Year 4 English: The statutory word list: ordinary to regular
Part of the Year 4 English the statutory word list and the dictionary chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
The statutory word list: ordinary to regular
This section covers the statutory words from ordinary to regular, which are the middle words in the second half of the list.
Some words have an ending that you must learn. Ordinary ends in -ary. Potatoes is a plural that ends in -oes, not -os.
Possess is a verb that means to own something. Possession is a noun, meaning something that belongs to you. Both have two s letters together.
| Word | Ending or spelling | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ordinary | -ary | an ordinary day |
| particular | -ar | very particular about details |
| potatoes | -oes, not -os | mashed potatoes |
| possession | ss, then -ion | a favourite possession |
| quarter | qu at the start | a quarter past three |
Key ideas
- Ordinary means normal and usual. It ends in -ary.
- Potatoes ends in -oes, not -os. It is the plural of potato.
- Possess means to own something. Possession means something that belongs to you.
- Pressure, possible and possess each have two s letters together.
Method. Match the meaning to the word on the list, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.one of four equal parts, or fifteen minutes of an hour
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word on the list with this meaning.quarter
- Check the tricky part. Qu is at the start, ar is in the middle, and the word ends in -er.Tricky part: qu
- Write the answer. quarter
Check. Read quarter and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. Qu is at the start, ar is in the middle, and the word ends in -er.
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.We had mashed ___ with our dinner.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. round vegetables that grow under the ground and are cookedpotatoes
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.We had mashed potatoes with our dinner.
- Write the answer. potatoes
Check. Read the whole sentence with potatoes in it. ✓
Watch out. The plural ends in -oes, not -os.
Method. Read the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word, and look at each letter. Read every letter in order.pressure
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. Two s letters, then ure at the end.ss
Check. Put ss back in the box and read pressure. ✓
Watch out. Two s letters, then ure at the end.
Watch out
Watch out: probably has two b letters, but possible has two s letters, and potatoes has -oes at the end. Learn each word by its own letters.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Write possess and possession on two cards. Ask your child to point to the double s in each, and to say which word is a verb (possess) and which is a noun (possession).
Exercise 2E Practice: ordinary to regular
Method. Match the meaning to the word on the list, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.normal and usual, not special
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word on the list with this meaning.ordinary
- Check the tricky part. The word ends in -ary.Tricky part: ary
- Write the answer. ordinary
Check. Read ordinary and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -ary.
Method. Match the meaning to the word on the list, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.one special thing, or very careful about small details
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word on the list with this meaning.particular
- Check the tricky part. The word ends in -ar, not -er.Tricky part: ar
- Write the answer. particular
Check. Read particular and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -ar, not -er.
Method. Match the meaning to the word on the list, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.strange, or unusual in a way that is hard to explain
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word on the list with this meaning.peculiar
- Check the tricky part. The word ends in -iar: an i, then a, then r.Tricky part: iar
- Write the answer. peculiar
Check. Read peculiar and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -iar: an i, then a, then r.
Method. Match the meaning to the word on the list, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.it might be, or possibly
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word on the list with this meaning.perhaps
- Check the tricky part. The h is written in the middle, after the r.Tricky part: rh
- Write the answer. perhaps
Check. Read perhaps and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The h is written in the middle, after the r.
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 new game is very ___ with children.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. liked by many peoplepopular
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The new game is very popular with children.
- Write the answer. popular
Check. Read the whole sentence with popular in it. ✓
Watch out. The word has pop in the middle, and ends in -ar.
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 runner was in first ___ at the finish line.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. the place where something is, or where someone standsposition
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The runner was in first position at the finish line.
- Write the answer. position
Check. Read the whole sentence with position in it. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -tion.
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.Ali does not ___ a bike, but he can borrow one.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. to own or to have somethingpossess
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.Ali does not possess a bike, but he can borrow one.
- Write the answer. possess
Check. Read the whole sentence with possess in it. ✓
Watch out. Two s letters come together, then e, then ss at the end.
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.My old teddy bear is my favourite ___.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. something that belongs to youpossession
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.My old teddy bear is my favourite possession.
- Write the answer. possession
Check. Read the whole sentence with possession in it. ✓
Watch out. Two s letters, then e, then ss, and -ion at the end.
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.Is it ___ to finish the puzzle today?
