Note to Teacher:—As the suffix is often closely connected with the root of the word, not much stress will be laid on learning suffixes by themselves. A few of the more common ones will be noted.

SuffixDefinitionIllustration
fulwith or full ofcheerful
lesswithoutcareless, doubtless
nessstate of beinghappiness
lylike or like in mannerhappily
mentact, state, a thing thatdevelopment
someact of beinglonesome

HOMONYMS

A homonym is a word pronounced exactly like another, but differing from it in meaning. A few homonyms are spelled in the same way, as "weed," a garment, and "weed," a plant. Only a small group of the more common type will be given here.

Note to Teacher:—It has been deemed advisable to omit giving an extensive list of homonyms here. You may refer the pupils to the lists of homonyms which occur in the regular spelling lessons of the first five grades. For example, the following lists are among those which contain homonyms:—16 in grade I; 18, 19, 20, in grade II; 12 words in 28 of grade III; 32 in grade IV; etc.

WordDefinitionSentence
1. floura fine meal of ground wheatMother uses flour in baking
or other grain bread.
flowera blossomThe rose is a beautiful flower.
2. nonot, not anyI have no work to do.
knowto understandDo you know your lesson?
3. sona male child; the male offspring
of a parent, father or motherJohn is my son.
sunthe heavenly body which producesThe sun rises in the east.
the light of day

SYNONYMS

Synonyms are words that have almost the same meaning. If you were to look up the simple words "cut" and "ask" you would find the following synonyms: