Elementary School Writing Quiz: Know Roots And Inflections
20 questions · exam conditions
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Know Roots And InflectionsQuestion 1 of 20

Look at these words: cat, cats, cap, cut. Which word is the root word for cats?

cap
cut
cat
cats
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Elementary School Writing Quiz

Elementary School Writing Quiz: Know Roots And Inflections

Practice Know Roots And Inflections in Elementary School Writing with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Know Roots And Inflections, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Elementary School Writing.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Look at these words: cat, cats, cap, cut. Which word is the root word for cats?

  1. cap
  2. cut
  3. cat (correct answer)
  4. cats
Explanation: The root word for cats is cat, since cats is just cat with an added ending. Cap and cut are different words that only share some letters with cat. Cats is the word with the ending added, not the root word itself.

Question 2

Look at these words: walk, walks, walked, walking. Which word is the root word?

  1. walks
  2. walking
  3. walk (correct answer)
  4. walked
Explanation: This question aligns with CCSS.L.1.4.c, which focuses on identifying frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms. A root word (or base word) is the main word before any endings are added, and inflectional forms are versions of the same word with endings like -s, -ed, or -ing added; for example, 'look' is the root word, and 'looks,' 'looked,' and 'looking' are its inflectional forms—they're all forms of the same word 'look' with different endings. In this stimulus, the word family includes walk, walks, walked, and walking, where 'walk' is the root word, and the inflections are 'walks' (with -s), 'walked' (with -ed), and 'walking' (with -ing). The correct answer, 'walk' (C), works because it is the base form, and the others are inflections of 'walk' with endings added for different tenses or uses. Distractors such as 'walks,' 'walking,' and 'walked' fail because they include inflectional endings and are not the root; for example, 'walked' is the past tense form but built on 'walk.' Help students by teaching to cover endings, like '-ing' in 'walking' to see 'walk.' Use word sorts and family charts, watching for mistakes like choosing inflected forms as roots or grouping by endings instead of shared roots.

Question 3

Look at these words. Which words are forms of the root word play?

  1. playing, looking, walking
  2. plays, played, playing (correct answer)
  3. plays, plan, plate
  4. played, player, replay
Explanation: This question aligns with CCSS.L.1.4.c, which focuses on identifying frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms. A root word (or base word) is the main word before any endings are added, and inflectional forms are versions of the same word with endings like -s, -ed, or -ing added; for example, 'look' is the root word, and 'looks,' 'looked,' and 'looking' are its inflectional forms—they're all forms of the same word 'look' with different endings. In this stimulus, the task is to identify which group consists of inflectional forms of the root 'play,' and option A lists 'plays' (with -s), 'played' (with -ed), and 'playing' (with -ing), all sharing the same root. The correct answer, A, works because 'plays,' 'played,' and 'playing' are all inflections of 'play,' maintaining the same root with added endings for tense or number. Distractors fail by including words not sharing the 'play' root, such as B with 'plan' and 'plate' which have different roots, C with words from different roots like 'look' and 'walk,' or D with 'player' and 'replay' which involve derivational changes or prefixes rather than simple inflections. To teach this, practice word sorts where students group words by shared roots, like separating 'play' family from others. Also, use activities like covering endings to reveal the root, and watch for errors like grouping by similar endings (e.g., all -ing words) or confusing similar-sounding roots.

Question 4

Read the word family: rain, rained, raining. Which is the root word?​​​

  1. ran
  2. rain (correct answer)
  3. raining
Explanation: We need the root word here. The root is the simplest form. 'Rain' is the root before adding endings.

Question 5

Look at these words: cat, cats. Which is the root word?

  1. cats
  2. cat (correct answer)
  3. cap
  4. cuts
Explanation: This question aligns with CCSS.L.1.4.c, which focuses on identifying frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms. A root word (or base word) is the main word before any endings are added, and inflectional forms are versions of the same word with endings like -s, -ed, or -ing added; for example, 'look' is the root word, and 'looks,' 'looked,' and 'looking' are its inflectional forms—they're all forms of the same word 'look' with different endings. The root word stays the same; we just add endings to show different times (looked = past) or different uses (looks = he/she looks, looking = right now), and word families share the same root. In this stimulus, the root word is 'cat' and the inflection is 'cats' (with -s). 'Cat' is the root word because it's the base form before any endings, and 'cats' is a form of 'cat' with the -s ending added to show more than one. A common distractor like 'cap' fails because it sounds similar but is a different word with a different meaning—not part of the 'cat' family. To help students, teach them to identify roots by covering the ending: for 'cats,' cover '-s' to see 'cat' as the root; practice common endings like -s for plurals, and use word sorts to group families by root, watching for confusion with similar-sounding different roots like 'cat' and 'cap' or 'cuts'.

Question 6

Look at these words: help, helps, helped, helping. Which is the root word?

