Inflectional Endings Overview
Inflectional Endings
An inflectional ending is a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning. They have spelling and pronunciation rules that are very helpful for a developing reader to learn. To learn these rules, we teach students to pay attention to the last letters of the base word.
If your child struggles with reading or spelling endings like -ing, -ed, or -s, they may be missing key foundational skills.
These patterns are essential for fluent reading and writing—and often signal deeper challenges.
Inflectional vs. Derivational Morphemes
Inflectional endings are often confused with derivational morphemes; although they are similar to one another, they are unique in their purpose within English.
Inflectional
An inflectional morpheme/ ending is added to a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb for the purpose of assigning a particular grammatical property to the word in question. Inflectional endings assign tense (past tense “-ed”/ present tense “-ing”), number (plural “-s”), possession (“-‘s”), or comparison (“-er/ -est”).
- Inflectional endings do not change the base meaning or grammatical category of the word.
- All inflectional morphemes are at the end of a word.
- There can only be one inflectional morpheme per word.
Derivational
- Derivational morphemes change the grammatical category of the word.
- There can be multiple derivational morphemes per word (prefixes and suffixes).
Types and Purposes of Inflectional Endings
‘-ED’ Endings
To make most verbs past tense, we add the ending ‘-ed.’
It is important for reading students to know that this syllable does not often sound the way it looks. Rather than saying /ed/, the ‘ed’ ending makes the sound /t/ as in “walked,” /d/ as in “saved,” and /id/ as in “lifted.”
In general, just add ‘ed’
walk → walked
If the base word ends in ‘e,’ add only ‘d’
save → saved
If the vowel says its sound and there is a single consonant after, double the consonant
hop → hopped
If the base word ends in vowel+’y,’ add ‘ed’
play → played
If the base word ends in consonant+’y,’ change ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘ed’
cry → cried
If your child knows these rules but struggles to apply them while reading or writing, that’s a sign they may need structured support.
At Colorado Reading Center, we help students build these skills step by step using evidence-based instruction.
‘-ING’ Endings
To make a word present tense, we add the ending ‘ing.’
walk → walking
save → saving
hop → hopping
play → playing
cry → crying
‘-S/ES’ Endings
To make a word plural, we add ‘s’ or ‘es.’
walk → walks
save → saves
hop → hops
play → plays
cry → cries
misses, fizzes, foxes, brushes, lunches
‘-ER’ and ‘-EST’ Endings
To compare two things, we use ‘er’; for three or more, ‘est.’
tall → taller, tallest
nice → nicer, nicest
thin → thinner, thinnest
gray → grayer, grayest
silly → sillier, silliest
We support students across the Denver area, both in-person and online.
Strong reading and spelling skills are built—not guessed.
If your child is struggling with inflectional endings, early intervention can make a lasting difference.
✔ One-on-one instruction
✔ Structured literacy approach
✔ Support for dyslexia and reading difficulties
