Spelling Pattern – Rules

Spelling Pattern

Rules for this pattern

Examples

Adding suffixes that start with a vowel letter to words with more than one syllable

If the last syllable of a word is stressed and ends with one consonant letter which has just one vowel letter before it, the final consonant letter is doubled before any ending beginning with a vowel letter is added. The consonant letter is not doubled if the syllable is unstressed.

nicest, happiest, adoring, funniest, copier, improving, sunnier, required, beginning, beginner, gardener, gardening forgetting, forgotten, committing, multiplying, preferred, limiting, limited, limitation, absorbent, admired, allowance, assistant, controlled, controller, controlling, coverage, creative, criticism, decorative, deferred deferring, disturbance, heroism, inquired, inquiring, investigator, journalism, narrative, narrator, observant, occurred, occurring, occurrence, producer, provider, relative, thunderous, traveller, vandalism, visitor, polishing

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

myth, gym, Egypt, pyramid, mystery, dynasty, mystic, symbol, synagogue, synonym, antonym, mysterious, mythical, syrup, cymbal, typical, cycle, symptom, tyre, rhythm, python, hymn, system, crystal, gymnast, gymnastics, rhyme, idyllic, cyclone, physical

The short sound /u/ spelt with the letters ou

touch, young, double, trouble, couple, country, cousin, courage, encourage, flourish, nourish, rough, tough, enough, mysterious, disastrous, famous, tremendous, fabulous, hazardous, ridiculous, southern, dangerous, enormous, generous, nervous, jealous

Prefixes (group of letters before a word)

UN, DIS and MIS all have negative meanings

RE means ‘again’ or ‘back’

IN, IL, IM and IR can mean ‘not’ and ‘in/into’

SUB means under

INTER means ‘between’ or ‘among’

SUPER means above

ANTI means against

AUTO means ‘self’ or ‘own’

UN – unsuitably, unable, unnecessary, unwell, unusual, unhappy, unofficial, untidy, unfriendly, undo, unpleasant, untie, unbelievable, unzip, unorganised, unsure, unqualified, unwrap, unlimited, unfair, unknown, unwelcome, unlikely, unnoticed, unlocked, unseen, unpick, unlucky, untrained, unlock

DIS – disappear, disappoint, disobey, distrust, disqualify, disagree, dishonest, discontinue, disapprove, disorder, dishearten, dislike, displease, disconnect, disable, disadvantage, disbelieve, disbelief, disown, disinfect, disgrace, discourage, disallow

MIS – misbehave, mistake, misunderstand, misunderstood, misfire, misbelieve, mishear, misconception, misread, misfortune, misuse, misinterpret, miscopy, misaddress, mispronounce, misadventure, misquote, miscalculate, miscount, misdirect, misinform, misjudge, misplace, misconduct, mislead, misspell, mischarge

recycle, refill, rebuild, replay, repay, reconsider, replace, rearrange, reassure, return, recapture, reuse, rebound, redo, reconstruct, rewire, reinforcement, rewind, repossess, renew, revisit, reheat, rewrite, reclaim, recount, reform, re-join, reunion, refresh, readjust, redecorate, reappear

IN – inactive, incorrect, inedible, insufficient, inconsiderate, independent

IL – illegal, illegible, illness, illogical, illiterate, illustrate

IM – immature, immortal, impossible, impatient, imperfect

IR – irregular, irrelevant, irresponsible

SUB – subdivide, subheading, submarine, submerge

INTER – interact, intercity, international, interrelated

SUPER – supermarket, superman, superstar

ANTI – antiseptic, anticlockwise, antisocial

AUTO – autobiography, autograph, automatic

The suffix -ation

The suffix –ation is added to verbs to form nouns.

information, adoration, sensation, sensational, preparation, admiration, inspiration, inspirational, variation, frustration, deprivation, improvisation, innovation, determination, accommodation, anticipation, alliteration, collaboration, complication, confrontation, desperation, exclamation, recommendation, revelation, exaggeration, temptation, manipulation, appreciation, dedication, fascination, hesitation, illustration, imagination, multiplication, vibration, organisation, separation, decoration, celebration, combination, education, examination, expectation, exploration, generation, identification, observation, obligation, occupation, operation, situation, transportation, conversation, population, preparation, punctuation, relation, reputation, creation, nation, location, station, vacation, national, nationality

The suffix –ly

The suffix –ly is added to an adjective to form an adverb. The rules already learnt still apply.

