Year 8 spelling words: list and free spelling test

The Year 8 words, by pattern

Ask a grown-up to read the words: say the word, then its sentence, then the word again, while your child writes it down. The list is the answer sheet.

Hard words most people get wrong

1. definitely Leila will definitely join the team.
2. separate Noah kept his pens in a separate case.
3. privilege It was a privilege to help at the library.
4. conscience Hana listened to her conscience and told the truth.
5. conscientious A conscientious student checks every answer twice.
6. rhythm
7. restaurant We had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant in Auburn.
8. government The government built a new hospital in Westmead.

Double letters that are easy to miss

1. accommodate The hall can accommodate many families.
2. embarrass Sam did not want to embarrass his teammate.
3. recommend
4. occurrence A double rainbow is a rare occurrence.
5. occasion
6. exaggerate Please do not exaggerate the size of the fish you caught.
7. possession

The endings able and ible

1. eligible
2. noticeable The crack in the window was barely noticeable.
3. irresistible The smell of fresh bread was irresistible.
4. responsible Hana is responsible for feeding the fish.
5. admirable Leila showed admirable patience with the puppy.

The endings ous, ious and eous

1. courageous The courageous lifesaver swam out into the rough surf.
2. ambitious The ambitious plan was to plant a thousand trees.
3. suspicious
4. mischievous

The endings ssion, sion, ence and ance

1. admission Admission to the museum is free on Sundays.
2. discussion Our class had a long discussion about the book.
3. independence Many countries celebrate the day they gained independence.
4. maintenance
5. confusion

Plurals borrowed from Latin and Greek

1. criteria The judges used four criteria to score each song.
2. phenomena Rainbows and eclipses are natural phenomena.
3. strata The cliff showed many strata of rock, one layer above another.
4. analyses The scientists compared two analyses of the river water.
5. diagnoses The two doctors gave different diagnoses.
6. oases The travellers rested at two oases in the desert.
7. algae Green algae covered the rocks in the pond.
8. parentheses The teacher put two extra words in round brackets, called parentheses.

Plurals that change inside, or not at all

1. sons-in-law Mrs Nguyen has two sons-in-law.
2. mothers-in-law
3. aircraft Five aircraft landed at the airport this morning.
4. species Scientists found three new species of frog.

Greek and Latin roots inside longer words

1. manufacture The factory will manufacture solar panels in Newcastle.
2. hydroelectric The Snowy Mountains Scheme makes hydroelectric power.
3. thermometer The nurse read the thermometer to check for a fever.
4. photograph Mum framed a photograph of our trip to Uluru.
5. geography In geography we studied the rivers of New South Wales.
6. submerge Ducks submerge their heads to find food.
7. autobiography The swimmer wrote an autobiography about her life.
8. contradict The new results contradict what the scientists first thought.

Words that sound the same, or nearly

1. principle She refused to lie, as a matter of principle.
2. stationery Hana bought new stationery for school: pens, paper and envelopes.
3. compliment Yusuf gave Mia a kind compliment about her painting.
4. discreet The nurse was discreet and told no one about the patient's illness.
5. practise Trained doctors practise medicine with great care.
6. counsel The wise elder gave good counsel to the worried players.
7. license The council will license the shop to stay open until midnight.
8. storey Our flat is on the third storey of the apartment block.