Check understanding

• Use the root-word clue for endings that sound like /ʃəs/: when the root word ends in -ce, the ending is usually -cious (space → spacious, grace → gracious, vice → vicious, malice → malicious); learn other -cious and -tious words (such as precious, cautious and ambitious) as words to know, noting exceptions such as anxious
• Choose between -cial (usually after a vowel: special, official) and -tial (usually after a consonant: essential, partial) when spelling words with the /ʃəl/ ending
• Choose -ant/-ance/-ancy or -ent/-ence/-ency using clues: -ent/-ence/-ency after a soft c, soft g or qu sound (innocent/innocence, intelligent, frequent/frequency); -ant/-ance/-ancy when a related word has a clear /æ/ or /eɪ/ sound, often an -ation word (observation → observant/observance, hesitation → hesitant/hesitancy); -ent/-ence when a related word has a clear /ɛ/ sound (confidential → confident/confidence); a hard c or g sound heard just before the ending can be a possible clue for -ant (significant, elegant); and learn the many words where no clue decides

“Can your child spell words with tricky endings like "-cious," "-tious," or "-cial" — for example, "precious," "cautious," or "official" — without making mistakes?”