Spelling rules by year, Years 2 to 6
Every spelling rule in the national curriculum spelling appendix, explained in plain words with original example lists and a quiz for each year.
Rules by year
| Year | Ages | Rules covered |
|---|---|---|
| Year 2 | ages 6 to 7 | Soft j and soft s; Silent first letters; Word endings; Words ending in y or ey; Adding endings to words that end in y; Adding endings to words that end in e, and doubling; Tricky vowel sounds; Suffixes -ment, -ness, -ful, -less and -ly; Apostrophes for missing letters and for owning; Words ending in -tion; Homophones |
| Year 3 | ages 7 to 8 | Negative prefixes; The prefix in- (and il-, im-, ir-); More prefixes; The suffix -ation; The suffix -ly; Doubling the last letter in longer words |
| Year 4 | ages 8 to 9 | Endings -sure and -ture; The -sion ending (zhun); The suffix -ous; -tion, -sion, -ssion and -cian; Words from Greek, French and Latin; Vowel sounds that look odd; Apostrophes with plural words; Homophones and near homophones |
| Year 5 | ages 9 to 10 | Endings -cious and -tious (shus); Endings -cial and -tial (shul); Endings -ant, -ance, -ancy and -ent, -ence, -ency; Endings -able, -ably, -ible and -ibly |
| Year 6 | ages 10 to 11 | Words ending in -fer; Using a hyphen after a prefix; i before e, except after c; The letter string ough; Words with silent letters; Words that are often confused; More pairs that are often mixed up |
For Year 1 (phonic spelling and the first common exception words) see the common exception words guide.
Why Years 3 and 4 are split
The national curriculum lists the Years 3 and 4 spelling work as one block, and the Years 5 and 6 work as another. Schools choose how to spread it across the two years. Our split into Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 pages is a sensible suggestion, not part of the curriculum. Follow your own school's plan if it differs.
Questions
Are the rules always true?
No. English spelling has exceptions, and the national curriculum says so. Each page lists the main exceptions. Where the rule does not help, use the memory tips on the word-list pages.
Do I have to learn the phonetic symbols?
No. These pages describe sounds in everyday words, such as the j sound or the shun ending.
Word lists
Spelling lists and grammar terminology: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, Appendices 1 and 2 (Crown copyright 2013), reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example sentences, tips, explanations and questions are by Litlings.