Rules of the letter G

The letter G (ge), has a different sound depending on the vowel that it carries behind.

Sound of the letter G

When after the g goes the vowels a, o, u it has a soft sound: GA, GO, GU.

Garganta, gabardina, gobernar, gorra, gusano, guante.

When after the g goes the vowel e, i It has a strong sound: GE, GI.

Generador, gentileza, gigante, girasol.

But if in front of these vowels e, i, it has to sound soft, you have to insert a u (that is not pronounced) between g and e or the i.

Guerrera, albergue, guiará, monaguillo.

In the previous case, if the u has to sound, a umlaut (¨)(diéresis) will be placed on theu.

Antigüedad, desagüe, vergüenza, lingüista, pingüino.


In the case of loud sounds Ge - Gi, it is when the G can be confused with sounds Je-Ji of the letter J, so it is very important to know the Orthographic Rules of the letter G.

Rules of Words that are written with G

Nº. 1

After al and the consonants n or r, it is written with Ge, Gi and not with je, ji .

álgebra, álgido, ángel, anginas, evangelio, margen, emerger, surgía enrgía.

Exceptions:

aljibe, canjear, extranjero, injertar, monje, tarjeta.

Nº. 2

The words that contain the syllable gen.

general, genial, generar.

Exceptions:

jengibre, ajenjo, berenjena, and the third person plural of the imperative mode, of the verbs whose infinitive ends in jar: trabajen, viajen, dibujen, rebajen.

Nº. 3

The words that begin or end with the prefix geo.

geografía, geología, geodesia, apogeo, geoestacionario, geólogo.

Nº. 4

The words that begin by legi, legis, gest.

legible, legión, legislar, legítimo, gesticular, gestión, gestación, gestor.

Exceptions:

lejía.

Nº. 5

Verbal forms of verbs whose infinitive ends in -ger, -gir, -gerar they are written with G when they are ge o gi.

recoges, recogí, dirigimos, corregimos, exigieron, exageraron, aligeramos.

Exceptions:

the verbal forms of tejer and crujir.

Nº. 6

The words that contain the groups -igi-, -agi-.

exigir, rígido, vigilar, agitar, frágiles, página.

Exceptions:

verbal forms, which contain -iji-, of verbs whose infinitive has not g or j: (of decir dijimos, of predecir predijiste)
Derivatives of words that are written with j (of caja cajita, of bajo bajito).

Nº. 7

The words ended in -gia, -gienico, -ginal, -ginoso, -ogico.

alergia, higiénico, marginal, oleaginoso, ecológico.

Exceptions:

bujía, herejía, lejía, paradójico.

Nº. 8

The words ended in -gio, -gion, -gional, -gionario, -gioso.

colegio, religión, regional, legionario, contagioso.

Nº. 9

The words ended in -igeno, -igero.

oxígeno, cancerígeno, refrigeró, ultraligero.

In addition to the exceptions that appear in the rules, derivatives are also exceptions.

tarjeta ⇒ tarjetero; crujir ⇒ crujiente.


Rules of G
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