StarSpell 2.4: Words for Main Starspell Course

Copyright © Fisher-Marriott Software 1999. These lists may be copied and used for non-commercial purposes. Please acknowledge our copyright

Important ‘Sight’ words

Essential words 1st

Being and doing words

went had was got is

Other useful words

the when of it

Whereabouts words

in with up on there to

Words for joining

then and so but

Essential words 2nd

Being and doing words

were go have said came like

People words

my me him his they

Useful words 1

this for all some that

Useful words 2

not big very little

Whereabouts words

at down back out

Essential words 3rd

Being and doing words

do be could would will are

More doing words

called saw made put going

People words

our their your us them

Time (when) words

now after again as

Whereabouts words

from over about off into

Essential words 4th

Doing words

play found made lived want took come

Question words

why when how who which where what

Useful words

yes other by away no too

Words for joining

if or next once

Other important words

Being and doing words

don’t must done been does shall goes give may gave make want

Other useful words

because together around only here just myself under please upon own

Qualifiers

these old small much good those both every any many an

Time words

tomorrow before yesterday afternoon today never morning awake soon

Words by theme

Fairy stories

princess giant witch magic spell dragon forest wicked wishes prince castle fairy

Familiar places

home town shop kitchen supermarket garden lounge bedroom bathroom

Family and friends

mother father child children friend girl uncle boy aunt sister baby brother

Outings

train minibus play zoo ticket coach picnic car seat bus

Parties

crisps sandwiches balloons sweets cards cake games presents birthday

Parts of the body

face ears arms fingers hair foot head hands nose toes feet legs eyes mouth

Pets

horse cat pony mouse kitten dog puppy rabbit gerbil goldfish hamster

School

pen paper book pencil teacher classroom school draw read workbook write

Numbers, days, dates, colours

Colour words

black purple blue white red green brown yellow

Days of the week

Monday Sunday Saturday Wednesday Friday Thursday Tuesday

Months

February June May August April September January March July November December October

Numbers 1 to 10

three six one four ten seven eight nine five two

Numbers 11 to 20

eleven twelve thirteen fifteen seventeen eighteen nineteen fourteen twenty sixteen

