4th Grade Suffixes Worksheets
Fourth grade brings the noun-makers (-ness, -ment, -ion) and the heavyweight adjectives (-able, -ous): kindness, excitement, celebration, washable, dangerous. Students learn that a suffix sets a word's job in the sentence, which makes even unfamiliar long words predictable.
Free printable PDF, aligned to Common Core L.4.4.b. One skill per page, answer key on page two.
Every sheet is one of a kind and prints with a version code, so you can reprint the exact same one later. New version every click.
The kind of sentences you'll get
Circle the letter of the word with the correct suffix.
-
The ______ in the essay was its rushed ending.
weakness · weakment · weakable
Answer: weakness
- The ______ crew works before sunrise. construction · constructness · constructment
- The ______ fair had a booth on space travel. educatement · educateness · education
Every print draws a fresh mix of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different sheet.
What's on each sheet
- Choose the word. Circle the letter of the word with the correct suffix. 10 questions per page.
Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.
How to teach this
Sort the suffixes by the job they create: -ness, -ment, and -ion build nouns; -able and -ous build adjectives. Then test it in reverse: if the sentence needs a thing, a noun-making suffix wins (payment, not payable). That sentence-slot reasoning is the bridge to the Greek and Latin roots coming in later grades.
Watch for: -ful and -less are opposites on the same base: hopeful means full of hope, hopeless means without it. A suffix can change a word's job in the sentence: teach is an action, teacher is a person.
Common questions about suffixes
- What do -ness, -ment, and -ion have in common?
- All three build nouns: kind becomes kindness, excite becomes excitement, celebrate becomes celebration. When a sentence needs a thing rather than an action or description, one of these endings usually supplies it.
- How do suffixes help with big words on tests?
- The ending announces the word's job before the whole word is even decoded. Seeing -able promises an adjective meaning can be done; seeing -ion promises a thing or process. Readers who use those signals handle unfamiliar vocabulary with far less guessing.
Related worksheets
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Aligned to Common Core L.4.4.b. Reviewed by the One More Sheet curriculum team. Content version 68, updated July 2026.