Years 3 and 4 English · Key Stage 2 · Writing – transcription (spelling)

Years 3 and 4 spelling: prefixes, suffixes and homophones

Spelling in Years 3 and 4 moves from sounding words out to understanding how they are built. Children learn how to add further prefixes and suffixes correctly, spell more homophones such as weather and whether, and learn the spellings of words that are often got wrong, such as library, February and certain. Rules, patterns and regular practice all play a part.

Prefixes, suffixes and homophones, explained

A prefix is added to the front of a word and, importantly, never changes the spelling of the root. This is why dis- plus appear is disappear, with one s and two p’s, but dis- plus satisfied is dissatisfied, with two s’s. In the same way mis- plus spell is misspell, and un- plus natural is unnatural. The double letters come from the prefix meeting the root, not from a new rule. The prefix in- also changes its form: it becomes im- before m or p (immature, impossible), il- before l (illegal) and ir- before r (irregular).

Suffixes are added to the end of words, and here the root can change. Adding -ly usually just goes on the end (sadly, completely), but a root ending in consonant plus y changes the y to i (happy becomes happily), a root ending in -le changes the -le to -ly (gentle becomes gently), and a root ending in -ic takes -ally (basic becomes basically). The suffix -ous has its own patterns: fame drops its e to make famous, vary changes its y to i to make various, and in a few words -our becomes -or, so humour becomes humorous. Children also meet -ation, as in information and preparation.

Homophones are words that sound alike but are spelt differently and mean different things. Children in Years 3 and 4 learn more of them, along with near-homophones that sound very similar, such as accept and except. Pairs on the curriculum’s list include weather and whether, whose and who’s, break and brake, peace and piece, and great and grate. Schools choose the pairs they teach, but the strategy is the same each time: link the spelling to its meaning, often through a memory trick, and always practise the words within sentences.

Finally there are words that are often misspelt. The statutory word list for Years 3 and 4 includes words such as library, February, answer, island, special, separate, recent, though and straight. Many of these have a letter you can’t hear, or a syllable people skip when they say them. Teachers show children how to find the tricky part and practise it, and the curriculum expects plenty of practice so that new spellings become secure. Short, regular bursts are easier to keep up than one long session a week.

Words your child will hear

Prefix: Letters added to the start of a word, like dis- or im-.
Suffix: Letters added to the end of a word, like -ly or -ous.
Root word: The word you start with before adding a prefix or suffix.
Homophone: A word that sounds like another but is spelt differently and means something else.
Syllable: A beat in a word. Library has three: li-bra-ry.
Silent letter: A letter you can’t hear when the word is said, like the s in island.
Tricky bit: The part of a word that is likely to be misspelt.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to:

Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (see English appendix 1)
Spell further homophones
Spell words that are often misspelt (see English appendix 1)

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example: adding -ly

Add -ly to these root words: sad, happy, gentle, complete, basic.

Sad is an easy one. The suffix -ly starts with a consonant letter, so for most words it is simply added to the root: sadly. There is no doubling of the d, because doubling only happens before a suffix that starts with a vowel letter, such as -ing or -ed.
Happy ends in consonant plus y. Change the y to i, then add -ly: happily. Writing happyly is a common slip.
Gentle ends in -le. Change the -le to -ly (in other words, swap the final e for a y): gently, not gentlely.
Complete ends in a silent e. Because -ly begins with a consonant, the e stays: completely.
Basic ends in -ic. For these words we add -ally, not just -ly: basically. (A small exception is public, which becomes publicly.)
```
sad      → sadly
happy    → happily
gentle   → gently
complete → completely
basic    → basically
```

sadly, happily, gently, completely, basically

Common mistakes and how to help

Changing the root when adding a prefix, such as dissappear or unecessary

Children mix up prefix and suffix rules, or write what they hear rather than what is built.

What helps: Split the word into prefix and root and write the two parts separately: dis + appear, un + necessary. Then join them without changing anything. Dissatisfied and misspell have double letters because the root starts with the same letter as the prefix ends.

Mixing up homophones such as whose and who’s, or weather and whether

Because the pairs sound identical, only meaning decides the spelling, and children rely on sound.

What helps: Learn each pair with a clue. Who’s means who is or who has, and the apostrophe marks the missing letters. Whose asks who something belongs to. Weather is rain, wind and sunshine. Whether is used like if (“I don’t know whether to go”) and starts with wh, like which and when. Always practise in sentences.

Applying a suffix rule that doesn’t fit, such as happyly or gentlely

Children over-apply the simplest rule: just add the ending to the root.

What helps: Look at the last letters of the root before adding -ly. Consonant plus y changes the y to i. An ending in -le changes to -ly. An ending in -ic takes -ally. A short checklist can help for a while.

Spelling often-misspelt words as they are said, such as libary, Febuary or probly

In everyday speech we skip syllables or blur letters, so the sound of the word loses part of its spelling.

What helps: Say the word in a special ‘spelling voice’ that pronounces every part: Feb-ru-ar-y, lib-rar-y, prob-ab-ly. Mark the tricky part and practise just that.

How to help at home

Short and regular. Practise two or three words at a time, for five minutes, a few days a week. Ask your child’s school for the current list so that you practise the same words.
Look, cover, write, check. Your child looks at the word, covers it, writes it from memory and checks it. If it’s wrong, they find the tricky bit and try again straight away. Repeat the next day.
Build words with parts. Write roots and prefixes on separate cards or scraps of paper, and see how many real words your child can build: dis + appear, mis + spell, im + possible. Talk about how each prefix changes the meaning.
Homophone sentences. Pick a pair, such as break and brake, and ask your child to write a sentence for each that makes the meaning clear. Illustrations help it stick.
Spelling voice. Practise saying tricky words in an exaggerated spelling voice, such as Wed-nes-day or Feb-ru-ary, and then writing them. It is silly and quick, and it works well for words with silent or skipped letters.

Builds on

Year 2: Spelling sounds and homophones
Year 2: Apostrophes and suffixes

Leads on to

Years 5 and 6: Prefixes, suffixes and silent letters
Years 5 and 6: Dictionaries and thesaurus