Vocabulary · lesson 15 of 30 · free

Suffixes: ful, less, ness, er, ly — Vocabulary words for kids

A suffix is added to the end of a word: care → careful, kind → kindness. -ful means full of, -less means without, -ness means the state of being, -er means one who does something, and -ly means in a … way. Watch the spelling rules when you add them!

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Word tip

Look at the ending — “the suffix at the end tells you what the new word means”

  1. -ful = full of (hopeful), -less = without (hopeless), -ness = the state of being (kindness), -er = one who does (teacher), -ly = in a … way (slowly).
  2. A consonant + y changes y to i: happy + ness = happiness, easy + ly = easily.
  3. A short word ending in one vowel + one consonant doubles the last letter before -er: run → runner. -ful has only one l.

Use it for: Building new words, spelling tests, and changing words in grammar exercises.

Worked example: Add the suffix: happy + ness = ? → happiness

  1. “happy” ends in a consonant + y, so the y changes to i.
  2. happi + ness = happiness.

Check: Like easy → easily and lazy → laziness, happy → happiness ✓

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🏁 Lesson 15 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

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🖨️ Suffix Worksheet

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