The suffix –ly starts with a consonant letter, so it is added straight on to most root words.

finally, comically, suddenly, importantly, crazily, dimly, ghastly, secondly, firstly, thoroughly, extraordinarily, ferociously, anxiously, creepily, gratefully, desirably, instantly, quickly, friendly, deadly, elderly, likely, lovely, unfriendly, ghostly, heavenly, kindly, leisurely, wobbly, lonely, atrociously, actually, carefully, generally, originally, gradually, slowly, physically, frequently, gingerly, highly, particularly, perfectly, smoothly, approximately, extremely, angrily, cautiously, cheerfully, courageously, crossly, cruelly, defiantly, doubtfully, elegantly, enthusiastically, foolishly, frantically, gently, gladly, gracefully, happily, hungrily, merrily, nervously, sadly, safely, shyly, solemnly, weakly, wildly, punctually, recently, annually, constantly, daily, hourly, monthly, occasionally, regularly, repeatedly, usually, yearly, completely, entirely, totally, mostly, easily, hopefully, shortly, sharply, carelessly, seriously, scarcely, carefully, wonderfully, swiftly, softly, currently, considerately, competently, effortlessly, competently, confidently, confidentially, comfortably, angrily, humbly, nobly, basically, dramatically

The suffixes sure and ture

The ending sounding like /zure/ is always spelt –sure.

The ending sounding like /chure/ is often spelt –ture, but check that the word is not a root word ending in (t)ch with an er ending – e.g. teacher, catcher, richer, stretcher

measure, treasure, pleasure, enclosure, leisure, assure, reassure, pressure, unsure, sure,

creature, furniture, picture, nature, adventure, feature, lecture, structure, capture, moisture, fracture, mixture, future, texture, puncture, sculpture, culture, fixture,  posture, torture, vulture, mature, departure, venture

Endings spelt sion

If the ending sounds like /zion/, it is spelt as –sion.

division, invasion, confusion, decision, collision, television, vision, excursion, exclusion, delusion, conversion, omission, possession, extension, admission, passion, occasion, confession, conclusion, impression, expression, permission, provision, session, supervision, mansion, discussion, expansion, explosion

The suffix ous

Sometimes the root word is obvious and the usual rules apply for adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters. Sometimes there is no obvious root word.

 –our is changed to –or before –ous is added.

A final ‘e’ of the root word must be kept if the /dʒ/ sound of ‘g’ is to be kept. If there is an /i:/ sound before the –ous ending, it is usually spelt as i, but a few words have e.

poisonous, dangerous, mountainous, famous, various tremendous, enormous, jealous humorous, glamorous, vigorous courageous, outrageous, serious, obvious, curious, hideous, spontaneous, courteous, infamous, vicious, ridiculous, ludicrous, raucous, boisterous, hazardous, mischievous, marvellous, miraculous, hideous, perilous, monotonous, generous, momentous, gorgeous, tremendous

Endings spelt –tion, -sion, -ssion and –cian

Strictly speaking, the suffixes are – ion and –ian. Clues about whether to put t, s, ss or c before these suffixes often come from the last letter or letters of the root word.

–tion is the most common spelling. It is used if the root word ends in t or te.

–ssion is used if the root word ends in ss or –mit.

–sion is used if the root word ends in d or se.

Exceptions: attend – attention, intend – intention. –cian is used if the root word ends in c or cs.

invention, injection, action, hesitation, completion, attention,

intention, creation, location, nation, question, station, subtraction, vacation, addition, condition, emotion, foundation, competition, registration, destination, examination, expectation, exploration, obligation, proportion, satisfaction, convention, transportation, solution, graduation, reception, recreation, resolution, portion, proportion, selection, suggestion, collection, direction, humiliation, situation, conversation, completion, decoration

expression, discussion, confession, permission, admission expansion, extension, comprehension, tension

musician, electrician, magician, politician, mathematician

Words with the k sound spelt ch

scheme, chorus, chemist, echo, character, ache, anchor, chaos, monarch, orchid, stomach, architect, chemistry, orchestra, mechanic, technical, technology, school