Every Letter is heard

Short vowels

'a' as in cat

man bad hat bag had ran jam cat can

‘e’ as in bed

hen get leg net pet set bed red yes pen

‘i’ as in big

big him hid win six lid lip his bit pig

'o' as in dog

lot hot pop not job box fox dog top

‘u’ as in sun

cut bus but cup mug mum sun sum fun

plurals

nets beds rats legs jugs pins pans cubs dots

Final consonant blends

‘..ck’ as in back

sick back sack pick tick duck pack kick luck lock

‘..ft’ as in lift

lift tuft left loft soft

‘..lk’ as in sulk

hulk milk silk bulk sulk

‘..ll’ as in hill

fill sell hill tell fell doll bill will bell pill

‘..lt’ as in belt

kilt melt felt pelt belt

‘..mp’ as in bump

lump pump lamp jump bump imp limp mumps damp camp

‘..nd’ as in bend

lend end and sand land bend pond send hand

‘..ng’ as in bang

king song sing lungs hang long bang ring wing

‘..nk’ as in bunk

pink honk sink tank bunk bank wink sunk

‘..nt’ as in ant

hunt tent dent pant bent went ant sent

‘..sk’ as in desk

dusk rusk husk tusk risk desk

'..ss' as in kiss

hiss boss loss less kiss fuss miss mess

‘..st’ as in best

list just test must nest cost rest best west

'.ing' as in resting

jumping costing resting sinking singing sulking bending

Initial consonant blends

‘bl..’ as in blot

block blunt blank blot black blink blend blob

'br..' as in brick

brand bran brim brisk bring brick brag

‘cl..’ as in clap

clump club clog clock cling cliff click clang clamp

‘cr..’ as in crisp

crust crop crisp cricket cress cramp crack crab cross

'dr..' as in drum

drip drag dragon dress drift drill drop drink drum

'fl..' as in flat

flop flag flap fluff flat flan fling

'fr..' as in frog

from frock frill fret frond frog frost

‘gl..’ as in glad

glint glum glen gloss glad

‘gr..’ as in grin

grand grub gruff grunt grip grin grit grill

‘pl..’ as in plug

plum plump plug plastic plank planet plan plus

‘pr..’ as in pram

pram press prison present print prod prop prong prank

‘qu..’ as in quack

quiz quill quilt quick quest quack quit

'sc..' as in scan

scalp scum scab scoff scan

‘scr..’ as in scrub

scruff scrub scrum script scrap scrimp

‘sk..’ as in skin

skim skin skid skip skill skull

'sl..' as in slug

slip sling slot slap slam slack slug slit slept

‘sm..’ as in smug

smell smack smock smug smut

‘sn..’ as in snap

snag snack snip sniff snob snap snub snug

‘sp..’ as in spit

spin spots spend span speck spit spill spell

‘spl..’ as in split

splendid splat split splint

‘spr..’ as in spring

sprint sprang sprat sprig spring

‘st..’ as in step

stand stiff stamp stunt still stop stuck stick step sting

‘str..’ as in string

strong string strap strand struck

‘sw..’ as in swim

swim swill swing swig swift swell swank swam

‘tr..’ as in trip

trick tramp traffic track trim trip trot truck trunk

'y' as a vowel ‘y’ as in fly

by cry fry dry sky fly try

'y' as in happy

happy holly silly stuffy family hobby twenty puppy lucky

Paired letters, single sound

'ch', 'sh' and 'th'

‘..nch’ as in pinch

finch punch bench hunch lunch pinch munch bunch

‘..tch’ as in catch

kitchen switch stretch hutch match catch scratch witch pitch

‘ch’ as in chat

chat chips chin chimp such check rich much chicken

‘sh’ as in shell

ship shell fish crash shop wish cash brush

‘th’ as in think

thing tenth theft thick thank thin think thud thump that

‘th’ as in this

them then with this

Doubled vowels

‘ee’ as in feet

feet feel green tree speed screen street need sleep sweet

‘oo’ as in good

foot good hood hook look took book cook wooden

‘oo’ as in moon

pool spoon cool tooth proof food boot soon moon smooth

Paired vowels

‘ai’ as in train

wait snail paint brain train nail rain aim

‘au’ as in haunt

haunt launch taunt gaunt taut laundry

‘ea’ as in bread

bread instead wealth breath head deaf dead health sweat

‘ea’ as in seat

team meal beak steam stream seat heat beach

‘ie’ as in field

shriek grief shield brief field thief chief

‘oa’ as in boat

boat loaf road coat foam coach float soap coal coast

‘oi’ as in boil

toilet noisy poison boil coin joint oil moist soil point

‘ou’ as in cloud

sound south ground count loud mouth out round cloud

‘ou’ as in couple

country cousin couple nourish courage trouble young

Vowels with 'r'

‘air’ as in fair

unfair fair stairs chair fairy hair dairy pair

‘ar’ as in car

hard garden market park farm start star dark spark march

‘are’ as in scare

rare care scare spare beware dare square share

‘ear’ as in bear

pear swear tear wear bear

‘ear’ as in beard

fear rear ear spear beard appear gear hear clear

‘ear’ as in pearl

earth learn learning early pearl earn search heard

‘eer’ as in cheer

cheer steer jeer beer peer

‘er’ as in her

person kerb her stern herb perfect term fern

‘ir’ as in bird

third first bird birth shirt dirty girl skirt

‘ire’ as in fire

fireman wire hire fire admire retire bonfire

‘oar’ as in roar

soar roar hoard oar board boar

‘or’ as in sport

fork short corn north sport sort morning

‘ore’ as in more

swore score snore shore sore before more store wore

‘our’ as in flour

flour scour sour our hour

‘our’ as in four

four your fourteen pour court

‘ur’ as in fur

turn burn hurt fur curly turnip burst church

Vowels with 'w'

‘aw’ as in claw

lawn law raw crawl thaw straw claws paw draw jaw

‘ew’ as in flew

grew crew drew screw chew threw flew

‘ew’ as in newt

new stew few dew newt

‘ow’ as in cow

brown crowd prowl cow clown rowdy now vow growl

‘ow’ as in show

window yellow flow slow grow throw show

Vowels with 'y'

‘ay’ as in play

stay tray way crayon play say away spray day

‘oy’ as in toy

loyal convoy boy enjoy employ toy destroy royal annoy

Vowels with 'gh'

