Unit 19: Soft g: ge, gi and gy words
Page 8 of 11
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.
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 |
In US spelling the letter e
is sometimes dropped before a consonant suffix. For example: judge + ment = judgment |
The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.
"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."
Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's Hill