Language Arts Grade Four

Unit Seventeen, Lesson Four: Suffixes: -ful, -ous, -er, -or


  1. address
  2. drought
  3. drop
  4. drill
  5. dream
  6. drain
  7. children
  8. drink
  9. sonic
  10. boom
  1. center
  2. figure
  3. agree
  4. moment
  5. script
  6. travel
  7. settlement
  8. tourist
  9. goggle
  10. freeway
Suffixes: -er and -or

The suffixes -er and -or mean "someone who..." For instance, runner means "someone who runs." When you add -er or -or to a verb it becomes a noun. Study these examples:


  VERB	 	SUFFIX	NOUN		MEANING
  bake	+	er	baker		someone who bakes
  dance +	er	dancer		someone who dances
  run 	+	er	runner		someone who runs
  sail	+	or	sailor		someone who sails
  act	+	or	actor		someone who acts
  surf  + 	er	surf		someone who surfs

Here's a sample sentence:

  The baker gave Jill a fresh muffin.

The suffixes -or and -er can also mean "something that...". Here are some examples:

  VERB	 	SUFFIX	NOUN		MEANING
  toast		er	toaster		something that toasts
  grind		er	grinder		something that grinds
  mix		er	mixer		something that mixes
  erase		er	eraser		something that erases

Here's a sample sentence:

  Jill pulled the burnt toast out of the toaster.


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