‘augh’ as in caught

caught daughter naughty fraught taught

‘eigh’ as in weigh

eighty weight eight weigh sleigh neigh

‘igh’ as in high

sigh tight right thigh night high

wh', 'ph', 'thr', and 'shr'

‘ph’ as in photo

phantom nephew orphan photo dolphin alphabet graph elephant

‘shr’ as in shred

shrub shrimp shred shrug shrill shrink

‘thr’ as in thrill

throat thrush thread threat throb thrill three throng

‘wh’ as in wheel

whack whisper whiskers whirl whip wheat wheel

'wh', question words

what when where which why whether

One letter alters another

'e' alters vowels (magic e)

'a-e' as in name

cake scrape flame scales same made game late

‘e’ as in hoe, blue

die clue glue blue true toe tie pie hoe

‘i-e’ as in bite

line kite crime prize size mile wide bike slide

'o-e' as in pole

woke pole note stone stroke hole home hope rose

‘u-e’ as in cube

fuse use cube tube tune compute

‘u-e’ as in rude

crude June rude brute flute plume rule

'e' alters 'c' and 'g'

‘ce’ as in cell

race cell surface service audience mice space force dance twice

‘cei’ as in ceiling

received deceit deceive ceiling perceive conceited receive

‘dge’ as in edge

badge badger bridge hedgehog fidget edge judge fudge midget sledge

‘ge’ as in cage

angel stage hinge garage huge strange general cage orange

'i' alters 'c' and 'g'

‘ci’ as in city

cigarette cinder cinema civil civilian circus city citrus acid

‘gi’ as in giant

gin ginger giant original origin rigid magic

'y' alters 'c' and 'g'

‘..cy’ as in spicy

spicy fleecy mercy fancy juicy emergency

‘gy’ as in gym

energy stingy gym

Final 'll' 'ld' 'nd' alter vowels

‘..all’ as in tall

fall call tall ball wall hall stall all snowball small

‘..ild’ as in wild

child mild wild

‘..ind’ as in kind

find kind blind rind mind grind

‘..old’ as in bold

cold old bold told fold gold sold hold

'w', 'qu' alter 'a', 'ar' and 'or'

‘qua’ as in quality

quarrel quantity squat squash squander quality

‘wa’ as in want

watch wash wander swallow swamp swan wad was want

‘war’ as in warm

warden warm warmth warn warning warp wart

'wor' as in worm

word work fireworks worm worse worship worth world

Words with silent letters

Silent vowels

'..gue' as in tongue

league rogue catalogue vague tongue plague intrigue

silent ‘u’ as in guess

guarantee guilty guide guest guard guitar disguise build biscuit guess

silent final ‘e’ as in have

because pause please purse house have love give cheese horse

Silent consonants

‘..mb’ as in lamb

lamb limb numb crumb comb climb thumb tomb

‘gn’ as in gnat

gnome reign design sign gnarl gnash gnat

‘kn..’ as in knee

knit knob knock knot knife knew kneel knight knee

‘rh’ as in rhyme

rhubarb rhetorical rhyme rhythm rhea rhombus rhino

‘wr..’ as in write

wrench wring write wren wrap wrong wrist wreck

silent ‘c’ as in science

scissors science scientist scent scene muscle

silent ‘h’ as in hour

hour heir honest honour

silent ‘l’ as in talk

stalk should chalk calf could talk palm yolk walk would half

silent ‘t’ as in castle

castle thistle listen rustle whistle wrestle listening glisten

Prefixes, suffixes, roots

Living word-formation

‘-like’

jewel-like pastry-like flower-like frog-like

‘-wise’

food-wise money-wise transport-wise fun-wise

‘anti-‘

anti-wrinkle anti-rust anti-work anti-noise

‘ex-‘ (as former)

ex-boyfriend ex-convict ex-serviceman ex-king ex-egg ex-parrot

‘pre-‘

pre-punched pre-Roman pre-book

‘pro-‘

pro-cycling pro-British pro-hunting pro-fitness

Compound words

milkman windmill notebook lipstick handbag birthday sunset dustbin

Prefixes alter words (OE)

‘a..’

across aside aloud around asleep along alike awake

‘al..’

already although always almost also

‘be..’

beside because before behind below beneath between beyond

‘for..’

forget forsake forgive forbidden

fore..’

forewarn foresee foreman forehead foreground forefinger forecast forecourt

‘forth..’

