Year 4 English: Words ending in -gue and -que, and sc in Latin words
Part of the Year 4 English spelling patterns in depth chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Words ending in -gue and -que, and sc in Latin words
Some words end in gue, which makes the g sound, as in go: plague, fatigue, dialogue.
Some words end in que, which makes the k sound, as in kite: cheque, mosque, opaque, boutique.
In some Latin words, sc makes the s sound, as in sun: scenery, scent, ascend, fascinate, crescent. In scale, the sc makes the sk sound instead.
| Pattern | Example words | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| -gue at the end | plague, fatigue, dialogue | the g sound, as in go |
| -que at the end | cheque, mosque, opaque, boutique | the k sound, as in kite |
| sc at the start or in the middle | scenery, scent, ascend, fascinate | the s sound, as in sun |
Key ideas
- A word ending in gue makes the g sound, as in plague and fatigue.
- A word ending in que makes the k sound, as in cheque and mosque.
- Sc in many Latin words makes the s sound, as in scenery and fascinate.
- Sc does not always make the s sound. In scale it makes the sk sound.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.a small shop that sells fashionable clothes
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.boutique
- Check the tricky part. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. This word came into English from French.Tricky part: que
- Write the answer. boutique
Check. Read boutique and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. This word came into English from French.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.The rose gave off a sweet ___.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. a pleasant smellscent
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The rose gave off a sweet scent.
- Write the answer. scent
Check. Read the whole sentence with scent in it. ✓
Watch out. The sc makes the s sound, as in sun.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.crescent
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The sc in the middle makes the s sound, as in sun.sc
Check. Put sc back in the box and read crescent. ✓
Watch out. The sc in the middle makes the s sound, as in sun.
Watch out
Watch out: a cheque is a paper for paying money. It is not a check, which is a different word. UK English keeps the que at the end of cheque.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Read the endings aloud: plague, cheque. Ask your child which ending makes the g sound and which makes the k sound. Then ask which word starts with the sc that makes the s sound.
Exercise 1D Practice: -gue, -que and sc
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.the view of land, such as hills, trees and rivers
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.scenery
- Check the tricky part. The sc makes the s sound, as in sun. The c is not said on its own.Tricky part: sc
- Write the answer. scenery
Check. Read scenery and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The sc makes the s sound, as in sun. The c is not said on its own.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.to go up, or to climb
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.ascend
- Check the tricky part. The sc in the middle makes the s sound, as in sun.Tricky part: sc
- Write the answer. ascend
Check. Read ascend and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The sc in the middle makes the s sound, as in sun.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.to interest someone so much that they cannot stop looking or listening
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.fascinate
- Check the tricky part. The sc in the middle makes the s sound, as in sun.Tricky part: sc
- Write the answer. fascinate
Check. Read fascinate and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The sc in the middle makes the s sound, as in sun.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.In the old story, a terrible ___ spread across the land.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. an illness that spreads quickly to a lot of peopleplague
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.In the old story, a terrible plague spread across the land.
- Write the answer. plague
Check. Read the whole sentence with plague in it. ✓
Watch out. The gue makes the g sound, as in go.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.After the long walk, we felt ___ and sat down.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. a feeling of being very tired after hard workfatigue
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.After the long walk, we felt fatigue and sat down.
- Write the answer. fatigue
Check. Read the whole sentence with fatigue in it. ✓
Watch out. The gue makes the g sound, as in go.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.The ___ between the two friends made the story funny.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. the words spoken between characters in a book or playdialogue
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The dialogue between the two friends made the story funny.
- Write the answer. dialogue
Check. Read the whole sentence with dialogue in it. ✓
Watch out. The gue makes the g sound, as in go. UK English spells it dialogue, not dialog.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.cheque
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s) in a row.3 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. A cheque is not the same as a check.que
Check. Put que back in the box and read cheque. ✓
Watch out. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. A cheque is not the same as a check.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.mosque
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s) in a row.3 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The que makes the k sound, as in kite.que
Check. Put que back in the box and read mosque. ✓
Watch out. The que makes the k sound, as in kite.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.opaque
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s) in a row.3 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The que makes the k sound, as in kite.que
Check. Put que back in the box and read opaque. ✓
Watch out. The que makes the k sound, as in kite.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at dialog. Compare it with the word dialogue.dialog is not right
- Find the tricky part. The gue makes the g sound, as in go. UK English spells it dialogue, not dialog.Tricky part: gue
- Write the word correctly. dialogue
Check. Read dialogue and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The gue makes the g sound, as in go. UK English spells it dialogue, not dialog.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at check. Compare it with the word cheque.check is not right
- Find the tricky part. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. A cheque is not the same as a check.Tricky part: que
- Write the word correctly. cheque
Check. Read cheque and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. A cheque is not the same as a check.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at bootick. Compare it with the word boutique.bootick is not right
- Find the tricky part. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. This word came into English from French.Tricky part: que
- Write the word correctly. boutique
Check. Read boutique and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The que makes the k sound, as in kite. This word came into English from French.
Method. Look at the last three letters of each word.
- Find the gue words. plague and fatigue end in gue.plague, fatigue
- Find the que words. opaque and boutique end in que.opaque, boutique
- Write the answer. gue: plague, fatigue. que: opaque, boutique.
Check. Each word is in the right list. ✓
Watch out. Sort by the letters at the end.
Method. Say each word and find its ending sound.
- Look at cheque and mosque. Both end with que, which makes the k sound.cheque, mosque
- Look at plague. It ends with gue, which makes the g sound.plague: g sound
- Write the answer. plague
Check. plague ends with the g sound. ✓
Watch out. Check the ending, not only the start of the word.
Method. Compare scale with the words in this section.
- Look at scale. The sc is at the start of the word.scale
- Compare with scent. In scent the sc makes the s sound. In scale it makes the sk sound.sk sound, as in sky
- Write the answer. No. In scale the sc makes the sk sound, as in sky.
Check. Not every sc makes the s sound. ✓
Watch out. Learn each word with its sound.
Method. Compare the ending of each word.
- Look at cheque. It ends with que.cheque: que
- Look at unique. It also ends with que, so the endings match.unique: que
- Write the answer. Yes. Both end with que, which makes the k sound, as in kite.
Check. Both end with que. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling of each ending.
Method. Use fascinate in a sentence that makes sense.
- Think of something that interests a lot of people. To fascinate someone is to interest them very much.to interest very much
- Write the sentence. Check the sc in the middle of the word.The story about space would fascinate my brother.
- Write the answer. Accept any correct sentence with fascinate, for example: The story about space would fascinate my brother.
Check. fascinate has sc in the middle. ✓
Watch out. The sc is in the middle, after the a.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.dialogue
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s) in a row.3 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The gue makes the g sound, as in go. UK English spells it dialogue, not dialog.gue
Check. Put gue back in the box and read dialogue. ✓
Watch out. The gue makes the g sound, as in go. UK English spells it dialogue, not dialog.