1. Homographs and Inflectional Endings
Grade 4 lesson 19
Homographs and Inflectional Endings

2. HOMOGRAPHS
Homographs are words which have the SAME spelling. (homo = same….graph = write or draw) Homograph words can be pronounced at least two different ways….and they have different meanings! She will tear the paper. She had a tear in her eye.

3. Inflectional Endings = Suffixes!
When we READ words with suffixes, we often refer to the words as having inflectional endings.
Inflectional endings:
* change the tense of a verb.
* change a singular noun to a plural noun.
* often change the spelling of the base word.
When we SPELL these same words, we usually refer to these same endings as SUFFIXES.
Inflectional Endings = Suffixes!

4. Adding Vowel Suffixes Example: pat + ing = patting
When you add a vowel suffix to a base word, you MUST know if the final syllable of the base word has a short or long vowel sound.
DOUBLING RULE: When you hear a base word with a short vowel sound, double the final consonant before adding the vowel suffix.
Example: pat + ing = patting
He is patting the dog on the head.

5. “JUST ADD” VOWEL SUFFIX
When we have a base word, and we add a VOWEL suffix…we check the last 3 letters of the base word.
IF we have 2 consonants in the FINAL position of the base word, we can “JUST ADD” the vowel suffix!
breath + ing = breathing beach + es = beaches

6. Changing Rule Base Word: library + es = libraries
We know that a SUFFIX is a VOWEL SUFFIX if the FIRST letter of the suffix is a vowel.
-ing, -er, -es
When you add a vowel suffix to a base word with vowel Y in the final position, you must change the Y to i before adding the suffix unless the suffix begins with the letter i.
Base Word: library + es = libraries
Exceptions: hurry + ing = hurrying
scurry + ing = scurrying

7. Nouns with Final O
When we have a noun with vowel O in the final position, and we want to change it from a singular noun to a plural noun, we add vowel suffix –es. Singular Plural hero heroes tomato tomatoes potato potatoes

8. SPELLING WORDS
Homographs: Vowel Suffixes: tear bosses libraries lead beaches houses dove breathing convinces wind hurrying heroes bow scurrying tomatoes sewer patting does setting bear