Spelling words with the suffix -ous, including -ious and -eous
I can spell words using -ious and -eous.
Spelling words with the suffix -ous, including -ious and -eous
I can spell words using -ious and -eous.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The suffix -ous often turns nouns into adjectives and often means 'full of'.
- There are four key rules when adding the suffix -ous to a root word.
- When you hear the ‘ee’ sound before -ous, the most likely spelling is an ‘i’, but it is sometimes an ‘e’.
- How to spell the curriculum words: learn, group and earth.
Keywords
Root word - the base word from which other words are formed often by adding prefixes or suffixes
Suffix - a letter or group of letters added to the end of a root word
Pronunciation - the way a word is spoken
Adjective - describes a noun
Common misconception
You can hear the 'ee' in all words ending in -ious and -eous.
You cannot hear the 'ee' in words ending -geous, like 'courageous' (the 'e' is making the 'soft g' sound) or words with 'xi' or 'ti'.
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Spelling words with the suffix -ous, including -ious and -eous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Spelling words with the suffix -ous, including -ious and -eous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 2 english lessons from the Verb and adjective suffixes unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Just add -ous.
Remove the ‘e’, add -ous.
Remove the ‘y’, add -ious.
Change ‘our’ to ‘or’, add -ous.
Exit quiz
6 Questions
joy
no obvious root word
fame