Addition and Subtraction: Written Methods
In Year 4, pupils extend column addition and column subtraction to numbers with up to 4 digits, including numbers with zeros in them, which need exchanging across more than one column at once.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Line up both numbers by place value in a column format, with thousands, hundreds, tens and ones each directly above one another.
- For column addition, add each column starting with the ones, carrying any ten into the column to the left as you go.
- For column subtraction, subtract each column starting with the ones; whenever the top digit is smaller than the bottom digit, exchange 1 from the column to its left.
- If the column to the left has a zero in it, exchange from the next column along instead, turning that zero into 9 (and the far column reduces by 1) before exchanging into the column that needed it.
- Estimate the answer first by rounding both numbers to the nearest 100 or 1000 and doing the calculation roughly, then check the exact written answer is close to the estimate.
- Check the final answer using the inverse operation: add back up from a subtraction, or subtract one addend from the total in an addition.
Worked example
Use column subtraction to work out 5003 - 1847.
- Line up 5003 above 1847 by place value, matching the ones, tens, hundreds and thousands columns.
- Ones column: 3 - 7 cannot be done, and the tens and hundreds columns are both 0, so exchange right through from the thousands column: the thousands digit becomes 4, the hundreds and tens columns each become 9, and the ones column becomes 13.
- Ones column: 13 - 7 = 6.
- Tens column: 9 - 4 = 5.
- Hundreds column: 9 - 8 = 1, and the thousands column: 4 - 1 = 3.
- Reading the columns gives the answer 3156.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q13,256 + 4,178 =Show answer
Answer: 7434
Q26,004 - 2,867 =Show answer
Answer: 3137
Q3Work out 5,472 + 3,895.Show answer
Answer: 9367
Q4Work out 7,001 - 3,456.Show answer
Answer: 3545
Q5A stadium sold 4,865 tickets on Saturday and 3,978 tickets on Sunday. How many tickets were sold over the two days?Show answer
Answer: 8843 (4865 + 3978)
Q6A cinema has 5,280 seats. On a sold-out night, 4,647 people attended. How many seats were empty?Show answer
Answer: 633 (5280 - 4647)
Q7Find the missing number: 2,468 + ___ = 5,000.Show answer
Answer: 2532
Q8Zainab worked out 4,352 - 1,986 and got 2,366. Use the inverse operation to check whether she is correct.Show answer
Answer: Add 1,986 to 2,366: 1,986 + 2,366 = 4,352, which matches the original number, so Zainab's answer of 2,366 is correct.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS2 Maths exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Work out 6,145 + 2,879.
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Work out 8,003 - 4,568.
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A school library has 4,250 books. It receives a delivery of 1,675 new books, and then donates 830 old books to another school. How many books does the library have now? Show your working.
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the addition and subtraction: written methods worksheet pack - 6 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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