Commonly Confused Suffixes
Spending instructional time targeting common suffix spelling stumbling blocks that pose challenges for the even most proficient spellers can result in immediate improved spelling proficiency. Give your students the tools they need to tackle -ent/-ant and -ence/-ance uncertainties, -able/-ible confusion, and understanding the intricacies of doubling the final consonant when adding suffixes in multisyllabic words.
Use this blog post as a handy guide to answer these questions:
How do you know when to use -ant or -ent?
What is the rule for using -able or -ible?
What is the double consonant rule when adding suffixes?
What resources work well for teaching students about commonly confused suffixes?
What do the suffixes -ent and -ant mean?
The addition of the suffixes -ent and -ant to words transforms them into nouns, signifying a “person who” or “thing that”. For example, a “participant” refers to an individual involved in an activity, while “dependent” signifies something reliant on another.
What do the suffixes -ence and -ance mean?
The suffixes -ence and -ance create nouns that mean “quality or state of”. For example, “absence” means the state of being absent and “abundance” is the quality of having plenty or more than enough of something.
What is the rule for -ent and -ant and -ence and -ance?
Because the sounds of the unaccented schwa sounds, /ənt/ and /ənce/, give no clue whether to use the -ent or -ant spelling or -ence or -ance spelling, students often just guess and hope they’ve chosen the correct spelling.
However, if you teach students to use the spelling-meaning connection (thinking of a related word with the similar suffix to give you a clue) as a strategy to help them, it becomes less of a guessing game and they begin to see patterns among words spelled with these suffixes.
For example, if a student is uncertain whether the /ənt/ sound in “absence” is spelled with the -ence spelling or the -ance spelling, they can think of the related word “absent” to help them see how to spell the unaccented vowel.
Examples of words with -ent/-ence and -ant/-ance
Showing students the relationship between spelling-meaning pairs such as these examples helps them to see the relevance in using the spelling-meaning connection as a strategy when they come across -ent/-ant and -ence/-ance uncertainties.
You can find more examples of words with the -ent/-ence and -ant/-ance suffixes as well as resources to teach them here.
What is the rule for using -able or -ible?
Other suffixes that often act as a roadblock for students are -able and -ible. Both spellings represent the /əble/ sound, making it difficult for students to know which one to choose. Thankfully, the rule is fairly straightforward.
When adding /əble/ to a base word, the spelling -able is most often used. When adding the /əble/ to a word root, it is usually spelled -ible.
For example, the word “enjoy” is a base word, meaning it can stand alone or apart from prefixes or suffixes that can be attached to it. Therefore -able is the spelling of the /əble/ sound in “enjoyable”. However, in the word “invincible”, “invinc” is a word root, meaning it cannot stand alone or apart from prefixes or suffixes that can be attached to it. Therefore -ible is used for the spelling of the /əble/ sound in “invincible”.
Examples of words with -able and -ible
With plenty of exposure to examples of words with the suffixes -able and -ible attached to base words and word roots and time to practice identifying which spelling to choose, students can quickly grasp the -able/-ible rule.
You can find more examples of words with the -able/-ible suffixes as well as resources to teach them here.
What is the rule for adding vowel suffixes?
When adding a suffix that begins with a vowel, for instance -able or -ible, to a word that ends in e, drop the e in words like reusable, sensible, and consumable. When adding a suffix that begins with a vowel to a word that ends in y, change the y to i and then add the suffix in words like reliable, undeniable, and identifiable.
However, if dropping the e would change the pronunciation of the word, the e is kept when adding a vowel suffix. For example, in the word “manageable” the g sound would change to a hard g without the final e, changing the pronunciation, therefore it is kept. A general rule for students to learn is to keep a final e when it comes after a soft g or c in words like noticeable, replaceable, and enforceable.
You can find more examples of words requiring a spelling change before adding the vowel suffixes -able/-ible as well as resources to teach them here.
How do you teach using the spelling-meaning connection as a strategy to help spell commonly confused suffixes?
Because using the spelling-meaning connection is such a powerful strategy to spell those commonly confused suffixes, students need ample time to work with words with these particular suffixes and familiarize themselves with the strategy. Ensuring students have a large, varied assortment of activities that align with these word study concepts helps keep them engaged and solidifies their learning.
I’ve created word searches, printable spelling word list activities, and various word study notebook activities centering around commonly confused suffixes, but not surprisingly, my students’ favorite way to engage in word study practice is by playing games. 😉
One of my favorite games to encourage students to make connections among words that are related in spelling and meaning is Linked!. Linked! is a partner-based game where students take turns drawing cards and moving their pawns along a game board path, searching for and recording words that are “linked” in spelling and/or meaning along the way to reach the end before their opponent does.
The game cards for this particular game challenge students to analyze the words on the game board before covering them. Depending on what the student draws they must analyze a variety of things to find the correct word to cover including related words, suffixes, and part of speech. They then must sort the related word pairs they find into categories highlighting the commonality of the suffixes shared between the words.
Another great option, is Double or Nothing, a partner-based game that challenges students to decide whether or not they must double the final consonant before adding a suffix as they move along the game path.
A great interactive activity that gives students LOTS of practice deciding whether to choose -able or -ible to the base word or word root they are attaching it to is Suffix Match & Stack. In this independent or partner-based activity, students match sentence cards containing missing suffixes that are related in spelling and meaning. After making a match, students then must add the word study word to a gridded mat, finding a way to connect it with other words (much like Scrabble ®).
You can find all the games and activities I incorporate into our word study routine when students are learning about confusing suffixes in the Words with Spelling and Meaning Connections 3 Bundle.
FROM CONFUSION TO CLARITY!
When it comes to teaching students strategies and rules for tricky spellings, the more exposure and practice students get, the stronger readers and spellers they become! Not only does incorporating gameplay into our word study routine provide an additional opportunity for students to practice and apply what is being taught, but adding games and play-based activities adds some much-needed variety and engagement to our word study block.
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