Words Ending in '-cious' or '–tious'
English: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum, topic 1.3.1
Words Ending in '-cious' or '-tious'
Suffixes: '-cious' and '-tious'
- The suffixes '-cious' and '-tious' are very common in English.
- These suffixes mean something like 'full of' or 'having the qualities of'.
- Remember, a suffix is a word or group of letters at the end of a word which changes the meaning.
'C' or 't'?
- We can determine whether to use a 'c' or a 't' by looking at the root word.
- The root word is the base word (so not the prefix or suffix!).
- If the word ends with '-ce' then the word will take the suffix '-cious'.
Examples
- vice → vicious
- grace → gracious
- space → spacious
Test yourself on Words Ending in '-cious' or '–tious'
What are the root words of these words?
What are the root words of these words?
What word should go in the gap?
Billy's new house was huge. The house was very ____.What word should go in the gap?
James was not being very kind. His actions were ____.