Morpheme Monday: ure

Welcome to another edition of Morpheme Monday! Today, we're delving into the suffix "-ure." This handy little morpheme can transform verbs into nouns, often signifying the result or process of an action.

The Suffix "ure

The suffix "-ure" is derived from Latin -ura, which was used to form nouns indicating an action or result. In English "-ure" typically creates a noun that represents:

• The action or process of the verb

• The result or product of that action

Examples of Words with "-ure"

• Capture: "capt" is to seize or take. To capture is the act of seizing or taking.

• Failure: "fail" is to not accomplish something. Failure is used to describe the result (My project was a total failure.)

• Structure: "struct" means to build. Structure is then the result or arrangement of building or composing something. The structure they built was solid, but ugly. The structure of the company ensures all employees have a say in daily management.

• Manufacture: ("man" = hand, fac = do/make): the process of making goods

• Fracture: ("fract" = break): the result of breaking

• Pressure: (from "press"): the act or result of pressing

• Culture: ("cult" = followers of beliefs and practices) and culture is all the knowledge and values shared by a society.

• Pleasure: (please) a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment

  
  

Improving Spelling and Understanding with "-ure"

Reading automaticity

When we see the pattern <ure> at the end of words, students may initially be tempted to break it into smaller sounds like /u/ /er/ or /you/ /r/. This common suffix is the same sound (at least in my Canadian accent) as the end of "doctor" or "water" or "collar" or "neighbour." Repeated reading and emphasis that this is the sound /er/ helps with quicker word recognition.

Spelling:

This is not the most common /er/ spelling. However we have about 500 words in English (according to Merriam Webster) that end with <ure> and 97 of them are common words. 59 of those 95 are <ture> endings. This is particularly helpful because once students have the basic code under their belt, they will likely choose <cher> when they are spelling the sounds /ch/ and /er/ at the end of a word. However there are about 16 common words that end with <cher> and most of them denote a person who does something (catcher is a person that catches, rancher is a person that works on a ranch, preacher is a person that preaches, etc.). <ture> is far more common when we hear those sounds at the end of a word, and by pointing out that we are spelling the /ch/ sound with a <t> we can help students notice this pattern.

Practice Time!

Write <ure> on your student's whiteboard and tell them that all the words you are going to ask them to spell end with /er/ spelled like that (point to the board. You can go a step further by showing them that the /ch/ will always be spelled with <t> in the words you are exploring. Point out other patterns or groups of words such as the /zh/ in pleasure, measure, and treasure or the /ee/ spelling in "creature" and "feature."

Ask the student to spell:

• adventure

• capture

• conjure

• endure

• fixture

• future

• secure

• sculpture

• posture

• lure

• feature

• creature

• treasure

• measure

• pleasure

Most of these words are predictable except for the <ure> ending. When your student gets the hang of that, add in words that have more unusual spellings.

Stay tuned for more insights into morphemes in our upcoming editions of Morpheme Monday. Happy learning!