Same Reading › Word study and vocabulary › Base words and endings
What are base words and endings?
A base word is the main part of a word, like jump. Endings like -s, -ed and -ing change it a little: jumps, jumped, jumping. Kids learn to spot the base word first, then add the ending. They also learn that -ed has three sounds: /t/, /d/ and /id/.
- /t/ after quiet sounds: jumped, helped.
- /d/ after voiced sounds: played, rained.
- /id/ after t or d: wanted, needed.
Why schools teach it
Big words are often small words plus an ending
First graders read words with endings (RF.1.3f) and recognize a base word in its forms, like look, looks, looked, looking (L.1.4c). Spotting the base word first makes longer words easy.
The three sounds of -ed confuse kids who sound out letter by letter: jumped is not “jump-ed.” Teachers sort -ed words by sound so kids hear the pattern.
At the kitchen table
What to say, and what to skip
Say this
What's the base word?
Cover the ending with a finger.Now add the ending back.
Does -ed sound like /t/, /d/ or /id/ here?
Can you use it in a sentence?
Endings change meaning: jumped happened already.
Skip this
- Reading -ed as “ed” every time.Jumped ends in /t/, not “jump-ed.”
- Treating each form as a new word.Jumps, jumped and jumping all share jump.
- Skipping the spelling changes.Hop becomes hopping: the p doubles. That's taught as its own pattern.
See it in action
Reading “painted”
Cover the ending and read the base word
paintIt ends in t, so -ed says /id/
paint + /id/Put it together
painted
After t or d, -ed always adds a syllable: painted, landed. After other sounds it doesn't.
Free practice sheet
Make an endings sheet
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Parents also ask
Why does -ed have three sounds?
It depends on the sound before it. After t or d it says /id/; after quiet sounds like p and k it says /t/; after other sounds it says /d/.
When do we add -es instead of -s?
After s, x, z, sh and ch: buses, boxes, dishes, lunches. It adds a syllable you can hear.
What about hopping and hoping?
Short-vowel words double the last letter before -ing (hop, hopping). Silent e words drop the e (hope, hoping).
Are endings the same as suffixes?
Yes, -s, -ed and -ing are suffixes. Teachers often call them endings in the early grades.