Spelling -ed Verbs: Double, Drop or Change y

About this worksheet

The three spelling changes of the past tense, with a rule box: double the last letter (stop - stopped, plan - planned), drop the silent e (smile - smiled, dance - danced), change y to i (carry - carried, hurry - hurried), but stay - stayed. Twelve verbs plus three sentences, key on page 2. It is a third grade grammar sheet, ages 8 to 9, where children write whole words and sentences on their own.

On this sheet

Rules * Short vowel + one consonant: double it and add -ed: hop - hopped. * Ends in silent e: drop the e and add -d: bake - baked. * Consonant + y: change y to i and add -ed: cry - cried. * Vowel + y: just add -ed: play - played. stop smile carry clap dance try plan like hurry stay drop wave Write the past tense of the verb in ( ). The baby for her bottle. (cry) Leo all the way home.

Tips for using it

• Do one grammar sheet at a time and read the instructions aloud together; the rule usually fits in one sentence.
• Ask children to say each sentence out loud before they write: most grammar mistakes sound wrong when spoken.
• Use the answer key to let older kids check their own work with a colored pencil.
• Mix one picture sheet with one writing sheet per week so grammar does not feel like a test.

Printing tips

Download the PDF and print at 100% (or “fit to page” on A4). Page 1 is the worksheet and page 2 is the answer key with the answers in red; print just page 1 if you want to keep the answers for checking. Free for personal, family and classroom use.