lesson
Describe with ous words
1 · Learn
The ending ous appears in many adjectives. Danger becomes dangerous: something that may cause harm. Mountain becomes mountainous: having many mountains. Do not use one change for every word.
Humour becomes humorous: our changes to or before ous. Courage becomes courageous: keep e after g so the g keeps its soft sound. Famous drops the e from fame. Serious and curious have i before ous; hideous has e. Some whole spellings need to be remembered rather than built from an obvious root.
2 · Worked example
A courageous character acts with courage. I write courage + ous and retain e after g. A humorous story is funny: I change humour to humor before adding ous. The root is still spelt humour when it stands alone in British English.
3 · Your turn
Make an adjective from danger and from humour. Which is correctly spelt: couragous or courageous? Explain one change.
Check your answer
dangerous; humorous; courageous. Humour changes our to or before ous; courageous keeps the e after g. A correct explanation identifies the letters, not just the final sound.
4 · Apply your learning
Describe an invented story setting using mountainous or mysterious and a character using courageous or curious. Check the complete words in a dictionary, then explain what each adjective adds.
Adult guidance and safety
Read and discuss whole books, poems and plays alongside these original short models. Give evidence for interpretations and accept well-supported alternatives. Revisit spelling and handwriting over time; retain individual decoding support where needed.
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