Language Arts: Suffixes er est ful less
Build and understand words with common suffixes
Language Arts: Suffixes er est ful less
Build and understand words with common suffixes
Language Arts - Grade 2-3
- 1
The suffix -ful means full of. What does the word careful mean?
Think about what it means to do something with care.
Careful means full of care. A careful person pays close attention and tries not to make mistakes. - 2
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: A rabbit is fast, but a cheetah is _____. A. fastest B. faster C. careful
The correct word is faster. The sentence compares two animals, so the suffix -er is used. - 3
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: Of the three boxes, the red box is the _____. A. biggest B. bigger C. helpful
Use -est when one thing is the most out of three or more things.
The correct word is biggest. The sentence compares three boxes, so the suffix -est is used. - 4
The suffix -less means without. What does the word hopeless mean?
Hopeless means without hope. It describes a person or situation that does not seem to have hope. - 5
Add the suffix -ful to the word help. Write the new word and tell what it means.
Put the base word and suffix together.
The new word is helpful. Helpful means full of help or ready to help someone. - 6
Write the correct form of small to complete the sentence: This puppy is small, but that puppy is _____.
The correct word is smaller. The sentence compares two puppies, so -er is added to small. - 7
Write the correct form of tall to complete the sentence: Mia is tall, Ana is taller, and Zoe is the _____.
Use -est for the one that has the most of something.
The correct word is tallest. The sentence compares three people, so -est is added to tall. - 8
The word fearless has the suffix -less. What does fearless mean?
Fearless means without fear. A fearless person is brave and not afraid. - 9
Circle the word that means full of joy: A. joyless B. joyful C. taller
Look for the suffix that means full of.
The correct word is joyful. The suffix -ful means full of, so joyful means full of joy. - 10
Circle the word that means without color: A. colorful B. colorless C. fastest
The correct word is colorless. The suffix -less means without, so colorless means without color. - 11
Add -er or -est to complete the sentence: This road is long, that road is longer, and the highway is the _____.
When comparing three things, use -est.
The correct word is longest. The highway is being compared with more than one road, so -est is used. - 12
Read the sentence: The glass is breakable, so hold it with care. Which word could describe the glass if it cannot break easily: careful, breakless, or stronger?
The best word is stronger. Stronger means more strong, which fits a glass that cannot break easily. - 13
Make a new word by adding -less to the word spot. Then write what the new word means.
The suffix -less means without.
The new word is spotless. Spotless means without spots or very clean. - 14
Make a new word by adding -ful to the word wonder. Then write what the new word means.
The new word is wonderful. Wonderful means full of wonder or very good. - 15
Write one sentence using a word with the suffix -er, -est, -ful, or -less. Then underline the suffix in your word.
You can use words like faster, tallest, helpful, or careless.
A correct answer will include a sentence with a word that uses one of the suffixes, such as The sunny day made me joyful. The suffix in joyful is -ful.