Lesson 4 of 6
Speed symbols
A few letters and letter-pairs are slow to write in cursive. Forkner replaces exactly those — and nothing else — with quick symbols. This is the lesson where your writing starts to look like shorthand.
The h-dash family
Cursive h is a tall, slow letter. Forkner replaces it with a short dash written above the line. Even better, that same dash combines with c, s, and t to capture three of English's most common sounds in one flick of the pen:
he → dash + e · home → dash + om
this → th + s · then → th + n
much → m + ch · check → ch + k
wish → w + sh · ship → sh + p
Remember the Lesson 2 habit: write the word's body first, then add dashes on your way back — the same motion as crossing your t's.
The m-stroke
Cursive m is three humps — one of the slowest letters there is. Forkner flattens it into one long horizontal stroke:
make → m-stroke + k · member → m-stroke + br
The -ing curve
English hangs -ing on the end of thousands of words, and Forkner ends them all with one short curved line:
meeting → m-stroke + et + curve · going → go + curve
Capitals get new jobs: st and trans-
Since ordinary writing is all lowercase, capital letters are free for special duty:
stop → S + p · best → b + S · cost → k + S
transfer → T + fr · transport → T + prt
Past tense comes free
No special symbol needed for -ed — the golden rule already handles it. Write the sound you actually say: helped ends in a t sound (hlpt), planned ends in d (plnd).
Reading practice
Decode these before checking. Symbols are spelled out in brackets:
1. [th]s 2. [m]c[h-dash] 3. [sh]p[ing] 4. S[o-dash]p 5. [m]e[t][ing] 6. T[l][a-tick][t]
Answers: 1. this 2. much 3. shipping 4. stop 5. meeting 6. translate
Write it out
Symbols only pay off when they arrive without thinking. Work these sets by hand, and write the whole word's body before you go back for any dash — that return trip is where the speed lives.