1. SPELLING RULES

2. Spelling Rule #1
If the word ends in a y, change the y to i before adding the ending es or ness
try
try
tri
tries

3. Know these OTHER words that follow this pattern
family
families
happy
happiness
relies
rely

4. Spelling Rule #2
i before e (belief, friend)
except after c (receive, deceit)
or when sounded as A
as in neighbor and weigh

5. COMMON EXCEPTIONS to i before e neither leisure seizure
And WEIRD is a little weird!

6. These rules help, but no rule works 100% of the time.
Use the rules to make an educated guess when you cannot look something up.