forthcoming forthwith forthright

‘un..’ as negative

uncertain unfriendly unknown untidy unwell unfair untrue unsafe

‘un..’ undoing actions

uncover unload untwist unwrap undo unearth

‘with..’

withdraw withstand withhold

Prefixes alter words (Latin)

‘de..’

defrost dethrone deforested decamp decode

‘dis..’ as negative

disconnect distrust disappear disagree disease dislike

‘en..’

enlarge engulf enrich enforce enable encircle encourage

‘im..’ as negative

impatient impolite imperfect immature immortal impossible

‘in..’ as negative

insincere inactive indignity inhuman invalid incredible

‘mis..’

mistimed misspell misprint mislead mistreat mishap misuse misunderstood

‘pre..’

prefix prepacked prehistoric preschool precooked

‘re..’

review replace renew rehouse replay

Other common prefixes

‘ab..’

absorbent abrupt absent abominable abound absurd abstain

‘ad..’

admire advice adjacent adventure address advise admission adore

‘com..’

comfort company command comment compare composed complete

‘con..’ with

condemn continue conquer concert concern contain confront connect

‘de..’ down, from, away

detergent defence defer deflate describe destroy descend

‘de..’ very

devastate demand deliver deserve

‘dis..’

disposable discovery disgusting dismay disappointed

‘ex..’ out of

except excluding excavate exit excluding export extract excursion

‘im..’

impede immaculate immediate immense immune imbalance

‘im..’ into

immigrant imply implode imbibe immerse import improve

‘in..’ into

inflate intend inspire inhabited instruct include infect infer

‘in..’ negative

innocent individual inevitable infant injury

‘per..’ through

permit perfume perforation permanent pervade perspire percolate

‘pre..’

pretend prevent presume preside preserve prefer predict

‘pro..’ before

proceed propose prospect protest protect promise process progress

‘re..’

rehearse recollect relief remove referee request record rearrange

'sub..' under

suburbs submarine subject submerged subside subtract subdue

Further prefixes (Latin)

‘anti..’

antidote antifreeze antiseptic anticlockwise anticlimax

‘bene..’

benevolent benefit benefactor

‘co..’

coexist coerce cooperate

‘co[ll]..’

colloquial collaborate collate collect colleague

‘co[rr]..’

correct corrugated correspond corrode corrupt corroborate

‘contra..’

contravene contraflow contradict

‘extra..’

extrasensory extraterrestrial extravagant extraordinary

‘i[ll]..’

illogical illicit illegible illegal

'i[rr]..'

irrelevant irreversible irresponsible irreplaceable irregular irrational irresistible

‘inter..’

interrupt interchange interfere intermediate interrogate international interval

‘intra.., intro..’

intravenous introduce introspection

‘mal[e]..’

malnutrition malfunction maltreat malevolent

‘mani.., manu..’

manicure manuscript manipulate manufacture

‘non..’

nonchalant nonconformist nondescript nonentity nonplussed

‘ob..’

obstruct obliged obliterate observe obvious obstacle obsolete object

‘post..’

postscript postpone postgraduate postdate

‘super..’

superstitious superlative supernatural superimposed supersonic superfluous supervisor supersede

‘sus..’

suspicious suspect suspense sustain

‘trans..’

transatlantic transform translate transmit transparent transfer transport

‘ultra..’

ultramarine ultraviolet ultrasonic

Further prefixes (Greek)

‘a..’

amoral apolitical asymmetrical apathy atom

‘ambi..’

ambivalent ambidextrous ambient ambiguous ambition

‘amphi..’

amphitheatre amphibian amphibious

‘ana..’

analysis anatomy anachronism anagram

‘arch..’

archangel archbishop architect

‘auto..’

automatic automobile autopilot autograph

‘epi..’

epitaph episode epilogue epidemic

‘hypo..’

hypothesis hypocritical hypodermic hypochondriac

‘mega..’ big

megawatt megastar megaphone megabyte

‘meta..’

metabolism metamorphosis metaphor

‘micro..’ little

microscope microwave microphone

‘para..’

parallel paradox paramedic paranormal parasite parabola paragraph parable

‘sym.., syn..’

synopsis sympathy symphony synonym syndrome syndicate symptom symmetry

tele far

telegram telephone telepathy television telescope

Common suffixes (OE 1)