- Find the word that fits the meaning. able to happen or be donepossible
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.Is it possible to finish the puzzle today?
- Write the answer. possible
Check. Read the whole sentence with possible in it. ✓
Watch out. Two s letters come together, then ible at the end.
Method. Read the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word, and look at each letter. Read every letter in order.potatoes
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s) in a row.3 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The plural ends in -oes, not -os.oes
Check. Put oes back in the box and read potatoes. ✓
Watch out. The plural ends in -oes, not -os.
Method. Read the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word, and look at each letter. Read every letter in order.pressure
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. Two s letters, then ure at the end.ss
Check. Put ss back in the box and read pressure. ✓
Watch out. Two s letters, then ure at the end.
Method. Read the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word, and look at each letter. Read every letter in order.probably
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. Pro-ba-bly. There is a b, then an a, then another b in the middle.ab
Check. Put ab back in the box and read probably. ✓
Watch out. Pro-ba-bly. There is a b, then an a, then another b in the middle.
Method. Read the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word, and look at each letter. Read every letter in order.promise
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The word ends in -ise, not -iss.mi
Check. Put mi back in the box and read promise. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -ise, not -iss.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word on the list.
- Look at purpos. Compare it with the word purpose.purpos is not right
- Find the tricky part. The word ends in -ose, with an e after the s.Tricky part: ose
- Write the word correctly. purpose
Check. Read purpose and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -ose, with an e after the s.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word on the list.
- Look at quater. Compare it with the word quarter.quater is not right
- Find the tricky part. Qu is at the start, ar is in the middle, and the word ends in -er.Tricky part: qu
- Write the word correctly. quarter
Check. Read quarter and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. Qu is at the start, ar is in the middle, and the word ends in -er.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word on the list.
- Look at questien. Compare it with the word question.questien is not right
- Find the tricky part. The word ends in -tion.Tricky part: tion
- Write the word correctly. question
Check. Read question and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -tion.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word on the list.
- Look at recient. Compare it with the word recent.recient is not right
- Find the tricky part. The c makes the s sound. The word has cent in it.Tricky part: ce
- Write the word correctly. recent
Check. Read recent and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The c makes the s sound. The word has cent in it.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word on the list.
- Look at reguler. Compare it with the word regular.reguler is not right
- Find the tricky part. The word ends in -ar, not -er.Tricky part: ar
- Write the word correctly. regular
Check. Read regular and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The word ends in -ar, not -er.
Method. Look at the end of each word.
- Look at particular and popular. Both end in -ar, not -ary.particular: -ar, popular: -ar
- Look at ordinary. Ordinary ends in -ary.ordinary: -ary
- Write the answer. ordinary
Check. ordinary ends in -ary. ✓
Watch out. Learn the ending of each word.
Method. Count the b letters in probably.
- Look at probably. Say pro-ba-bly, and look at each letter.p-r-o-b-a-b-l-y
- Count the b letters. There is a b in the middle and another b after the a.two b letters
- Write the answer. No. Probably has two b letters, one after the r and one after the a.
Check. probably has two b letters. ✓
Watch out. Probably has two b letters.
Method. Use possession in a sentence that makes sense.
- Think about what a possession is. A possession is something that belongs to you.belongs to you
- Write the sentence. Check the double s and the -ion ending.My favourite possession is my blue torch.
- Write the answer. Accept any correct sentence with possession, for example: My favourite possession is my blue torch.
Check. possession has ss, then -ion. ✓
Watch out. Possession has two s letters together.
Method. Look for two s letters together in each word.
- Look at perhaps and popular. Neither word has two s letters together.perhaps, popular: no ss
- Look at possible. The two s letters come together in the middle.possible: ss
- Write the answer. possible
Check. possible has ss. ✓
Watch out. Possible has ss, then ible.
Method. Read the sentence and find the verb that means to own.
- Read the sentence. Ali does not own a bike, so he needs a word for own.does not own
- Find the word. Possess means to own something.possess
- Write the answer. possess
Check. possess has ss, then e, then ss. ✓
Watch out. Possess ends in ss.
Method. Look at the start of the word.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.quar-ter
- Find the start. The qu is at the start.qu
- Write the answer. qu. It starts with qu.
Check. quarter starts with qu. ✓
Watch out. Quarter starts with qu.