Spelling Verb Endings
Spell words with common suffixes (-s/-es for plurals and third person verbs, -ing, -ed, -er, -est) where no change to the root word is needed
Suggested ages 5–6
Learning journey
Your child is learning to spell by connecting sounds to letters — building simple words, adding common endings like -ing and -ed, and memorising important words that don't follow regular spelling patterns.
Evidence of understanding
- Add -s or -es correctly to make plurals (e.g. 'cats', 'boxes')
- Spell words with -ing and -ed endings (e.g. 'jumping', 'helped')
- Add -er and -est to adjectives (e.g. 'quicker', 'quickest')
Assessment prompt
When Spelling Verb Endings writes about more than one dog or talks about something that is happening now, do they add the right ending — like "dogs" or "jumping" — without making spelling mistakes?
Standards alignment
Adding s and es
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key Stage 1
Adding –ing, –ed and –er
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key Stage 1
Adding –er and –est
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key Stage 1
Add suffixes -s or -es
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key stage 1
Add suffixes -ing, -ed, -er, -est
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key stage 1