‘..en’ gold > golden

earthen golden silken woollen wooden

‘..ern’ east > eastern

eastern western northern southern

‘..ful’ truth > truthful

powerful useful harmful colourful faithful careful truthful

‘..fully’ careful > carefully

truthfully carefully hopefully faithfully painfully cheerfully gracefully

‘..iful’ fancy > fanciful

beautiful fanciful merciful

‘..ily’ happy > happily

easily happily busily angrily noisily bodily hungrily

‘..ish’ fool > foolish

darkish greenish babyish outlandish smallish foolish fiendish

‘..less’ air > airless

countless airless aimless breathless pointless effortless careless

‘..like’ life > lifelike

warlike businesslike childlike ghostlike lifelike sportsmanlike

‘..ly’ friend > friendly

cowardly motherly queenly beastly friendly

‘..ly’ wrong > wrongly

slowly silently bravely wrongly quickly badly quietly suddenly

‘..most’ top > topmost

topmost innermost foremost

‘..some’ fear > fearsome

fearsome troublesome tiresome irksome quarrelsome awesome

‘..ward’ up > upward

forward backward homeward upward downward

'..wise' like > likewise

clockwise likewise streetwise

‘..y’ fun > funny

muddy funny foggy witty starry furry spotty baggy tinny

‘..y’ grease > greasy

easy slimy noisy greasy hasty shiny tasty shady

‘..y’ greed > greedy

greedy rubbery weighty sulky dirty messy

Common suffixes (OE, Fr)

‘..craft’ witch > witchcraft

witchcraft needlecraft handicraft

‘..dom’ free > freedom

kingdom freedom officialdom stardom wisdom boredom

‘..en’ tight > tighten

sweeten harden strengthen lighten weaken tighten

‘..ette’ diminutive

cigarette serviette cassette courgette maisonette marionette

‘..ful’ cup > cupful

mouthful spoonful cupful armful bucketful

‘..hood’

falsehood adulthood neighbourhood childhood

'..iness' bossy > bossiness

business juiciness readiness bossiness happiness

‘..let’ diminutive

booklet droplet leaflet piglet ringlet starlet

‘..ling’ diminutive

gosling nestling seedling underling yearling

‘..ness’

kindness goodness carelessness fitness darkness sadness eagerness sickness

‘..ship’

companionship hardship relationship citizenship friendship

‘..th’ wide > width

ninth health width wealth length strength

Common suffixes (Latin)

‘..able’

acceptable enjoyable drinkable reasonable bookable breakable

‘..ance’

performance clearance appearance disturbance attendance allowance

‘..ant’

ignorant hesitant important significant triumphant

‘..ence’

reference difference evidence presence silence

‘..ent’

independent different absorbent persistent urgent excellent

‘..ible’

sensible responsible incredible accessible collapsible digestible reversible visible

‘..ious’

previous obvious anxious furious various serious

‘..ive’

effective defensive active defective attractive expensive impressive

‘..ment’

development movement treatment payment measurement advertisement

‘..ous’

thunderous dangerous poisonous bulbous murderous

‘..sion’ confuse > confusion

tension confusion fusion profusion precision revision

‘..sion’ divide > division

explosion invasion decision division conclusion persuasion

‘..ssion’ discuss > discussion

discussion confession possession compression impression expression

‘..tion’ elect > election

suggestion invention connection election collection exhibition

‘..tion’ relate > relation

pollution relation completion demonstration illustration relegation promotion

‘..tion’ solve > solution

revolution solution evolution resolution

‘..ure’

sculpture failure adventure moisture pressure departure culture

People/place suffixes

‘..ant’

servant immigrant assistant attendant descendant inhabitant informant

‘..ar’

beggar burglar vicar liar scholar

‘..ary’

dignitary adversary missionary secretary

‘..ary’ places

library apiary aviary dispensary granary

‘..cian’

optician beautician politician musician magician electrician

‘..ee’

referee employee payee refugee trainee absentee

‘..eer’

engineer auctioneer volunteer mountaineer pioneer

‘..ent’

president agent correspondent resident student

‘..er’

speaker painter worker farmer builder cleaner teacher

‘..ery’ places

monastery surgery cemetery brewery bakery colliery

‘..ess’

empress stewardess actress tigress princess mistress waitress

‘..ist’

chemist florist guitarist pianist balloonist biologist cyclist journalist

‘..or’

sailor visitor sculptor director narrator actor decorator editor

‘..ory’ places

laboratory factory dormitory lavatory observatory territory

‘..ry’ places

country dairy quarry foundry

‘..ster’

pollster fraudster trickster songster youngster speedster

Further suffixes (Latin)

