, irritable, liable, miserable, notable, portable, probable, reliable, remarkable, respectable, suitable, syllable, valuable, variable, vulnerable.

     Audible, compatible, edible, eligible, feasible, flexible, horrible, illegible, incredible, invisible, permissible, possible, responsible, sensible, terrible, visible, tangible.

a-e / ai - (late, lain)

     The main spelling for this sound inside words is a-e (made),

but before l and n it is more often ai (rail, rain),

or both (male/mail):

       Ail/ale,  bale/bail,  male/mail,  pale/pail,

       sale/sail,  tale/tail,  whale/wail,

       dale, female, gale, inhale, scale, stale,

assail, cocktail, detail, fail, hail, jail, nail, prevail, rail, retail, snail, trail.

        Main/mane,  pain/pane,  plain/plane,

        rain/reins(reindeer)/reign, vain/vein,

abstain, again, ascertain, attain, brain, chain, chilblain, complain, contain, detain, drain, explain, gain, grain, obtain, refrain, remain, retain, slain, sprain, stain, strain, sustain, train;

acquaint, ain’t, faint, paint, quaint, saint;

        Crane, lane, sane, membrane.

Skein;  deign, feign;  campaign;  champagne.

       There are also 55 other unpredictable spellings

                                   for the a-e/ai sound:

Made/maid,  aid,  braid,  laid,  paid, raid, afraid.

Brake/break,  stake/steak.

Aim, claim, exclaim, maim, proclaim.

Place/plaice.  Haste, paste, taste,  waste/waist;

Daisy, praise, raise, raisin. Traitor, waiter.

Ate/eight,  bate/bait,  grate/great,  straight/straits,  wait/weight.  Fête,  freight.

Faith. Halfpenny, neighbour. Able, cable, cradle, fable, gable, ladle, sabre, stable, table – (cf. label).

Air / are / ear – (hair, care, swear...)

        Fairly unpredictable:

        Air/heir,   fair/fare,   flair/flare,   hair/hare,

        pair/pare/pear,  stair/stare,

chair, hair, lair, stairs, dairy, prairie, affair, despair, éclair, repair, questionnaire.

       Bare/bear,  blare, care, dare, glare, mare, rare, scare, share, snare, spare, square, area,

aware, compare, declare, parent, prepare;

canary, hilarious, malaria, Mary, various, vegetarian, wary.

       Swear,   tear x2[tair / teer],

      Aerial, aeroplane, aerobatics.

      There/their,   ware/where/wear.

-al - (actual, admiral, animal ...) - in at least 200 words,

          but -el / -il / -ol  in 31 others:

Caramel, cockerel, colonel, cruel, diesel, drivel, duel, easel, fuel, gravel, hazel, hostel, jewel, label, novel, spaniel, towel, vowel, weasel.

Civil, devil, evil, pupil.

Capitol, carol, cholesterol, idol, parasol, petrol, pistol, symbol.

-ar - (far) - has just one exception: are.

     For speakers of standard British English,

      the following have an ar/ah sound too:

Ask, bask, blast, cask, cast, caste, clasp, contrast*, fast, flabbergast, flask, gasp, ghastly, grasp, last, mask, mast, past, rascal, task, vast, brass, class, glass, grass, pass, mass*.

   Advance, avalanche, banana, branch, chance, dance, chant, enhance, glance, lance, plant, prance, slant, soprano, stance, trance.

   After, craft, daft, draft, giraffe, graft, raft, shaft, staff.

Almond, calf, calm, half, halve, palm, gala.

   Drama, example, panorama, salami.

Bath, path, father, lather, rather.

   Bra, la, ma, pa, spa, ah, hurrah, shah, baa,

armada, fuselage, promenade, strata, vase.

   Graph, draught, laugh. Aunt. Clerk.

-ard - (coward, forward) - only one exception: shepherd.

-ary / -ery / -ory / -ry -  unpredictable:

       (37 –ary / 58 others):

Adversary, anniversary, arbitrary, aviary, boundary, burglary, commentary, contemporary, contrary, diary, dictionary, elementary, estuary, February, January, library, literary, military, monetary, necessary, ordinary, planetary, preliminary, primary, pulmonary, reactionary, revolutionary, salary, secondary, secretary, solitary, stationary, summary, temporary, veterinary, vocabulary, voluntary.

   Archery, artery, artillery, blustery, celery, cemetery, colliery, crockery, delivery, discovery, drudgery, every, gallery, jewellery, lottery, machinery, monastery, mystery, nursery, pottery, recovery, robbery, scenery, stationery, surgery.

   Category, dormitory, factory, history, inventory, ivory, laboratory, memory, observatory, satisfactory, territory, theory.

   Carpentry, chemistry, country, entry, gantry, industry, infantry, paltry, pantry, pastry, poetry, poultry, symmetry, tapestry.

   Century, injury, luxury, Mercury, mercury, treasury.

   Savoury.

Au / aw /...(autumn, awful, all, alter) - unpredictable:

     Auburn, auction, audible, August, authentic, author, authorise, automatic, autonomy, autumn, daub, gaudy, sauce, saucer, haul, maul, Paul, assault, cauldron, fault, tarpaulin, somersault, vault,

haunt, jaunt, launch, launder, staunch, taunt,

applause, cause, pause, Santa-Claus, exhaust,

astronaut, cosmonaut, nautical, taut, caution.

    Awe,

    awful, awkward, awning, bawdy, dawdle, hawk, squawk.

Bawl, brawl, crawl, drawl, scrawl, shawl, sprawl, trawl.

   All, almost, already, also, altogether, always,

ball, call, recall, fall, gall, hall, pall, small, squall, stall,