Learning English

More spelling advice

In the previous activity we saw two different spellings of the 'shun' /ʃ(ə)n/ and 'jhun' /ʒ(ə)n/ endings. Here is some more advice for the other ways this ending can be spelt.

-ssion

If a verb ends in -ss, just add -ion to make a noun.

discuss - discussion
express - expression
obsess - obsession

For words ending -mit - drop the t and add -ssion.

admit - admission
permit - permission
transmit - transmission

Words ending in -cede / -ceed - drop the de / ed and add -ssion.

succeed - succession
proceed - procession
concede - concession

อ่านเนื้อหาพร้อมทำแบบฝีกหัด

Less common spellings

There are a few more ways this ending can be spelt. There are not a lot of words that have this spelling, but it's a good idea to be famiiar with them.

-cian

Words relating to jobs and professions. Many of these, but not all, come from words ending in ic.

electric - electrician
music - musician
clinic - clinician
politics - politician

beauty - beautician
diet - dietician

-tian

There are a few words with this ending.  They are usually adjectives and refer to a nationality or a belief. 

He's an Egyptian
The Martian landcape is very bleak.
They belong to the Christian church.

-cion

There are only a few common words that have this spelling at the end. 

suspect - suspicion
coerce - coercion

-cean

There are very few words with this ending.

Some crustaceans live in the ocean.
Whales are cetaceans.

To do

Do you think you know your spelling? Try the quiz to find out. Use the information from all the activities in this session to help you, if necessary.

End of Session 1

That's the end of this session. We hope you picked up some tips that will help you with your spelling. Coming up next, some grammar.