‘..age’

wastage postage passage leakage coverage blockage

‘..ancy’

redundancy discrepancy truancy pregnancy infancy buoyancy vacancy

‘..ary’

library voluntary temporary dictionary necessary ordinary

‘..ate’ adjective

immaculate numerate obstinate literate affectionate accurate passionate

‘..ate’ verb

punctuate operate motivate donate dedicate activate vaccinate

‘..cy’

delicacy fallacy bankruptcy conspiracy diplomacy accuracy piracy

‘..ice’

prejudice malice justice cowardice avarice

‘..ience’

obedience conscience convenience audience patience

‘..iety’

piety anxiety notoriety variety society

‘..ity’

neutrality possibility probability reality morality

‘..mony’

ceremony testimony matrimony acrimony

‘..sion’ convert > conversion

diversion subversion inversion conversion

‘..ssion’ concede > concession

procession recession accession concession

‘..tude’

multitude solitude fortitude longitude gratitude attitude latitude altitude

‘..ule’ diminutive

schedule capsule globule granule minuscule module molecule

‘..ure’ create > creature

enclosure creature pleasure

Further suffixes (L, Gr)

‘..al’

final hospital annual local personal animal several central natural equal

‘..ar’

regular lunar linear circular

‘..asm, ..ism’

atheism mechanism criticism journalism enthusiasm sarcasm

‘..ial’

material memorial radial aerial industrial terrestrial

‘..ic’

alcoholic magnetic historic demonic athletic artistic metallic

‘..id’

arid fluid frigid tepid humid vivid

‘..ient’

ingredient convenient obedient gradient nutrient

‘..ify’

mortify beautify classify glorify modify fortify magnify

‘..ile’

hostile futile agile mobile fragile juvenile fertile

‘..ine’

alpine saline feline elephantine crystalline canine divine

‘..ior’

superior exterior ulterior interior inferior senior junior prior

‘..is’

analysis paralysis oasis emphasis diagnosis basis bronchitis synthesis

‘..ology’

technology mythology apology theology

‘..ose’

comatose morose grandiose

‘..scent’

adolescent incandescent fluorescent effervescent convalescent reminiscent

Suffixes for tenses

‘..ed’ cry > cried

worried fried married hurried dried cried

‘..ed’ date > dated

dared dated droned amused moved hoped

‘..ed’ hop > hopped

knitted nodded slammed hopped grabbed sunned

‘..ed’ radio > radioed

echoed videoed vetoed radioed

‘..ed’ sounding as "d"

sailed poured rained showed growled teamed

‘..ed’ sounding as "ed"

waited mended wounded delighted shouted painted crowded greeted

‘..ed’ sounding as "t"

asked jumped puffed dressed crashed reached

'..ing' rub > rubbing

hopping rubbing digging swimming getting

‘..ing’ care > caring

hoping caring writing moving coming

‘..ing’ grin > grinning

grinning travelling panicking referring

‘..ing’ visit > visiting

happening limiting visiting targeting carpeting

‘..ing’ wait > waiting

carrying dreaming going standing waiting

‘..ing’ with eye ..ie ..o ..oe

echoing eyeing hoeing lying shoeing tying vetoing radioing

‘..s’ cry > cries

cries carries worries dries hurries

Suffixes for plurals

baby > babies

puppies babies pennies daisies families ponies stories cities

dot > dots

dots spots bonfires frills apples computers hills

half > halves

wives knives loaves halves wolves thieves shelves

hero > heroes

tomatoes heroes echoes dominoes volcanoes potatoes cargoes

irregular plurals

women mice feet salmon children sheep lice teeth men geese

kilo > kilos

pianos videos photos solos embryos radios kilos

kiss > kisses

boxes brushes kisses matches coaches

monkey > monkeys

trays boys keys guys ways toys monkeys

roof > roofs

chiefs chefs cliffs roofs beliefs

"bigger, biggest"

easy > easier >easiest

happiest healthier funniest funnier healthiest easiest easier happier

late > later > latest

simplest fiercer whitest fiercest largest whiter simpler larger

old > older

longer deeper taller younger smaller older higher

old > oldest

tallest oldest youngest smallest longest highest fastest deepest

red > redder > reddest

hotter hottest bigger reddest redder biggest

Prefixes of quantity

‘bi.., bin..’ twice

biscuit binoculars binary bicycle

‘cent..’

