Inflectional Endings Educational Resources

Students will love modifying words once they understand how to use inflectional endings. Education.com’s many worksheets below will give students plenty of practice with word meaning. If you are finding that teaching inflectional endings has gotten a little repetitive, group students together to try out the activity and game ideas on this page to keep learning fun for all parties involved.

Once your students learn how to write a few words, they will be tempted to start writing sentences. Just as when speaking, in writing they will need to modify some words. One such modification is adding an inflectional ending to the words.
An inflectional ending is a group of letters added onto the end of the word that changes the meaning of the word.
Signifying Plurality
Potentially the simplest inflectional ending your students could use is to indicate plurality by adding -s to the word. This changed the word from indicating a single instance to multiple instances of the word.
Sometimes plurality requires the -es inflectional ending, as opposed to the s. Typically the -es is added to words ending in a sibilant sound. For example, box becomes boxes and sandwich becomes sandwiches.
Words ending in y are slightly more complicated. To indicate plurality in a word ending in y, the y is replaced with an i, then the -es inflectional ending is applied. For example, city becomes cities and lady becomes ladies.
Indicating Verb Tenses
Past and present verb tenses are indicated using inflectional endings. When indicating that a verb is happening now your students will add the -ing ending to the verb. Run becomes running and walk becomes walking. To indicate a past tense verb, the -ed inflectional ending is applied. Walk become walked, talk becomes talked, and chat becomes chatted.
Using the resources provided above by Education.com may help your students understand the uses of inflectional endings and how to use them.