Suffixes -y and -ly

​✨ Learning Suffixes: –y and –ly!

Find out how these endings change a word’s meaning!

What Is a Suffix?

A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word.
It changes the word’s meaning or how it’s used!

Example:

• care → caring

• quick → quickly

💡 Hint: Prefixes go at the beginning, suffixes go at the end!

The Suffix –y

The suffix –y means “full of” or “having the quality of.”
When you add –y, a word often becomes an adjective (a describing word).

Examples:

• sun → sunny (full of sun)

• fun → funny (full of fun)

• cloud → cloudy (full of clouds)

💡 Think: “–y” means “having something.”

The Suffix –ly

The suffix –ly means “in a certain way.”
It often turns an adjective into an adverb (a word that tells how something is done).

Examples:

• quick → quickly (in a quick way)

• slow → slowly (in a slow way)

• quiet → quietly (in a quiet way)

💡 Hint: If it tells how, it might end with –ly!

Compare –y and –ly

Suffix	Meaning	Example	New Word Type
–y	full of / having	rain → rainy	adjective
–ly	in a certain way	loud → loudly	adverb

💡 Example Sentences:

• It’s a rainy day. (describes the day)

• She sang loudly. (tells how she sang)

Match

Match the base word with the new word that uses –y.

• Base Word: Rain

• Base Word: Mess

• Base Word: Luck

• Base Word: Dirt

• Base Word: Ice

New Word: Rainy

New Word: Messy

New Word: Lucky

New Word: Dirty

New Word: Icey

• New Word: Rainy

• New Word: Messy

• New Word: Lucky

• New Word: Dirty

• New Word: Icey

Match

Match the base word with the new word that uses –ly.

• Base Word: Quick

• Base Word: Happy

• Base Word: Slow

• Base Word: Gentle

• Base Word: Loud

New Word: Quickly

New Word: Happily

New Word: Slowly

New Word: Gently

New Word: Loudly

• New Word: Quickly

• New Word: Happily

• New Word: Slowly

• New Word: Gently

• New Word: Loudly

Multiple Choice

What does the word “stormy” mean?

• without storms

• full of storms

• not raining

• very sunny

Multiple Choice

Which word means “in a careful way”?

• caring

• carefully

• care

• carefulness

Multiple Choice

The word “sparkly” means:

• not bright

• full of sparkle

• in a dull way

• hard to see

Multiple Choice

Which word describes how someone might speak?

• speak

• brighful

• speaker

• softly

Multiple Choice

Which suffix would you add to "slow" to mean “in a slow way”?

• -y

• -ly

• -er

• -ful