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You can hear the sounds in a word, and you know a root word when you see one. Mia is writing about her pets. She has two cats.
How does Mia write more than one cat?
Spelling Simple Suffixes
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
What a learner can do afterwards
- 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')
1 · Read
Some words grow a new ending. The word does not change. You just add letters, like -s or -ing. Endings can mean more than one, or happening now.
Try it together
Add -er to show more of something: quick becomes quicker. Add -est to show the most of all: quick becomes quickest.
The root word stays the same. You just add the ending to the end. Use -es after s or x, like box becomes boxes.
Just add the ending; the root word never changes.
2 · Watch
3 · Play
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
This opens up
Then practise
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.