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Unit 19: The soft g sound: ge gi gy words

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Unit 19: Soft g: ge, gi and gy words

Unit StartPage 1: gue and gui wordsCourse Test: Spelling test: -ge -dge -agePage 3: Spelling test: -ge -dge -agePage 4: Spelling test: -ge -dge -ageCourse Test: Spelling test: anagrams for ge gi gy wordsPage 6: Spelling test: anagrams for ge gi gy wordsPage 7: Spelling test: anagrams for ge gi gy wordsPage 8: Spelling test: anagrams for ge gi gy wordsCourse Test: Spelling test: -ge endings + suffixesPage 10: Spelling test: -ge endings + suffixesPage 11: Spelling test: -ge endings + suffixesUnit End

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Spelling ge, gi and gy words - the soft g sound

Think back - help with spelling rules Suffixes and the soft g sound:

Important reminders:

1. If you add a vowel suffix to a word that ends in e, drop the e.
For example:

bake + ing = baking nerve + ous = nervous excite + able = excitable

2. If you add a consonant suffix to a word that ends in e, keep the e.
For example:

love + ly = lovely shame + ful = shameful close + ness = closeness

If you need to review these rules, go back to Unit 9 page 10.


Teaching point There are special rules for adding suffixes to words ending in ge:

If a word ends in ge, the e is there to make g say /j/, not /g/:

judge manage edge

The only letters that can make g soft /j / are e, i and y. So if you add a suffix that begins with there letters, you can drop the e from the root word because it is not needed:

judge + ing = judging
manage + er = manager
edge + y = edgy

But, if the suffix begins with a or o (as well as any consonant) keep the e, otherwise the g would say /g/ not /j/. Take these examples:

manage + able = manageable
large + ly = largely
engage + ment = engagement


Rule Breakers - these words break spelling rules In US spelling the letter e is sometimes dropped before a consonant suffix. For example:

judge + ment = judgment

next part of the spelling course
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Adding suffixes to -ge words.

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