Spelling words with the suffix -ous and -tious | Exit Quiz | Oak National Academy

When the word 'courage' becomes 'courageous' what rule is applied?

• Just add -ous.

• Remove the ‘e’, add -ous.

• Remove the ‘y’, add -ious.

• Change ‘our’ to ‘or’, add -ous.

Answer explanation

Root words that end in 'ge', just add -ous. This helps to keep the 'soft j' sound.

When the word 'humour' becomes 'humorous' what rule is applied?

• Just add -ous.

• Remove the ‘e’, add -ous.

• Remove the ‘y’, add -ious.

• Change ‘our’ to ‘or’, add -ous.

Answer explanation

When the root word ends in ‘our’, change the ‘our’ to ‘or’, then add -ous. 'Humour' becomes 'humorous'.

When the word 'fame' becomes 'famous' what rule is applied?

• Just add -ous.

• Remove the ‘e’, add -ous.

• Remove the ‘y’, add -ious.

• Change ‘our’ to ‘or’, add -ous.

Answer explanation

When the root word ends in ‘e’, remove the ‘e’, then add -ous. 'Fame' becomes 'famous'. This isn't true for words ending in 'ge'.

When the word 'vary' becomes 'various' what rule is applied?

• Just add -ous.

• Remove the ‘e’, add -ous.

• Remove the ‘y’, add -ious.

• Change ‘our’ to ‘or’, add -ous.

Answer explanation

When the root word ends in a consonant and a ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’, then add -ous. 'Vary' becomes 'various'.

When the word 'caution' becomes 'cautious' what rule is applied?

• Just add -ous.

• Remove the ‘e’, add -ous.

• Change ‘our’ to ‘or’, add -ous.

• Remove the 'tion', add -tious.

Answer explanation

When the root word ends in 'tion', remove this and add -tious. 'Caution' becomes 'cautious'.

Correct the spelling of the word in bold in this sentence. I was resting, but I was conshious of the conversations around me.

Answer explanation

The letters ‘sc’ make the /sh/ sound and the ‘i’ is not pronounced like in many other words including the same suffix. This is a curriculum word that is useful to remember in our reading and writing.