Words with the sh sound spelt ch

chef, chalet, machine, brochure, chute, parachute, chandelier, charade, penchant

Words ending with gue and que

fatigue, league, intrigue, plague, rogue, tongue, vague, vogue, catalogue, dialogue, monologue, colleague

antique, unique, boutique, picturesque, grotesque, plaque, cheque, queue

Words with the /s/ sound spelt sc

science, scene, discipline, fascinate, crescent, ascent, descent, scent, scenery, scented, scissors, ascend, descend, fascinate, muscle, obscene, adolescent

Words with the /eɪ/ sound spelt ei, eigh, or ey

vein, weigh, eight, neighbour, they, obey, prey, convey, survey, reins, veil, reign, neigh, weight, sleigh, freight, eighteen, reindeer, beige

Words that sound like shus ending in cious or tious ending

Not many common words end like this. If the root word ends in –ce, the /ʃ/ sound is usually spelt as c – e.g. vice – vicious, grace – gracious, space – spacious, malice – malicious.

Exception: anxious.

conscious, precious, suspicious, delicious, vicious, spacious, gracious, ferocious, malicious, tenacious, ambitious, cautious, infectious, nutritious, pretentious, fictitious, superstitious, fractious, vexatious, anxious

Endings which sound like /ʃəl/

–cial is common after a vowel letter and –tial after a consonant letter, but there are some exceptions.

Exceptions: initial, financial, commercial, provincial (the spelling of the last three is clearly related to finance, commerce and province).

social, special, official, financial, commercial, crucial, artificial, beneficial, superficial, facial, potential, essential, initial, substantial, partial, confidential, impartial, torrential, palatial, martial

rds ending in –ant, –ance/–ancy, –ent, –ence/–ency  

Use –ant and –ance/–ancy if there is a related word with a /æ/ or /eɪ/ sound in the right position; –ation endings are often a clue.

Use –ent and –ence/–ency after soft c (/s/ sound), soft g (/dʒ/ sound) and qu, or if there is a related word with a clear /ɛ/ sound in the right position.

There are many words, however, where the above guidance does not help. These words just have to be learnt.

observant, observance, (observation), expectant (expectation), hesitant, hesitancy (hesitation), tolerant, tolerance (toleration), substance (substantial)

innocent, innocence, decent, decency, frequent, frequency, confident, confidence (confidential), violent, violence

assistant, assistance, obedient, obedience, independent, independence

Words ending in –able and –ible Words ending in –ably and –ibly

The –able/–ably endings are far more common than the –ible/–ibly endings. As with –ant and –ance/–ancy, the – able ending is used if there is a related word ending in –ation.

If the –able ending is added to a word ending in –ce or –ge, the e after the c or g must be kept as those letters would otherwise have their ‘hard’ sounds (as in cap and gap) before the a of the –able ending.

 The –able ending is usually but not always used if a complete root word can be heard before it, even if there is no related word ending in –ation. The first five examples opposite are obvious; in reliable, the complete word rely is heard, but the y changes to i in accordance with the rule.

The –ible ending is common if a complete root word can’t be heard before it but it also sometimes occurs when a complete word can be heard (e.g. sensible).

adorable/adorably (adoration), applicable/applicably (application), considerable/considerably (consideration), tolerable/tolerably (toleration), probable/probably

changeable, noticeable, forcible, legible

dependable, comfortable, understandable, reasonable, enjoyable, reliable

possible/possibly, horrible/horribly, terrible/terribly, visible/visibly, incredible/incredibly, sensible/sensibly

Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words ending in –fer

The r is doubled if the –fer is still stressed when the ending is added.

The r is not doubled if the –fer is no longer stressed.

referring, referred, referral, preferring, preferred, transferring, transferred

reference, referee, preference, transference

Use of the hyphen

Hyphens can be used to join a prefix to a root word, especially if the prefix ends in a vowel letter and the root word also begins with one.

Re-enter

Co- to show it is done with someone else (Co-operate, co-ordinate)

Re- to show it is done again (re-examine, re-evaluate, re-employ)

co-ordinate, re-enter, co-operate, co-own, re-examine, re-evaluate, re-employ

Words with the /i:/ sound spelt ei after c

The ‘i before e except after c’ rule applies to words where the sound spelt by ei is /i:/.

