1.3.5

Rules for Suffixes: '-ous' 2

Test yourself

Suffixes - 'ous'

You have already learnt that adding '-ous' to a noun turns the noun into an adjective. But sometimes you can't just add 'ous' and you need to drop or change a letter. Let's look at what you do when the word ends in 'our'...

Illustrative background for Words ending in 'our'Illustrative background for Words ending in 'our' ?? "content

Words ending in 'our'

  • If you want to add 'ous' to a noun ending in 'our', you need to drop the 'our' at the end of the word and add 'or' before adding 'ous'.
  • This sounds confusing. So let's walk through some examples...

Recap: Rules for Adding 'ous'

Adding 'ous' to the ends of nouns turns them into adjectives. Let's recap the rules for adding 'ous'...

Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'e'Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'e' ?? "content

Nouns ending in 'e'

  • When you add 'ous' to a noun ending in 'e', you need to drop the 'e' at the end of the word.
Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'y'Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'y' ?? "content

Nouns ending in 'y'

  • When you add 'ous' to a noun ending in 'y', you need to change the 'y' at the end of the word to an 'i'.
Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'our'Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'our' ?? "content

Nouns ending in 'our'

  • When you add 'ous' to a noun ending in 'our', you need to drop the 'our' and add 'orous'.

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1Spelling

2Punctuation

3Grammar

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