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Primary English · Year 3Chapter 1 · Spelling patterns
Year 3 English · Spelling patterns · Lesson 1.3

Year 3 English: Words from Greek, French and Latin

Part of the Year 3 English spelling patterns chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

1.3

Words from Greek, French and Latin

Year 3
Spell ch that says k (Greek origin), ch that says sh (French origin), Spell -gue and -que endings (French origin), Spell sc that says s (Latin origin)
Story. Mia’s class visits a café where a chef makes soup. Later, they test some plants in the science room, and the teacher hands out scissors.

Some words came into English from other languages, and they keep their spelling.

Words from Greek often have ch that says the k sound, as in echo and chorus.

Words from French often have ch that says the sh sound, as in chef and machine. They also end in -gue, which says the g sound in league, or -que, which says the k sound in unique.

Words from Latin often have sc that says the s sound, as in science and scissors.

echochefleaguescience
The shaded letters follow a Greek, French or Latin pattern.

Key ideas

  • ch can say k (Greek), as in chorus, or sh (French), as in chef.
  • League and catalogue end with gue, which says the g sound.
  • Unique and technique end with que, which says the k sound.
  • Science and scissors start with sc, which says the s sound.
Worked example 1.3.1
Write the word that means: a sound that bounces back to you from a wall.

Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.

  1. Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.
    a sound that bounces back to you from a wall
  2. Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.
    echo
  3. Check the tricky part. The ch says the k sound, as in kite. This spelling comes from Greek.
    Tricky part: ch
  4. Write the answer.
    echo

Check. Read echo and check each letter against the word. ✓

Watch out. The ch says the k sound, as in kite. This spelling comes from Greek.

Worked example 1.3.2
Write the missing word: The washing   spun round very fast.

Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.

  1. Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.
    The washing ___ spun round very fast.
  2. Find the word that fits the meaning. a device with parts that move to do a job
    machine
  3. Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.
    The washing machine spun round very fast.
  4. Write the answer.
    machine

Check. Read the whole sentence with machine in it. ✓

Watch out. The ch says the sh sound, as in shop. This spelling comes from French.

Worked example 1.3.3
Write the missing letters: anti 

Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.

  1. Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.
    antique
  2. Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s) in a row.
    3 missing letter(s)
  3. Write the missing letters. The que says the k sound, as in kite. This spelling comes from French.
    que

Check. Put que back in the box and read antique. ✓

Watch out. The que says the k sound, as in kite. This spelling comes from French.

Watch out

Watch out: the same letters can say different sounds. Chef has the sh sound, but chemist has the k sound.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Read the words aloud, then find the sound each pattern makes. Talk about where the word comes from: a chorus sings, and a chef cooks.

Exercise 1C  Practice: Greek, French and Latin spellings

1
FWrite the word for each meaning.
(a)Write the word that means: a sound that bounces back to you from a wall.
(b)Write the word that means: a cook who works in a restaurant.
(c)Write the word that means: the only one of its kind.
(d)Write the word that means: the study of how things work, using tests and experiments.
2
FWrite the missing word in each sentence.
(a)Write the missing word: The whole school joined in the   of the song.
(b)Write the missing word: The washing   spun round very fast.
(c)Write the missing word: Our team is top of the  .
(d)Write the missing word: The   from the top of the hill was lovely.
3
FWrite the missing letters.
(a)Write the missing letters:  emist
(b)Write the missing letters: techni 
(c)Write the missing letters:  issors
4
PSWrite each word correctly.
(a)Ali writes orkestra. Write it correctly.
(b)Mia writes brocher. Write it correctly.
(c)Sam writes catalog. Write it correctly.
5
RAli says the ch in chef makes the k sound, as in kite, like the ch in chemist. Is he right? Explain.
6
RWhich word does NOT have the k sound: scene, chorus or unique?
7
PSWrite one sentence with the word antique.
8
PSSort these words into three lists: Greek ch (chorus, echo), French ch (chef, machine) and Latin sc (science, descend). Write each list.
9
FWrite the missing letters: va 
10
RMia says the sc in scissors makes the k sound, as in kite. Is she right? Explain.
11
RFind the odd one out: league, vague or unique. Explain why.

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