-ness and -er Year 2 Suffix Worksheets

This bright, appealing grammar worksheet is an excellent way to practise and revise using the noun suffixes ‘-ness’ and ‘-er’ in Y2.

This primary resource is divided into five sections:

• Understand
  What’s missing? Label the verbs in the top row of the table and then add ‘-er’ to label the nouns below. Do the same in the next table with ‘-ness’
• Challenge
  Add ‘-er’ or ‘-ness’ to the word underneath each picture, then write a sentence about the picture
• Test
  Add ‘-er’ or ‘-ness’ to the words listed to create nouns, then write them in the correct boxes. Then add suffixes to the words in bold and use them to complete the sentences
• Explain
  Using your own words, explain what ‘-er’ and ‘-ness’ are, and how they can change a word
• Apply
  Make up a story. Show that you can use the ‘-er’ and ‘-ness’ suffixes by including 3 of the green words provided and 2 of the blue words and adding suffixes to them

Activities include SATs style questions and opportunities for creative writing responses, with eye-catching images as prompts.

What is a suffix?

Suffixes are letters, or groups of letters, that are added to the end of words to make a new word or change the meaning of word.

Suffix examples

• -ing: eating, running, saying
• -ed: planned, walked, burned
• -er: teacher, trainer, farmer
• -est: highest, fastest, biggest
• -ier: mightier, zanier, funnier
• -ity: activity, equality, civility
• -less: useless, sleeveless, witless
• -ness: happiness, fitness, silliness

National Curriculum English programme of study links

• add prefixes and suffixes: using the spelling rule for adding –s or –es as the plural marker for nouns and the third person singular marker for verbs, using the prefix un–, and using –ing, –ed, –er and –est where no change is needed in the spelling of root words [for example, helping, helped, helper, eating, quicker, quickest]
• read words containing common suffixes
• add suffixes to spell longer words, including –ment, –ness, –ful, –less, –ly
• apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (etymology and morphology) as listed in English Appendix 1, both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words they meet
• use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them
• apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (morphology and etymology), as listed in English Appendix 1, both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words that they meet.
• use further prefixes and suffixes and understand the guidance for adding them

This resource is part of the SPaG Gym collection.
View more from this collection

• Worksheets featuring five sections: understand challenge test explain and apply. Activities include SATs style questions and opportunities for creative writing responses with eye-catching images as prompts