Kiosk Guides for Learning

Every English poet should master the rules of grammar before he attempts to bend or break them.
Robert Graves
1895 - 1985
English poet, critic

Vocabulary and spelling series

American spelling: suffixes

Words have been categorized in grammar on how they are used, or as parts of speech:
verb, noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

Words also have "roots" which convey their basic meaning. Suffixes are groups of letters (afixes!) placed after a root word to form a new word, change its part of speech, and modify its meaning. For example:

change (noun) + able (suffix) = Changeable (adjective) or the ability to be changed.
work (noun) + able (suffix) = workable (adjective) or the ability to be worked.
week (noun) + ly (suffix) = weekly (adverb), or an action or activity done by the week.
happy (adjective) + ly (suffix) = happily (adverb) an action is done in a happy state
moprh (verb) + ology (suffix) = morphology (noun), or the study of how words change

Here are some spelling rules for applying suffixes to root words:

Practice

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If a word ends with a silent "e,"
drop the "e" before adding a suffix which begins with a vowel (-ing, -able, -:
Examples: make--making, makable; time--timing, oblige--obliging.
Try spelling these:

1.

state + ing =

2.

like + able =

3.

indulge + ing =

Do not drop the "e"
when the suffix begins with a consonant:
Examples: state--statement; like--likeness; use--useful; definite--definitely
Try spelling these:

4.

base + ment =

5.

home + ward =

6.

peace + ful =


When "y" is the last letter in a word and the "y" is preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to "i" before adding any suffix except those beginning with "i"
Examples: beauty--beautiful; fry--fries; hurry--hurried; lady--ladies
Try spelling these:

7.

carry + ed =

8.

fancy + ful =

9.

pry + ed =

10.

deploy + s =

11.

 tray + s =

12.

 bey + s =

13.

bid + ing =

14.

stop + ed =

Adding suffixes to words ending -ce and -ge
Keep the silent e before -able and -ous
Examples; enforceable, serviceable, courageous, outrageous

15.

love + able =

16.

notice  + able =

17.

quantify + able

Vocabulary and spelling guides

Transitional words & phrases | More transitions | Transitional word game | 
Essay terms and directives | Modifiers & commas | Plurals |
Spelling rules & exercises | Common misspelled words |
There - They're - Their | Too - Two - To | "Y" with suffixes |
Prefixes and root words | Suffixes and silent "e" |
Mapping vocabulary | Picturing vocabulary | American alphabet recited