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Class 5 English — Suffixes and word building

Build a new word by adding a suffix, and get the spelling right when the base word changes.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Add -ed to "stop". Which spelling is right?

    • a) stopeed
    • b) stoped
    • c) stoppd
    • d) stopped

  2. 2.Match each base word to the word built from it.

    • teach
    • kind
    • enjoy
    • care
    • use
    • quick
    • enjoyment
    • careful
    • kindness
    • teacher
    • quickly
    • useless

  3. 3.Which beginning turns "happy" into its opposite?

    • a) re-
    • b) mis-
    • c) un-
    • d) pre-

  4. 4.Put these steps in order to add -ed to the word "carry".

    • Check the letter just before that y: it is r, a consonant.
    • Now add -ed on the end to make "carried".
    • Look at the last letter of "carry": it is y.
    • So change the y into i, which leaves "carri".

  5. 5.Which ending turns "dark" into a word meaning the state of being dark?

    • a) -ness
    • b) -less
    • c) -ly
    • d) -ful

  6. 6.Add the ending -ness to "happy" and write the new word.

  7. 7.Add the ending -ing to "run" and write the new word.

  8. 8.Add the ending -er to "write" and write the word for the person who does it.

Answer key — Class 5 English — Suffixes and word building

  1. 1. d) stopped
  2. 2. teach → teacher; kind → kindness; enjoy → enjoyment; care → careful; use → useless; quick → quickly
  3. 3. c) un-
  4. 4. 1. Look at the last letter of "carry": it is y. 2. Check the letter just before that y: it is r, a consonant. 3. So change the y into i, which leaves "carri". 4. Now add -ed on the end to make "carried".
  5. 5. a) -ness
  6. 6. happiness
  7. 7. running
  8. 8. writer