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You know suffixes can make a root change its spelling, like run to running. The new ones mostly just add on. Mia is a famous swimmer.
Famous ends in which suffix?
Suffixes (age 7+)
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
What a learner can do afterwards
- 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)
1 · Read
You already know a suffix is added to the end of a word. Three suffixes turn up everywhere: -ation, like in information, -ly, like in sadly, and -ous, like in famous. Spelling them means remembering the pattern, since some tricky letters can surprise you too.
Try it together
Mia is a famous swimmer. She trains happily every morning at the gym. Famous ends in -ous. Happy changes y to i before -ly to make happily. Gym uses y to make the short i sound.
Measure and division end with a soft sound like 'zhuh' or 'zhun', spelled -sure and -sion. Creature's -ture sounds like 'chuh'. These endings sound close but look different, so learn each word by sight.
Suffixes like -ation, -ly, and -ous follow patterns, and letters such as y and ou can make surprising sounds, so spell by the pattern, not just by ear.
Original readings on -ous patterns and close endings written in-repo; video entry references BBC Teach with unknown license.
2 · Watch
3 · Play
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
Then practise
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.