Unit 29 - Spelling the word endings ous
and us
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ous as in poisonous
|
us as in cactus |
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This unit examines the weak schwa sound in a final syllable: /Əs/.
Luckily, there is a clear rule which tells us whether to use ous or us (which can be applied most of the time): |
If the word is an adjective (describes the qualities of a noun), use
ous:
If the word is a noun (people, places or things), use
us:
If you are unsure about nouns and adjectives, click
here for help.
Nouns and adjectives:
1. A noun is a word used to name an object, place, person, feeling
etc.
For example:
kitten |
China |
Abdul |
hunger |
2. An adjective is a word used to describe a noun.
For example:
fabulous |
tremendous |
generous |
 |
adjective |
noun |
 |
 |
A poisonous |
fungus |
|
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Some examples:
 |
 |
ous as in venomous |
us as in octopus |
Adjectives: |
adventurous
anonymous
bigamous
boisterous
cancerous
disastrous
enormous
fabulous
famous
frivolous
generous
hazardous
intravenous
jealous
joyous
ludicrous |
luminous
marvellous
(US marvelous)
miraculous
mischievous
momentous
monstrous
mountainous
nervous
numerous
ominous
prosperous
ravenous
ridiculous
tremendous
zealous |
|
Nouns: |
circus
crocus
focus
discus
exodus
fungus
surplus
bonus
sinus
rumpus
chorus
virus
census
cactus
lotus
status
|
abacus
consensus
exodus
genius
impetus
prospectus
stimulus
syllabus
terminus
tetanus
thesaurus
uterus
apparatus
asparagus
brontosaurus
hippopotamus |
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These words are all spelled with -us but do not always follow the rules (depending on their function within a sentence: |
1) bogus (an adjective not a noun)
2) versus (a preposition not a noun)
3) minus (can be a noun but is mostly used as a preposition or an adjective) |
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-ous and -us endings.