Year 4 spelling rules: -tion, -sion, -ous, -sure and homophones

This page covers the second half of the Years 3 and 4 spelling work: endings that sound like shun and zhun, the -ous family, words borrowed from other languages and the homophone pairs. Use it alongside the Years 3 and 4 statutory word list.

Endings -sure and -ture

The ending that sounds like zher is always spelt -sure. The ending that sounds like cher is often spelt -ture. Check that the word is not a root word ending in tch with an -er added, such as teacher or stretcher.

-sure

measure treasure pleasure enclosure leisure

-ture

picture creature furniture nature adventure capture mixture

not -ture: tch + er

teacher catcher richer stretcher

Watch out: Furniture and creature end in -ture. Nature is easy to remember as nat + ure.

The -sion ending (zhun)

If the ending sounds like zhun, it is spelt -sion.

-sion

division invasion confusion decision collision television explosion conclusion

Watch out: Compare vision and fiction: zhun is -sion, shun is usually -tion.

The suffix -ous

-ous makes adjectives. Sometimes the root is clear and the usual rules apply: drop the e of fame to make famous. Sometimes there is no root. If the root ends in -our, the u goes: humour, humorous. If a soft g must be kept, keep the e: courageous. An ee sound before -ous is usually i, but a few words use e.

clear root

poisonous dangerous mountainous famous various

no clear root

tremendous enormous jealous

-our to -or

humorous glamorous vigorous

keep the e

courageous outrageous

ee sound: i

serious obvious curious

ee sound: e

hideous spontaneous courteous

Watch out: Say poisonous aloud: it has three clear syllables. Do not write poisoness or dangerus.

-tion, -sion, -ssion and -cian: pick the right one

All four sound like shun. The last letters of the root word give the clue. -tion is the most common and follows a root ending in t or te. -ssion follows a root ending in ss or mit. -sion follows a root ending in d or se. -cian names a person and follows a root ending in c or cs.

-tion (root ends t, te)

invent → invention act → action complete → completion educate → education

-ssion (root ends ss, mit)

express → expression discuss → discussion permit → permission admit → admission

-sion (root ends d, se)

expand → expansion extend → extension tense → tension comprehend → comprehension

-cian (root ends c, cs)

music → musician magic → magician electric → electrician politics → politician

Watch out: Two exceptions: attend becomes attention, and intend becomes intention.

Words from Greek, French and Latin

Some sounds are spelt unusually because the words came from other languages. ch says k in Greek words. ch says sh in French words. -gue says g and -que says k in French words. sc says s in Latin words. The vowel sound ay can be spelt ei, eigh or ey.

ch says k

scheme chorus chemist echo character

ch says sh

chef chalet machine brochure parachute

-gue says g

league tongue vague plague

-que says k

unique antique technique mosque

sc says s

science scene discipline fascinate crescent scent

ei, eigh, ey say ay

vein weigh eight sleigh they obey grey prey

Watch out: Words that look odd are often telling you where they came from. A chemist and a chorus both start with the Greek ch.

Vowel sounds that look odd: y and ou

The letter y can say the short i sound inside a word. The letters ou can say a short u sound. These words simply have to be learnt, but groups help.

y says i

myth gym Egypt pyramid mystery crystal

ou says u

young touch double trouble country cousin

Watch out: Chant the letters as you write them: m-y-t-h, y-ou-n-g.

Apostrophes with plural words

For a plural noun that ends in s, put the apostrophe after the s. For a plural that does not end in s (an irregular plural) add 's as you would for one owner. The apostrophe never makes a plural.

plural ends in s

the girls' coats the boys' bags the babies' toys the teachers' room

irregular plural

the children's playground the men's shoes the women's team the mice's cheese

one owner for comparison

the girl's coat the boy's bag the baby's toy

Watch out: Ask: how many owners? One owner, apostrophe before the s. Many owners ending in s, apostrophe after.

Homophones and near homophones

These pairs are listed in the national curriculum for Years 3 and 4. Learn the meaning of each, then make a clue that links the spelling to the meaning.

pairs

accept / except affect / effect ball / bawl berry / bury brake / break fair / fare grate / great groan / grown here / hear heel / heal / he'll knot / not mail / male main / mane meat / meet medal / meddle missed / mist peace / piece plain / plane rain / rein / reign scene / seen weather / whether whose / who's

Watch out: Clues: a piece of pie; you hear with an ear; a knot starts with a silent k; a brake stops a bike; a break is a rest.

Year 4 spelling quiz

13 quick questions on the rules above. Choose an answer for each, then check.

Keep going

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.