Unit 9 - The Spelling Rules for Adding Suffixes

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters added to a word to change its meaning. Some examples:

help + s = helps	help + ing = helping	help + ed = helped
help + er = helper	help + ful = helpful	help + less = helpless

helpful + ness = helpfulness

helpful + ly = helpfully

In all the examples above, the root word did not change when the suffix was added. This unit will teach you when we do need to change the root word.

Suffixes come in two kinds: 'vowel suffixes' and 'consonant suffixes'.
The vowel suffixes start with a vowel.
The consonant suffixes start with a consonant.
Some examples:

Vowel suffixes

ing	es	ed	er
en	est	ish	y
able	ible	al	ous

Consonant suffixes

less

ful

ness

ment

Now try these:
Each sentence has one word with a suffix. Spot the suffix and think:
'Is it a vowel suffix or a consonant suffix?'
Select consonant or vowel. Remember y on the end is a vowel.
The first one has been done for you.

Spot the suffix and think: vowel or consonant?	Select consonant or vowel
When I broke my arm it was very painful.	consonant vowel
The plane landed with a hard bump.	consonant vowel
You look a lot cleaner after your bath.	consonant vowel
I can see sadness in his face.	consonant vowel
Let's all go sailing on Saturday.	consonant vowel
These blanket is dampish.	consonant vowel
The baby is quite restless tonight.	consonant vowel
The sun shone brightly all week.	consonant vowel
Add some flour to thicken the sauce.	consonant vowel
Is the mountain road passable in the snow?	consonant vowel
The fastest man won the race.	consonant vowel
The ground is dusty from lack of rain.	consonant vowel