century centipede centurion

‘du..’ two

duet duplicate duel duo

‘kilo..’

kilometre kilohertz kilowatt

‘mill..’

millilitre millimetre millisecond millennium

‘mono..’

monocycle monopoly monogamy monocle

‘multi..’

multimedia multipurpose multiplication multitude

‘omni..’

omnipotent omnivorous omniscient

‘pan.., panto..’

panacea pantomime panning panorama

‘poly..’

polythene polytechnic polygon

‘prim..’ first

primitive prime primate primary

‘quad..’

quadruplet quadrant quadrilateral

‘semi..’

semicolon semiconductor semicircle

‘tri..’ three

triple tricycle tripod trio

‘uni..’

uniform unicorn unique unit

Roots (Latin)

annus year

annual perennial annuity biennial anniversary

aqua water

aqueduct aquamarine aqualung subaqua aquarium

cavus hollow

excavate concave cavity cave

ducere, ductum to lead

product conductor introduce aqueduct duke deduct ductile education

fortis strong

comfort effort force reinforce fortify fortress

mittere, missum send

omission transmission permission commission admission missionary missile

mors, mortis death

mortgage immortal murderous mortal mortify

pendere to hang

independent pendulum appendix depend pendant pending suspense

portare carry

portable import report export support

scribere, scriptum write

postscript scribble script nondescript description inscribe scribe

terra the Earth

extraterrestrial terrain terrace inter subterranean terrier

videre, visum – to see

advice provide invisible survey television revision envy videos

Roots (Greek)

aer air

aerodynamic aerodrome aeroplane aerobatics aerobics

aster star

asterisk asteroid astronaut disaster astronomy

bios life

biology amphibious biosphere biography antibiotic

chronos time

anachronism chronicle synchronous chronology chronic

gramma letter

diagram anagram hologram gramophone programme grammar

graphe writing

geography graph paragraph photograph autograph graphite

hydor water

hydrotherapy hydraulic dehydrated hydrofoil hydrogen

logos word

illogical biology technology dialogue prologue

phileein to love

philosopher philanthropist philatelist anglophile

phone sound

telephone symphony microphone cacophony gramophone phonetics

photos light

photosynthesis photon photocopier photograph photogenic telephoto

polis city

cosmopolitan politics politician metropolis

scopeein view

periscope microscope telescope scope stethoscope

techne art or skill

technical technician technophobia technology polytechnic pyrotechnics

theos a god

enthusiasm atheist theology

zoon animal

protozoan zodiac zoology zoo

Further explorations

Syllables and spelling

Compound words

birthday milkman sunset handbag dustbin windmill notebook lipstick

Split like ba-sin

label silent stupid moment secret pupil pilot minus hotel

Split like bas-ket

plastic zebra trumpet picnic panda basket napkin pumpkin

Split like cot-ton

sudden paddock rabbit puffin lesson hidden kitten cotton

Split like fin-ish

body lemon habit finish visit metal robin shadow

Split like po-em

triumph diet duet poem lion

More vowel sounds

‘a’ as in acorn

acorn angel paper able

‘a’ as in father

plant after ask bath last class glass father fast

‘e’ as in demon

she lenient demon decent secret recent

‘ei’ as in ceiling

receive perceive deceive deceit conceited ceiling

‘ei’ as in vein

weight vein sleigh neighbour neigh freight eight reindeer

‘i’ as in minus

sidle idle triangle minus climb

'o' as in dove

mother other done some dove come brother money front glove

‘o’ as in only

only over holy open

‘oor’ as in floor

moor floor poor door

‘u’ as in pull

bull put full bush push pull

‘u’ as in uniform

uniform unicorn truth puny unit tunic

‘y’ as in cycle

reply style cycle nylon rhyme python

‘y’ as in gym

mysterious syrup rhythm pyramid sympathy gym crystal

Sounds of ‘ough’

drought cough nought plough dough bought bough although thorough through enough

More consonant sounds

‘ch’ as in chemist

anchor Christmas chemist ache school character scheme echo stomach technical

‘ch’ sounds as "sh"

sachet chassis chef chalet chiffon ch