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Structure word spelling rules


A The Three-Letter rule

Structure words have less than three letters; content words can be any length, from three letters upwards (but must not have less than three letters):

so:sew/sow    to:two/too    we:wee   oh:owe   by:bye/buy   no:know    an:Ann     I:eye/aye    in:inn    be:bee    or:ore/oar/awe 

B. The TH Rule

In structure words, the initial <th> spelling corresponds to //, ‘this’ and ‘they’; in content words, initial <th> corresponds to / / as in ‘thesis’ and ‘Thelma’.

the:therapy    than:thank    thou:thousand    this:thistle    thy:thigh    though:thought     that:thatch  those:thong     them:thematic

C. The Titles Rule

In titles of books, films etc, content words usually start with capital letters, structure words with lower case.

The Case of the Stuttering Bishop
The Handbook of Bilingualism  
Strangers on a Train
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second  
I Wish I could Shimmy like my Sister Kate