Understanding -ful and -less

Hello, class! Today, we are going to learn about two important endings in English words: -ful and -less. These endings can help us understand the meaning of words better.

What Does -ful Mean?

The ending -ful means “full of” something. When we see a word that ends in -ful, it tells us that the thing is filled with a quality or characteristic.

Examples:

  • Joyful: full of joy (happy)
  • Beautiful: full of beauty
  • Helpful: full of help (ready to help)

What Does -less Mean?

The ending -less means “without” something. When we see a word that ends in -less, it tells us that the thing does not have a certain quality or characteristic.

Examples:

  • Hopeless: without hope
  • Careless: without care (not careful)
  • Fearless: without fear

Key Rules

  1. -ful = full of
  2. -less = without

Tips and Tricks

  • To remember -ful, think of it as a cup that is full.
  • To remember -less, think of it as something that is empty or lacking.

Questions to Test Your Understanding

Now, let’s see how well you understand these endings! Below are some questions for you to answer.

Easy Level Questions

  1. What does joyful mean?
  2. What does careless mean?
  3. Is beautiful positive or negative?
  4. What does hopeless mean?
  5. If someone is helpful, what are they full of?
  6. If something is endless, what does it mean?
  7. Does fearless mean full of fear or without fear?
  8. What does powerful mean?
  9. Is useless a good thing or a bad thing?
  10. If a person is thoughtful, what are they full of?

Medium Level Questions

  1. What does a thoughtful person do?
  2. Can you think of a sentence using the word careless?
  3. What is the opposite of fearful?
  4. If someone is painful, what are they causing?
  5. What does tasteless mean?
  6. How would you use endless in a sentence?
  7. If someone is sleepless, what does that mean?
  8. What does worthless mean?
  9. Can you create a sentence with wonderful?
  10. What is a synonym for joyful?

Hard Level Questions

  1. If something is priceless, what does that mean?
  2. What does shameless imply about a person’s behaviour?
  3. How would you use fearless in a story?
  4. If someone has a mindless task, what does it mean?
  5. What does colorless suggest about something?
  6. Can you think of a word that means the opposite of hopeful?
  7. If a movie is described as thoughtless, what is missing from it?
  8. How does the word endless change a sentence?
  9. What does it mean if someone is described as selfless?
  10. Can you use sleepless in a short story?

Answers

Easy Level Answers

  1. Full of joy (happy).
  2. Without care (not careful).
  3. Positive.
  4. Without hope.
  5. Help.
  6. Without end (never stops).
  7. Without fear.
  8. Full of power.
  9. Bad thing.
  10. They think about others.

Medium Level Answers

  1. They think about other people’s feelings.
  2. Answers will vary.
  3. Fearless.
  4. Pain.
  5. Without taste (not enjoyable).
  6. Answers will vary.
  7. Without sleep.
  8. Without value.
  9. Answers will vary.
  10. Happy.

Hard Level Answers

  1. Very valuable (cannot be replaced).
  2. Not feeling shame (possibly bad behaviour).
  3. Answers will vary.
  4. A task that requires no thinking.
  5. Lacking colour.
  6. Hopeless.
  7. It lacks thought or meaning.
  8. It adds a sense of continuity.
  9. Putting others before oneself.
  10. Answers will vary.

Great job, class! Now you know how to determine the meaning of words with -ful and -less! Keep practicing, and you will get even better!