ENGLISH(5)							File Formats Manual							ENGLISH(5)

NAME

       english - flag format for English ispell dictionaries

DESCRIPTION

       English dictionaries for ispell(1) supports 3 prefix and 14 suffix flags.  For a detailed description of how ispell handles flags and capi-
       talization, see ispell(5).  This manual page only describes flags usable in dictionaries built using the english.aff affix file.

       In the following discussion of the flags, let # and @ be "variables" that can stand for any letter.   Upper  case  letters  are	constants.
       "..."  stands  for  any	string	of zero or more letters, but note that no word may exist in the dictionary which is not at least 2 letters
       long, so, for example, "fly" may not be produced by placing the "Y" flag on "f".  Also, no flag is effective unless the word that  it  cre-
       ates is at least 4 letters long, so, for example, "wed" may not be produced by placing the "D" flag on "we".

       In the following list, an asterisk indicates that a flag participates in cross-product formation (see ispell(5)).

       The meaning of the prefix flags is as follows:

       *A
	      ... --> re...  as in cover --> recover

       *I
	      ... --> in...  as in firm --> infirm

       *U
	      ... --> un...  as in able --> unable

       The meaning of the suffix flags is as follows:

       V
	      ...e --> ...ive  as in create --> creative
	      if # .ne. e, ...# --> ...#ive  as in prevent --> preventive

       *N
	      ...e --> ...ion  as in create --> creation
	      ...y --> ...ication  as in multiply --> multiplication
	      if # .ne. e or y, ...# --> ...#en  as in fall --> fallen

       *X
	      ...e --> ...ions	as in create --> creations
	      ...y --> ...ications  as in multiply --> multiplications
	      if # .ne. e or y, ...# --> ...#ens  as in weak --> weakens

       H
	      ...y --> ...ieth	as in twenty --> twentieth
	      if # .ne. y, ...# --> ...#th  as in hundred --> hundredth

       *Y
	      ...y --> ..ily as in messy --> messily
	      if # .ne y, ...# --> ...#ly  as in quick --> quickly

       *G
	      ...e --> ...ing  as in file --> filing
	      if # .ne. e, ...# --> ...#ing  as in cross --> crossing

       *J
	      ...e --> ...ings	as in file --> filings
	      if # .ne. e, ...# --> ...#ings  as in cross --> crossings

       *D
	      ...e --> ...ed  as in create --> created
	      if @ .ne. a, e, i, o, or u, ...@y --> ...@ied  as in imply --> implied
	      if # .ne. e or y, or (# = y and @ = a, e, i, o, or u) ...@# --> ...@#ed  as in cross --> crossed or convey --> conveyed

       T
	      ...e --> ...est  as in late --> latest
	      if @ .ne. a, e, i, o, or u, ...@y --> ...@iest  as in dirty --> dirtiest
	      if # .ne. e or y, or (# = y and @ = a, e, i, o, or u) ...@# --> ...@#est	as in small --> smallest or gray --> grayest

       *R
	      ...e --> ...er  as in skate --> skater
	      if @ .ne. a, e, i, o, or u, ...@y --> ...@ier  as in multiply --> multiplier
	      if # .ne. e or y, or (# = y and @ = a, e, i, o, or u) ...@# --> ...@#er  as in build --> builder or convey --> conveyer

       *Z
	      ...e --> ...ers  as in skate --> skaters
	      if @ .ne. a, e, i, o, or u, ...@y --> ...@iers  as in multiply --> multipliers
	      if # .ne. e or y, or (# = y and @ = a, e, i, o, or u) ...@# --> ...@#ers	as in build --> builders or slay --> slayers

       *S
	      if @ .ne. a, e, i, o, or u, ...@y --> ...@ies  as in imply --> implies
	      if # .eq. c, s, or t, ...#h --> ...#hes as in lash --> lashes
	      if # .ne. c, s, or t, ...#h --> ...#hs as in cough --> coughs
	      if # .eq. s, x, or z, ...# --> ...#es  as in fix --> fixes
	      if # .ne. s, x, z, h, or y, or (# = y and @ = a, e, i, o, or u) ...@# --> ...@#s	as in bat --> bats or convey --> conveys

       P
	      if @ .ne. a, e, i, o, or u, ...@y --> ...@iness  as in cloudy --> cloudiness
	      if # .ne. y, or @ = a, e, i, o, or u, ...@# --> ...@#ness  as in late --> lateness or gray --> grayness

       *M
	      ... --> ...'s  as in dog --> dog's

       To summarize more briefly:

       Prefixes:
	      *A - re
	      *I - in
	      *U - un

       Suffixes:
	      V - ive
	      *N - ion, tion, en
	      *X - ions, ications, ens
	      H - th, ieth
	      *Y - ly, ily
	      *G - ing
	      *J - ings
	      *D - ed
	      T - est
	      *R - er
	      *Z - ers
	      *S - s, es, ies
	      *P - ness, iness
	      *M - 's

SEE ALSO

       ispell(1), ispell(5)

																	ENGLISH(5)