CHAPTER 16

Soft and Hard g

Many writers lump the c and g together when explaining hard and soft sounds. Although they are similar

in many ways, however, the g is more complex than the c and should be studied separately.

(^) The ancient Celts did not have the letter k, so the name of their tribe should be pronounced kelt. It is
sometimes spelled that way when it is used as a noun. The adjective celtic should be pronounced keltic
following the pattern of the noun. The exception is Boston’s basketball team.
Spelling rule #1: The g is soft before y and sounds like j:
(^) Gynecology is the only exception. In North America, the initial g is hard. The second g follows the
rules.
Spelling rule #2: When adding a suffix that starts with a, o, or u, or a consonant, to a word that ends
in ge, we must retain the silent e. Otherwise, the g becomes hard.
(^) When adding a suffix that begins with e, i, or y to a word that ends in ge, we drop the silent e because it
is not needed:
(^) English being the interesting language that it is, there are, of course, anomalies like singeing.
An interesting anomaly is the word mortgage. The variations, mortgagee and mortgaged, follow the
spelling rules, but mortgagor breaks the rule by not retaining the softening e. It is nevertheless
pronounced with the final soft g.
Spelling rule #3: The g is hard before a, o, u or a consonant:
(^) The g is always hard when it is the final letter in a word:
(^) The ng combination is often a problem. The hard g is pronounced softly but clearly. In words like sing,
singing, playing, etc., it is pronounced so softly that it is barely audible.
(^) While the hard and soft rule is quite clear and logical, and it is valid for the vast majority of words,
English being the wonderfully complex language it is gives us exceptions. These are discussed in the
following paragraphs.
Spelling rule #4: Sometimes the g is hard before the letters e and i.
HARD GE WORDS:
(^) HARD GI WORDS: