Spelling rule
-ar, -er or -or at the end?
These endings all sound like 'uh' or 'er' at the end of a word, so children often write -er for all of them.
How it works
- 1
-ar ends many describing words, often as -ular or -iar
- popular
- particular
- peculiar
- regular
- familiar
- circular
- 2
-ar also ends some nouns
- calendar
- grammar
- collar
- dollar
- sugar
- 3
-er is the most common ending
For people and things that do something, and for comparing.
- teacher
- runner
- computer
- bigger
- faster
- 4
-or for many jobs and older words
- actor
- doctor
- author
- visitor
- sailor
Watch out
- grammar ends in -ar, not -er: don't ruin your grammar with an 'er'.
- calendar ends in -dar.
Words to practise
Years 3 and 4 statutory words
- popular
- particular
- peculiar
- regular
- calendar
- grammar
Years 5 and 6 statutory words
- familiar
Practise a few minutes a day
The daily spelling workout brings back the words your child finds tricky, and shows you which rules they need to revisit.