KS2 English textbook

Chapter 2: Prefixes and suffixes

Strand Spelling and grammar
Level Year 3
Practice 96 questions with step-by-step solutions

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 2 English, Year 3. Content: Read and understand new words by their root word, prefix and suffix, Add the prefixes un-, dis-, mis-, re-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, sub-, inter-, super-, anti- and auto-, Add the suffixes -ly, -ous, -ation, -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian, -sure, -ture, -ful, -ness, -less and -ment, Add endings to words, including the doubling rule, such as forgetting and preferred, Build word families from a common root word, such as solve, solution and insoluble, Spell the second half of the statutory Year 3 and 4 word list, from interest to woman.

Open Year 3 chapter

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

Say what a prefix and a suffix are, and how each one changes the meaning of a word
Spell words with the prefixes un-, dis-, mis- and re-, and the negative prefixes in-, im-, il- and ir-
Spell words with sub-, inter-, super-, anti- and auto-
Spell words with the endings -ly, -ous, -ful, -ness, -less and -ment
Spell words with the endings -ation, -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian, -sure and -ture
Add endings to words, and double the last letter when the rule says so
Spell 49 statutory words from interest to woman, such as knowledge, length and special

You should already know

Common prefixes and suffixes such as un- and -ful (Year 2)
Adding -ing, -ed and -er to words, and changing y to i (Year 2)

Where this leads

Word classes, including adjectives and adverbs (Chapter 3)
Proof-reading for spelling mistakes (Chapter 11)

Lessons in this chapter

Read the whole chapter on one page (good for printing).

Practise with real exam questions

The DfE publishes every past KS2 test, with mark schemes, for free.

KS2 English past papers