Year 4 · SPaG · Word families, prefixes and suffixes
Year 4 using suffixes worksheet and PowerPoint
To add the suffixes -ly and -ous to words and to spell them correctly.
Suffixes -ly and -ous
A suffix goes at the end of a word. -ly turns an adjective into an adverb (quick → quickly, happy → happily). -ous means full of or having (danger → dangerous, fame → famous). Sometimes the spelling changes: a final y becomes i, a final e may go.
| -ly | quick → quickly, happy → happily, gentle → gently |
|---|---|
| -ous | danger → dangerous, fame → famous, mystery → mysterious |
| spelling | y → i before a suffix; drop e in fame → famous |
Examples
- She spoke quietly.
- The dangerous road was closed.
Key words
- root word
- the main part of a word
- prefix
- letters added to the start of a word
- suffix
- letters added to the end of a word
- word family
- words that share a root
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write ten sentences, each with a word that ends in -ly or -ous. Underline the suffix.
Pupil target: I can add -ly and -ous.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the using suffixes PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 59 of 60 in the Year 4 SPaG scheme, in the block “Word families, prefixes and suffixes”.
Other lessons in this block
- Word families
- Prefixes dis-, mis- and re-
- Prefixes in-, il-, im- and ir-
- Words ending -sure, -ture and -cher
- Endings -ation, -sion, -ssion, -tion and -cian
- Root words together
This site is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Standards and Testing Agency or the Department for Education.