four-room houses in the development. He has six suits, 14 pairs of shoes but only one tie. Casual numbers such as in the following examples are  spelled  out:  A  thousand  times,  no!  Gay  Nineties. Wouldn’t  touch  it  with  a  ten-foot-pole.  However, numerals are used when using an exact measure as in the  following  example:  The  flag  hung  from  a  10-foot pole. Spell  out  fractions  when  used  alone  as  in  this example:  Three-quarters  of  a  mile.  For  amounts  more than one, use numerals as follows: Her shoe size is 6 1/2. Convert to decimals whenever practical. For further information, consult the latest edition of The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. a.   Clan,   clannish b.   Plan,   planned,   planning SPELLING c.   Control,   controlled d.   Refer,   referring   —   but,   reference   (because the   accent   has   shifted   away   from   the   last If you think you know how to spell well enough to get along without a dictionary, try spelling the following 10 words (chances are, you will misspell a few of them): syllable  of  the  basic  word) e.  Occur,  occurred,  occurrence innoculate or inoculate embarrass or embarass supercede or supersede larnyx or larynx interfered  or  interfered indispensable  or  indispensable laision or liaison diphtheria or diptheria harass or harrass accommodate  or  accommodate 3. When the final sound of the word is a soft  c, g If  you  selected  inoculate,  embarrass,  supersede, larynx,   interfered,   indispensable,   liaison,   diphtheria, harass and accommodate as the correct spelling, throw away your dictionary. But, if you misspelled one or more words, start using your dictionary regularly. These are only 10 examples of troublesome words in the English language.   Of   course,   there   are   thousands   more. Undoubtedly, you have your favorites when it comes to misspelling  words.  So,  compile  your  own  list  of frequently misspelled words and start eliminating them from your list. In mastering words, there are certain basic rules for spelling  that  will  help  you.  Unfortunately,  for  every spelling   rule   there   are   numerous   exceptions.   Some spelling rules have so many exceptions that they can just barely be classified as rules. The point to remember is that  your  dictionary  is  the  final  authority. The  most  useful  of  the  spelling  rules  and  some examples and exceptions are listed as follows: 1. When a one-syllable word or a longer word that keeps  the  accent  on  the  last  syllable  ends  in  a  single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant  before  adding  a  suffix  beginning  with  a vowel. Examples: 2. Words ending in a silent e generally retain this e before a suffix beginning with a consonant. When the suffix  begins  with  a  vowel,  the  silent   e  is  usually dropped. Examples: a, Excite, excitement; late, lately b. Tide, tidal; shape, shaping or  ng,  the  final  e   is   retained   before   some   suffixes beginning with vowels. Examples: a.  Peace,  peaceable b. Advantage, advantageous; courage, courageous c.  Change,  changeable,  but  changing 4.  Words  ending  in  y  preceded  by  a  consonant usually change the y to i before a suffix. Words ending in y preceded by a vowel do not change the  y before a suffix. Examples: Icy,   iciest;   mercy,   merciless;   modify, modifies, modifiable; pity, pitiable, pitiful Obey,  obeying;  joy,  joyful,  joyous 6-9