Year 2 — Spelling

Spelling patterns

Spell tricky exception words, add prefixes and suffixes to build new words, and tell apart homophones — words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

Back to Year 2

💡Understand

HOMOPHONES sound exactly the same but are spelled differently and mean different things — like 'to', 'too' and 'two'. Adding a PREFIX to the front of a word (un- + happy = unhappy) or a SUFFIX to the end (help + ful = helpful) can change or add to its meaning.

“There were two dogs, and they went to the park too.”

'Two' is the number, 'to' shows direction (to the park), and 'too' means 'also'. All three sound identical but are spelled completely differently!

🔍Spot it

Which spelling of the homophone is correct here?

Question 1

I ___ tired today. (the word meaning 'am')

💡 This isn't actually a homophone trick — 'am' is simply the correct verb here.

Question 2

We saw ___ birds in the garden. (the number)

💡 'Two' is the number spelling — used because it's counting birds.

Question 3

Can I come ___ ? (meaning 'also')

💡 'Too' means 'also' — this is the correct spelling here.

🧠Think about it

Why can homophones like 'to', 'too' and 'two' be tricky to spell correctly?

✍️Try it

Add the prefix or suffix to build the new word.

happy + un-

Question 1

What word do you get when you add 'un-' to 'happy'?

💡 'Un-' goes at the very start of the word.

📝Practise

Build the new word or choose the correct homophone.

Question 1

What do you get when you add 'un-' to 'kind'?

Question 2

What do you get when you add '-ful' to 'help'?

Question 3

We ___ the beautiful sunset. (past tense of 'see')

Question 4

In one word, what do we call words that sound the same but are spelled differently, like 'to', 'too' and 'two'?

💡 It's the first idea explained in this lesson.

Question 5

What do you get when you add '-less' to 'hope'?

Question 6

I need to buy a new ___ for my bike. (the metal object, not 'their')

🎯Apply

Read the passage, then answer the questions below.

There were two cats sitting by the door. They wanted to go outside too, but it was unsafe because of the storm.

Question 1

Which spelling of 'two/too/to' shows the number of cats?

💡 It's used right before the word 'cats'.

Question 2

Which spelling of 'two/too/to' means 'also' in this passage?

💡 It's used after 'go outside'.

Question 3

What prefix was added to 'safe' to make 'unsafe'?

💡 It's added to the very start of the word.

🏆Challenge

Can you use 'to', 'too' and 'two' correctly, each in your own short sentence?

🔄Review

A quick mastery check — 3 questions.

Question 1

What do you get when you add '-ing' to 'jump'?

Question 2

Why are homophones tricky to spell?

Question 3

What do you get when you add 're-' to 'do'?