Year 6 English: The ending -cial after a vowel letter
Part of the Year 6 English spelling -cious, -tious, -cial and -tial chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
The ending -cial after a vowel letter
Some words end in -cial (spelt c, i, a, l). The -cial ending comes after a vowel letter, such as the e in special, or the i in official.
To check, look at the letter just before the ending. If it is a vowel letter (a, e, i, o or u), the ending is -cial.
Vowel letter before -cial
| Word | Letter before -cial | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| special | e | better or different from the usual |
| official | i | approved by the people in charge |
| artificial | i | made by people, not natural |
| facial | a | of or on the face |
| crucial | u | very important |
| beneficial | i | helpful or useful |
Key ideas
- The ending -cial comes after a vowel letter: a, e, i, o or u.
- Look at the letter before the ending, not at the sound.
- Write c, i, a, l at the end of the word.
Method. Look at the letter before the ending.
- Find the letter before the ending. The letter before the ending is i, which is a vowel.offi
- Apply the rule. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial.offi + cial
- Write the word. Official means approved by the people in charge.official
- Write the answer. official
Check. The letter before -cial is a vowel. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then check the letter before the ending.
- Think about the meaning. Very important is the meaning.very important
- Check the letter before the ending. The letter before -cial is u, a vowel.cru + cial
- Write the word. Crucial means very important.crucial
- Write the answer. crucial
Check. crucial ends in -cial after the vowel u. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then check the letter before the ending.
- Use the meaning. Of or on the face is the meaning.of or on the face
- Check the letter before the ending. The letter before -cial is a, a vowel.fac + ial
- Write the answer. Facial follows the vowel rule.facial
- Write the answer. facial
Check. facial has the vowel a before -cial. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: social ends in -cial, and the letter before the ending is o, a vowel. It follows the rule, so it is spelt social and not sotial.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to cover the word and write the letter that comes just before -cial. If it is a, e, i, o or u, the ending is -cial.
Exercise 1C Practice: -cial after a vowel letter
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: better or different from the usual.better or different from the usual
- Check the ending. special has the letter e before -cial. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial.special
- Write the answer. special
Check. special has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: approved by the people in charge.approved by the people in charge
- Check the ending. official has the letter i before -cial. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial.official
- Write the answer. official
Check. official has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: made by people, not natural.made by people, not natural
- Check the ending. artificial has the letter i before -cial. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial.artificial
- Write the answer. artificial
Check. artificial has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: of or on the face.of or on the face
- Check the ending. facial has the letter a before -cial. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial.facial
- Write the answer. facial
Check. facial has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: very important.very important
- Check the ending. crucial has the letter u before -cial. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial.crucial
- Write the answer. crucial
Check. crucial has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. The meaning is: helpful or useful.helpful or useful
- Check the ending. beneficial has the letter i before -cial. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial.beneficial
- Write the answer. beneficial
Check. beneficial has the meaning given. ✓
Watch out. Say the word, then check the letters that come before the ending.
Method. Look at the letter before the ending.
- Find the letter before the ending. The letter before the ending is i.official
- Apply the rule. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial. A consonant letter before the ending gives -tial.-cial
- Write the answer. -cial
Check. official ends in -cial. ✓
Watch out. Decide from the letter before the ending, not from how the word sounds.
Method. Look at the letter before the ending.
- Find the letter before the ending. The letter before the ending is u.crucial
- Apply the rule. A vowel letter before the ending gives -cial. A consonant letter before the ending gives -tial.-cial
- Write the answer. -cial
Check. crucial ends in -cial. ✓
Watch out. Decide from the letter before the ending, not from how the word sounds.
Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.
- Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
- Test the choice. The letter before -cial is i, a vowel, so the ending is -cial: artificial.artificial fits
- Reject the other choices. artifitial has the wrong ending for this word.artifitial do not fit
- Write the answer. artificial
Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓
Watch out. Look at the root word, or at the letter before the ending.
Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.
- Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
- Test the choice. Beneficial has the vowel i before -cial, so the spelling keeps the e: beneficial.beneficial fits
- Reject the other choices. benificial has the wrong ending for this word.benificial do not fit
- Write the answer. beneficial
Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓
Watch out. Look at the root word, or at the letter before the ending.
Method. Name the letter before the ending.
- Find the letter before the ending. The letter before -cial is i.i
- Apply the rule. A vowel letter before -cial means the ending is -cial.official
- Write the answer. The letter before -cial is i, which is a vowel, so the ending is -cial.
Check. The vowel rule gives -cial. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then check the vowel before the ending.
- Use the meaning. Of or on the face means facial.of or on the face
- Check the letter before -cial. The letter before -cial is a, a vowel.fac + ial
- Write the answer. facial
Check. facial follows the vowel rule. ✓
Method. Think about the meaning, then check the ending.
- Think about the meaning. Made by people, not natural, is artificial.made by people
- Check the ending. The letter before -cial is i, a vowel.artific + ial
- Write the answer. artificial
Check. artificial follows the vowel rule. ✓
Method. Look at the letters just before -cial.
- Find the ending. The ending is -cial, which is c, i, a, l.-cial
- Find the letter before it. The letter before c is e, a vowel.sp e cial
- Write the answer. e
Check. special: the letter before -cial is e. ✓
Method. Look at the letters just before -cial.
- Find the letter before -cial. Beneficial ends in -cial, and the letter before it is i.benefi cial
- Check it is a vowel. I is a vowel, so the ending is -cial.i
- Write the answer. i
Check. beneficial: the letter before -cial is i. ✓
Method. Use the word in a sentence about a day.
- Choose a subject. The day is the subject of the sentence.Our special day
- Finish the sentence. Add a verb and an end to the sentence.was the best of the summer
- Write the answer. Our special day at the seaside was the best of the summer.
Check. The sentence spells special correctly. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then check the ending.
- Use the meaning. Helpful or useful is beneficial.helpful or useful
- Check the ending. The letter before -cial is i, a vowel.benefi + cial
- Write the answer. beneficial
Check. beneficial follows the vowel rule. ✓
Method. Use the rule for the vowel letter.
- Find the word that is wrong. Officail uses -ail, not -cial.officail
- Write the correct spelling. The letter before -cial is i, so the ending is -cial.official
- Write the answer. The official result, because the letter before -cial is i, a vowel.
Check. official is spelt with -cial. ✓
Method. Say which letter you check, and what each kind of letter gives.
- Find the letter before the ending. Look at the letter just before -cial or -tial.the letter before
- Apply the rule. A vowel gives -cial, and a consonant gives -tial.vowel gives -cial
- Write the answer. Look at the letter before the ending: a vowel letter gives -cial
Check. The rule uses the letter before the ending. ✓