Primary 3 English spelling words
P3 adds syllables, doubled consonants and the r-controlled vowels that trip up careful spellers. These are the patterns that fill Primary 3 English spelling lists in Singapore, with free listen-and-spell practice below.
These are the spelling patterns that appear most often in Singapore primary 3 lists, grouped for practice. Your child's actual list comes from their teacher — photograph it and Spell Buddy will build a test from it in seconds.
The words, by spelling pattern
Set A · R-controlled vowels
12 words
- car
- star
- bird
- girl
- turn
- burn
- first
- work
- word
- world
- learn
- heard
Set B · Doubling before -ing and -ed
12 words
- running
- sitting
- hopping
- stopped
- planned
- bigger
- hottest
- sunny
- happy
- funny
- messy
- dinner
Set C · Adding -ed and -ing
12 words
- jumping
- played
- wanted
- started
- helped
- walked
- looked
- needed
- showed
- called
- tried
- cried
Set D · Everyday words that catch children out
12 words
- because
- before
- between
- behind
- again
- always
- another
- around
- away
- enough
- every
- friend
P3 is the doubling year: running, stopped, bigger. The rule is about the vowel sound before the ending, and once a child hears that, half the list stops being guesswork.
How to practise in five minutes
- Listen twice, write once. Play the word, let your child repeat it, then write. Repeating before writing is the step most families skip, and it is the one that fixes careless mistakes.
- Check straight away. Correcting a wrong word within seconds is worth more than correcting it tomorrow, because the wrong version has not had time to settle.
- Revisit tomorrow, not tonight. A word remembered the next morning is remembered for the test. A word repeated ten times in one sitting is forgotten by Thursday.
Say the word, clap the syllables, then write. P3 errors are usually a missed syllable rather than a missed letter.
Questions parents ask
When do I double the last letter before adding -ing or -ed?
When the word ends in a single vowel plus a single consonant and the stress is on that last syllable: run becomes running, stop becomes stopped, but visit becomes visiting. Teach it by sound first, rule second.
Why does my P3 child keep writing “becos” or “becoz”?
Because “because” is not spelled the way it sounds, and the child is spelling phonetically, which is a good instinct applied to an irregular word. Irregular words need whole-word memory, so practise them in short spoken bursts.
How many words a week is normal in Primary 3?
Most schools test 10 to 15. If the list is longer than that, it is usually split across two tests, so check the spelling sheet rather than assuming one big test.
Should I test on the same day as the practice?
Leave at least a few hours, ideally a night. Testing immediately after practice measures short-term copying, not what will be there in the morning.
Practice the next level
Turn this list into a real test
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