Words ending in -tion, -sion, -cian

-tion ending are all nouns

-tion is the most common ending and we have some great words like action, condition, completion, relation, accommodation, addition, attention, communication, competition, condition, invitation, nation, position, protection, promotion, moderation, population, mention, solution, vocation, suggestion, station, occupation, revolution, rejection, location.

Let's look at some basic rules.

1. Just add -ion to root words ending in -t:

act — action

suggest — suggestion

interrupt — interruption

prevent — prevention

insert — insertion

exhaust — exhaustion

opt — option

invent — invention

Including words ending in -ct:

act — action

reject — rejection

protect — protection

inject — injection

instruct — instruction

inspect — inspection

correct — correction

collect — collection

direct — direction

2. With some words ending in -te, we drop the ‘e’ and add –ion:

educate — education

congratulate — congratulation(s)

fascinate — fascination

complete — completion

relate — relation

accommodate — accommodation

separate — separation

vacate — vacation

pollute — pollution

locate — location

3. But in some words we drop the ‘e’ and add –ation to make the pronunciation easier and you can hear the 'a' so that helps with spelling these: “in vi ta tion”, “in sp ra tion”, “pre pa ra tion”.

Also listen to how the long vowel sound becomes a short sound when adding -ation so 

invite (long sound thanks to the magic 'e') drop the 'e' and add ‘ation’ and the 'i' becomes a short sound – invitation, it helps with saying the word or it would be invition!

inspire — inspiration

declare — declaration

prepare — preparation

combine - combination

examine — examination

explore — exploration

4. In some words we drop the ‘e’ and add –ition the sound can help with the spelling short "e" again the long sound becomes a short sound

compete — competition, define — definition, pose — position, compose — composition, oppose — opposition

Also ambition, audition, condition, tuition, nutrition.

5. In some words we change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add –cation:

apply – application

certify – certification

qualify – qualification

justify - justification

identify - identification

multiply - multiplication…

the pronunciation helps

For more -tion rules check out my Spelling Rules Workbook.

-sion and -ssion endings  “zhun” or “shun” sounds

vision, pension, occasion, explosion, collision, mission, passion, discussion, permission

Not that many nouns have -sion endings. They are often formed from verbs which end with -d, -de, -se, -t.

1. Drop the -de and -d and add -sion:

to collide — collision

explode — explosion

decide — decision

comprehend — comprehension

suspend — suspension

expand — expansion

2. With -se just drop the ‘e’ and add -ion

infuse — infusion

televise — television

-ssion endings “shun” sound

mission, passion, session, confession, profession

3. When words end in -ss just add –ion:
discuss — discussion

confess — confession

obsess — obsession,

possess — possession

express — expression

4. -mit to -ssion
admit — admission, permit — permission, omit — omission, commit — commission

5. -cede / -ceed to -ssion
succeed — succession, proceed — procession, concede — concession

-cian endings

There are a few nouns with -cian endings and they usually mean occupations or jobs: optician, politician, musician, beautician, dietician, electrician, technician, statistician, physician, magician

To help you remember some of these words have a root word ending in -ic so just add ian

electric — electrician   Notice the hard c “k” sound in electric becomes a "sh" sound in electrician

music — musician

optic — optician

technic — technician

clinic — clinician

magic — magician

politic — politician

-tian Endings
There are only a few -tian endings and they usually mean place of origin or a belief: Martian, Dalmatian, Christian, Faustian, Croatian

For a more detailed look at the rules for these, check out my Spelling Rules Course