Lesson 9: Suffix -es

Discover How the Suffix -es Changes Words from One to Many

As children become stronger readers, they begin to notice that many words are made up of meaningful parts called morphemes. In this lesson, we introduce the suffix -es, an important ending used to make some nouns plural. The suffix -es is added to the end of certain base words to show more than one.

Learning common suffixes helps children understand how words change meaning, build vocabulary, and improve both reading and writing. Whether you're a parent, teacher, tutor, or homeschool educator, this free lesson provides engaging resources to support children's growing understanding of word structure.

Before You Get Started

All of the resources in this lesson—including the interactive presentation, worksheets, and classroom poster—are completely free to access and edit with Canva Education.

If you're a teacher, school staff member, or eligible homeschool educator, you can apply for a free Canva Education account to unlock these resources.

👉 Sign up for Canva Education here: https://partner.canva.com/Agkrzj

Once your Canva Education account is approved, you'll be able to access, customize, and use all of the resources in this lesson at no cost.

What Your Child Will Learn

By the end of this lesson, your child will be able to:

• Recognize the suffix -es.

• Understand that -es means more than one.

• Identify the base word in plural words ending in -es.

• Know when to use -es instead of -s.

• Read, spell, and use plural nouns ending in -es.

• Build vocabulary and word analysis skills.

Morpheme Spotlight: The Suffix -es

A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word. Suffixes change the meaning or function of a word.

The suffix -es is used to make many nouns plural, which means more than one.

We usually add -es when a base word ends with the sounds:

• /s/

• /z/

• /sh/

• /ch/

• /x/

Adding -es makes the word easier to pronounce.

Examples include:

• bus → buses

• quiz → quizzes

• brush → brushes

• lunch → lunches

• box → boxes

Notice that the base word stays the same. We simply add -es to the end of the word to show there is more than one.

Learning when to use -es helps children read, spell, and write plural nouns correctly.

Teach the Lesson with the Interactive Presentation

Introduce the suffix -es using the interactive presentation. It provides explicit instruction, word building, vocabulary development, and engaging activities that help children understand how suffixes change word meanings. The presentation is suitable for classrooms, small-group instruction, intervention sessions, tutoring, or home learning.

👉 Access the presentation here:

Download the Free Worksheets

Reinforce learning with printable worksheets that provide opportunities to identify, build, read, write, and apply words containing the suffix -es. These activities encourage repeated practice while strengthening vocabulary and word analysis skills.

👉 Download the worksheets here:

Display the Classroom Poster

Support daily review with a printable classroom poster featuring the suffix -es, when to use it, and example words. Display it on your literacy wall, vocabulary centre, or reading corner to provide children with a helpful visual reference throughout the lesson.

👉 Download the poster here:

Tips for Educators

• Explicitly teach that -es is added to the end of a base word.

• Help children remember that -es is used after words ending in /s/, /z/, /sh/, /ch/, and /x/.

• Compare words that take -s with words that take -es.

• Encourage children to identify the ending sound before choosing the correct plural suffix.

• Use sorting activities to group words by their plural endings.

• Reinforce plural nouns during reading and writing activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is this lesson suitable for?

This lesson is designed for developing readers, typically between 5 and 8 years old, but it can also support older students who are building vocabulary and word analysis skills.

What is a suffix?

A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word. It changes the meaning or function of the word.

When do we use -es instead of -s?

We usually add -es when a word ends with the sounds /s/, /z/, /sh/, /ch/, or /x/ because it makes the plural form easier to pronounce.

Why is learning suffixes important?

Learning suffixes helps children understand how words change meaning, improve spelling, expand vocabulary, and strengthen reading comprehension.

Can I use these resources in my classroom?

Absolutely! These resources are designed for classroom teachers, reading intervention, tutors, homeschool educators, and families supporting developing readers at home.

Continue Learning

Learning suffixes is an important step in developing strong vocabulary and reading comprehension. Continue to the next lesson in the Developing Readers series as your child explores more prefixes, suffixes, and other meaningful word parts that help unlock the meaning of thousands of English words.

You may also enjoy exploring our growing collection of printable phonics, morphology, vocabulary, and literacy resources designed to make learning to read simple, engaging, and effective.