Verb Suffixes Made Simple for Primary Classrooms

Suffixes have many purposes, one of which is to indicate verb tense. When students begin noticing that verbs can change depending on who is doing the action or when the action is happening, they start making important connections between grammar and meaning. Teaching verb suffixes gives students the tools they need to recognise patterns in language and apply them independently in their own writing.

This teaching resource has been designed by the Teach Starter team to help you introduce the verb suffixes -s, -ed and -ing to your students. The presentation introduces each suffix in a clear and age-appropriate way, provides engaging examples, explains when each ending is used, and includes opportunities for students to practise identifying and applying the correct suffix.

This slide deck downloads as a Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation. Read on to learn more about using this slide deck in your English lessons.

Activities for Applying -s, -ed and -ing to Verbs

This resource has been designed by our team to introduce your students to verb suffixes in a clear and engaging way. After working through the presentation, students may benefit from additional opportunities to apply their understanding of these suffixes in meaningful ways. 

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Verb Sorting Challenge – Provide students with a collection of verbs ending in -s, -ed or -ing. Have the students work out whether each word is written in the simple present tense, continuous present tense or past tense. 
• Classroom Action Hunt – Invite students to observe what is happening around the room and record actions using verbs ending in -ing, such as writing, reading or drawing. This helps students connect grammar to everyday experiences.
• Verb Suffixes Writing Challenge – Ask students to write a short paragraph that includes a set number of verbs ending in -s, -ed, and -ing. Students can then highlight the suffixes they used and explain why each was chosen.

Download to Teach Verbs with Suffixes

Ready to use this teaching resource in your classroom? Use the dropdown menu on the Download button to access your preferred version of this verb suffixes presentation. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides presentation before accessing it.)

Present the slides as part of your whole-class literacy instruction, use them for small-group intervention, or revisit them throughout the year whenever students need extra practice with verb suffixes.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher and Teach Starter collaborator.

More Engaging Resources for Exploring Verb Suffixes

At Teach Starter, we know that teachers want to spend less time planning and more time teaching! Click below to download more high-quality, curriculum-aligned resources to add to your unit on prefixes and suffixes.

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