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Primary English · Year 3Chapter 2 · Prefixes and suffixes
Year 3 English · Prefixes and suffixes · Lesson 2.6

Year 3 English: Adding endings, the doubling rule and word families

Part of the Year 3 English prefixes and suffixes chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

2.6

Adding endings, the doubling rule and word families

Year 3
Add the endings -ful, -ness, -less and -ment to root words, Double the last letter before an ending when the rule says so, Recognise word families built from a common root word, such as solve
Story. Mum is busy in the kitchen, and the children help. Ben is always forgetting the timer, but Sam is careful. They are beginning to bake a cake, and the room is full of excitement.

Some suffixes are added to many words. -ful means full of, as in helpful. -ness names a feeling or a state, as in kindness. -less means without, as in careless. -ment names an action or a result, as in payment.

When a short word has one vowel and one consonant at the end, and the stress is on the end, we double the last letter before an ending that starts with a vowel: forget becomes forgetting. If the stress is at the start, we do not double it: visit becomes visiting.

A word family is a group of words built from one root word. Solve is the root of solution, solver, dissolve and insoluble.

helpfulkindnesscarelesspayment
The shaded letters are the ending.

Key ideas

  • The ending -ful has one l, as in helpful.
  • Happy changes its y to i before -ness: happiness.
  • Forgetting doubles the t, because the stress is on the end of forget.
  • Solve, solution and insoluble are a word family.
Worked example 2.6.1
Write the word that means: ready to help others.

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

  1. Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.
    ready to help others
  2. Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.
    helpful
  3. Check the spelling. The -ful ending has one l, even though full has two.
    Tricky part: ful
  4. Write the answer.
    helpful

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

Watch out. The -ful ending has one l, even though full has two.

Worked example 2.6.2
Write the missing word: Ali   the blue pencil to the red one.

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.
    Ali ___ the blue pencil to the red one.
  2. Find the word that fits the meaning. liked one thing more than another
    preferred
  3. Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.
    Ali preferred the blue pencil to the red one.
  4. Write the answer.
    preferred

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

Watch out. Prefer is stressed on the end, so double the r before ed.

Worked example 2.6.3
Write the missing letters: sad 

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

  1. Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.
    sadness
  2. Look at the empty box. The box stands for 4 letter(s) in a row.
    4 missing letter(s)
  3. Write the missing letters. Sad plus ness has two s letters: sadness.
    ness

Check. Put ness back in the box and read sadness. ✓

Watch out. Sad plus ness has two s letters: sadness.

Watch out

Watch out: helpfull is wrong. The ending -ful has one l, even though full has two. Visiting, not visitting: the stress is on the start of visit.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask your child to say the word and find the stress, which part is said loudest. If the stress is on the end, double the last letter. If it is on the start, do not double it.

Exercise 2F  Practice: endings, doubling and word families

1
FWrite the word that means each clue.
(a)Write the word that means: ready to help others.
(b)Write the word that means: being kind and caring to others.
(c)Write the word that means: with no hope; not able to do well.
(d)Write the word that means: money given to pay for something.
2
FWrite the missing word in each sentence.
(a)Write the missing word: The   puppy chased the ball.
(b)Write the missing word: The children smiled with   at the party.
(c)Write the missing word: The children showed great   on the ride.
(d)Write the missing word: There was great   before the big race.
3
FWrite the missing letters.
(a)Write the missing letters: sad 
(b)Write the missing letters: care 
(c)Write the missing letters: beaut 
4
PSWrite each word correctly.
(a)Ali writes admited. Write it correctly.
(b)Mia writes limitting. Write it correctly.
(c)Sam writes prefered. Write it correctly.
(d)Ben writes visitting. Write it correctly.
5
RAli says that beginning and gardening both double the last letter before ing. Is he right? Explain.
6
RWhich word means the answer to a problem: solution, solver or dissolve?
7
PSWrite one sentence with insoluble, and one with dissolve. Check each spelling.
8
PSSort these words by their ending: helpful, sadness, careless, payment, kindness, hopeless, excitement, playful. Make four lists: -ful, -ness, -less and -ment.
9
FWrite the missing word: We are always   our reading books.
10
RMia says that solution, solver and dissolve all come from the same root word. Is she right? Explain.

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