Exceptions: protein, caffeine, seize (and either and neither if pronounced with an initial /i:/ sound).

Also good to know:

Ie after c

ei not preceded by c

deceive, conceive, receive, perceive, ceiling, receipt, deceit, conceit,

species, science, sufficient

seize, vein, weird, their, feisty, foreign

Words containing the letter-string ough

ough is one of the trickiest spellings in English – it can be used to spell a number of different sounds.

They have been split into groups based on how the ough sounds.

ought, bought, thought, thoughtful, nought, brought, fought

rough, roughest, tough, toughest, enough

cough

though, although, dough, doughy

through

thorough, borough

plough, bough

Words with ‘silent’ letters (i.e. letters whose presence cannot be predicted from the pronunciation of the word)

Unstressed letter sounds but not necessarily silent letters

knight, doorknob, knowledge, knee, knit, knobbly, knuckle, answer, bomb, comb, climb, crumb, debt, doubt, lamb, limb, numb, plumber, tomb, subtle, thumb, fasten, glisten, listen, nestle, whistle, island, solemn, thistle, knife, gnome, whale, sword, honest, kneel, rhyme, when, what, which, witch, wheat, gnaw, gnarl, gnash, knead, knock, ascend, ascent, conscience, conscious, crescent, descend, descent, muscle, scene, scent, scissors, sandwich, Christmas, design, foreign, reign, ache, chaos, character, anchor, chemist, chemical, choir, psychic, stomach, scheme, school, chorus, autumn, column, condemn, hymn, receipt, bristle, castle, hustle, jostle, moisten, often, rustle, soften, straight, Wednesday,  whistle, wrap, wreck, wrestle, wriggle, wrinkle, wrist, write, wrong, bustle, biscuit, build, built, circuit, disguise, guess, guest, guide, guilt, guilty, guitar, silhouette, know, wrapper, mortgage, swordfish, resign

Family, boundary, raspberry, listener, different, separate, desperate, factory, generally, generous, government, interesting, explanatory, environment, secretary, jewellery, poisonous, company, desperate, definitely, difference, voluntary, reference, temperature

Homophones and near-homophones (Years 3 and 4)

accept/except

affect/effect

ball/bawl

berry/bury

brake/break

fair/fare

grate/great

groan/grown

here/hear

heel/heal/he’ll

knot/not

mail/male

main/mane

meat/meet

medal/meddle

missed/mist

peace/piece

plain/plane

rain/rein/reign

scene/seen

weather/whether

whose/who’s

Homophones and other words that are often confused (Years 5 and 6)

In the pairs of words opposite, nouns end –ce and verbs end –se.

Advice and advise provide a useful clue as the word advise (verb) is pronounced with a /z/ sound – which could not be spelt c.

advice/advise

aisle/isle

aloud/allowed

affect/effect/

alter/altar

ascent/assent

bridal/bridle

cereal/serial

compliment/complement

desert/dessert

draft/draught

device/devise

descent/dissent

licence/license

practice/practise

prophecy/prophesy

farther/father

guessed/guest

heard/herd

led/lead

morning/mourning

past/passed

precede/proceed

principal/principle

profit/prophet

stationary/stationery

steal/steel

wary/weary

who’s/whose

Year 5 and 6 word list

This is a bank of words that children should know in Year 5 and 6. They are often provided as a wordbank during writing sessions and children should be confident in them.

accommodate accompany according achieve aggressive amateur ancient apparent appreciate attached available average awkward bargain bruise category cemetery committee communicate community competition conscience conscious controversy convenience correspond criticise curiosity definite desperate determined develop dictionary disastrous embarrass environment equip, equipped, equipment, especially exaggerate excellent existence explanation familiar foreign forty frequently government guarantee harass hindrance identity immediate individual interfere interrupt language leisure lightning marvellous mischievous muscle necessary neighbour nuisance occupy occur opportunity parliament persuade physical prejudice privilege profession programme pronunciation queue recognise recommend relevant restaurant rhyme rhythm sacrifice secretary shoulder signature sincere, sincerely soldier stomach sufficient suggest symbol system temperature thorough twelfth variety vegetable vehicle yacht