Suffixes (age 7+)

PROCEDURAL

English›Spelling & Word Study|Ages 7—9|ID: mt_tHtjfjjFrl

Spell words using productive suffixes (-ation, -ly, -ous) and less common sound-spelling correspondences (/ɪ/ as y, /ʌ/ as ou, endings sounding like /ʒə/, /tʃə/, /ʒən/, /ʃən/) introduced in the Year 3-4 programme

Mastery Evidence

Spell words with suffixes -ation (e.g., information, sensation), -ly (e.g., sadly, gently, happily), and -ous (e.g., famous, enormous, various)
Spell words with less common vowel patterns: /ɪ/ as y (e.g., myth, gym), /ʌ/ as ou (e.g., young, touch, double)
Spell words with endings /ʒə/ as -sure (e.g., measure, treasure), /tʃə/ as -ture (e.g., creature, furniture), /ʒən/ as -sion (e.g., division, television)

Assessment Prompt

“Can [child] spell words with endings like "-tion," "-ous," or "-ly" correctly — for example, "nation," "famous," or "quietly" — without needing to look them up?”

Curriculum Standards10 alignments

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_01The national curriculum in England

Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters

Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words of more than one syllable

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_02The national curriculum in England

The /ɪ/ sound spelt y

The /ɪ/ sound spelt y elsewhere than at the end of words

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_03The national curriculum in England

The /ʌ/ sound spelt ou

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_05The national curriculum in England

The suffix –ation

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_06The national curriculum in England

The suffix –ly

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_07The national curriculum in England

Words with endings sounding like /ʒə/ or /tʃə/

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_08The national curriculum in England

Endings which sound like /ʒən/

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_09The national curriculum in England

The suffix –ous

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_App1_Sp_Y34_10The national curriculum in England

Endings which sound like /ʃən/

Endings which sound like /ʃən/, spelt –tion, –sion, –ssion, –cian

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_LKS2_Write_Trans_Spell_1The national curriculum in England

Use further prefixes and suffixes

Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (English Appendix 1)

English · Key Stage 2

Prerequisites2

Suffixes
hardAges 6—7
Spelling Verb Endings
softAges 5—6

Show full prerequisite tree

Suffixes hard
Y3 suffix/sound-spelling builds directly on Y2 suffix rules with root changes
- Segmenting words into sounds hard
  Must be able to encode base words before applying suffix rules
  - Phonics Vocabulary hard
    Segmenting words into phonemes and spelling CVC words requires knowing 'phoneme', 'segment', and 'CVC' as defined terms
  - Single Letter Sounds hard
    Need GPC knowledge to encode phonemes
    - Knowing all letters hard
      Must recognise letters before learning their sounds
      - Understanding print hard
        Must understand print direction before letter identification matters
  - Onsets & Rimes hard
    Need segmenting skill for spelling
    - Rhyming words soft
      Rhyme awareness supports finer phoneme skills
    - Syllables soft
      Syllable awareness builds toward phoneme level
  - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
    Handwriting needed for spelling practice
- Phonics Vocabulary hard
  Suffix spelling rules (doubling final consonants, dropping -e) require knowing 'suffix', 'root word', 'vowel', and 'consonant'
- Spelling Verb Endings hard
  Y2 suffix rules build on Y1 basic suffix spelling
  - Segmenting words into sounds hard
    Must spell root words before adding suffixes
    - Phonics Vocabulary hard
      Segmenting words into phonemes and spelling CVC words requires knowing 'phoneme', 'segment', and 'CVC' as defined terms
    - Single Letter Sounds hard
      Need GPC knowledge to encode phonemes
      - Knowing all letters hard
        Must recognise letters before learning their sounds
        
        Understanding print hard
        Must understand print direction before letter identification matters
    - Onsets & Rimes hard
      Need segmenting skill for spelling
      - Rhyming words soft
        Rhyme awareness supports finer phoneme skills
      - Syllables soft
        Syllable awareness builds toward phoneme level
    - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
      Handwriting needed for spelling practice
  - Phonics Vocabulary hard
    Spelling with suffixes requires knowing 'suffix', 'root word', and understanding how suffixes attach
Spelling Verb Endings soft
Basic suffix spelling from Y1 provides foundation
- Segmenting words into sounds hard
  Must spell root words before adding suffixes
  - Phonics Vocabulary hard
    Segmenting words into phonemes and spelling CVC words requires knowing 'phoneme', 'segment', and 'CVC' as defined terms
  - Single Letter Sounds hard
    Need GPC knowledge to encode phonemes
    - Knowing all letters hard
      Must recognise letters before learning their sounds
      - Understanding print hard
        Must understand print direction before letter identification matters
  - Onsets & Rimes hard
    Need segmenting skill for spelling
    - Rhyming words soft
      Rhyme awareness supports finer phoneme skills
    - Syllables soft
      Syllable awareness builds toward phoneme level
  - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
    Handwriting needed for spelling practice
- Phonics Vocabulary hard
  Spelling with suffixes requires knowing 'suffix', 'root word', and understanding how suffixes attach

Unlocks4

Suffixes (age 9+)
hardAges 9—10
Spelling -able & -ible
hardAges 9—10
Converting Words into Verbs
hardAges 9—10
Spellings from Greek, French and Latin
hardAges 8—10