  1. helped
  2. helping
  3. helps
  4. help (correct answer)
Explanation: This question aligns with CCSS.L.1.4.c, which focuses on identifying frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms. A root word (or base word) is the main word before any endings are added, and inflectional forms are versions of the same word with endings like -s, -ed, or -ing added; for example, 'look' is the root word, and 'looks,' 'looked,' and 'looking' are its inflectional forms—they're all forms of the same word 'look' with different endings. The root word stays the same; we just add endings to show different times (looked = past) or different uses (looks = he/she looks, looking = right now), and word families share the same root. In this stimulus, the root word is 'help' and the inflections are 'helps' (with -s), 'helped' (with -ed), and 'helping' (with -ing). 'Help' is the root word because it's the base form before any endings, and the other words (helps, helped, helping) are all forms of 'help' with endings added. A common distractor like 'helped' fails because it is an inflection (it has the -ed ending), not the root word—the root is 'help' without any endings. To help students, teach them to identify roots by covering the ending: for 'helps,' cover '-s' to see 'help' as the root; practice common endings like -s, -ed, -ing, and use word sorts to group families by root, watching for mixing different word families or choosing inflections as roots.

Question 7

Look at these words: walk, walks, walked, walking. Which word is the root word?​

  1. walks
  2. walking
  3. walk (correct answer)
  4. walked
Explanation: This question aligns with CCSS.L.1.4.c, which focuses on identifying frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms. A root word (or base word) is the main word before any endings are added, and inflectional forms are versions of the same word with endings like -s, -ed, or -ing added; for example, 'look' is the root word, and 'looks,' 'looked,' and 'looking' are its inflectional forms—they're all forms of the same word 'look' with different endings. In this stimulus, the word family includes walk, walks, walked, and walking, where 'walk' is the root word, and the inflections are 'walks' (with -s), 'walked' (with -ed), and 'walking' (with -ing). The correct answer, 'walk' (C), works because it is the base form, and the others are inflections of 'walk' with endings added for different tenses or uses. Distractors such as 'walks,' 'walking,' and 'walked' fail because they include inflectional endings and are not the root; for example, 'walked' is the past tense form but built on 'walk.' Help students by teaching to cover endings, like '-ing' in 'walking' to see 'walk.' Use word sorts and family charts, watching for mistakes like choosing inflected forms as roots or grouping by endings instead of shared roots.

Question 8

Read the word family: wash, washed, washing. Which is the root word?

  1. washes
  2. washing
  3. washed
  4. wash (correct answer)
Explanation: This question aligns with CCSS.L.1.4.c, which focuses on identifying frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms. A root word (or base word) is the main word before any endings are added, and inflectional forms are versions of the same word with endings like -s, -ed, or -ing added; for example, 'look' is the root word, and 'looks,' 'looked,' and 'looking' are its inflectional forms—they're all forms of the same word 'look' with different endings. The root word stays the same; we just add endings to show different times (looked = past) or different uses (looks = he/she looks, looking = right now), and word families share the same root. In this stimulus, the root word is 'wash' and the inflections are 'washed' (with -ed) and 'washing' (with -ing). 'Wash' is the root word because it's the base form before any endings, and the other words (washed, washing) are forms of 'wash' with endings added. A common distractor like 'washed' fails because it is an inflection (it has the -ed ending), not the root word—the root is 'wash' without any endings. To help students, teach them to identify roots by covering the ending: for 'washing,' cover '-ing' to see 'wash' as the root; practice common endings like -s, -ed, -ing, and use word sorts to group families by root, watching for choosing inflections as roots or including unrelated words.

Question 9

These words come from the same root word: help, helps, helped, helping. Which is the root word?​​

  1. help (correct answer)
  2. helping
  3. helps
Explanation: We're finding the root word. Help is the root word. All the other words have endings added to help.

Question 10

Look at these words: jump, jumps, jumped, jumping. Which is the root word?​​

  1. jumped
  2. jump (correct answer)
  3. jumping
Explanation: We're finding the root word. The root word is the simplest form. Jump is the root because it has no endings.

Question 11

Look at these words: jump, jumps, jumped, jumping. Which is the root word?

  1. jumped
  2. jump (correct answer)
  3. jumps
Explanation: The root word is jump because it is the smallest form of the word with no ending added. Jumped adds ed to show something already happened. Jumps adds s to show one person doing it now. Jump is the base word that the other forms are built from.

Question 12

Look at these words: clean, cleaned, cleaning. Which is the root word?

  1. clean (correct answer)
  2. cleaned
  3. cleaning
Explanation: We need the root word. Clean is the simplest form. Cleaned has -ed and cleaning has -ing added to clean.

Question 13

Look at these words: clean, cleaned, cleaning. Which word is the root word?​​​

  1. cleaning
  2. clear
  3. clean (correct answer)
Explanation: We're looking for the root word. Root words have no endings. 'Clean' is the root without -ed or -ing.

Question 14

These words come from the same root word: help, helps, helped, helping. Which word is the root word?

  1. helping
  2. helps
  3. help (correct answer)
Explanation: We're finding the root word in this family. Help is the root word. Helps, helped, and helping all have endings added.

Question 15

Read the word family: play, plays, played, playing. Which word has no ending?

  1. played
  2. plays
  3. play (correct answer)
Explanation: We're looking for the word with no ending. Play is the root word with nothing added. Plays has -s and played has -ed.

Question 16

Look at these words: jump, jumps, jumped, jumping. Which is the root word?

  1. jumped
  2. jump (correct answer)
  3. jumping
Explanation: We're finding the root word. The root word is the simplest form with no endings. Jump has no ending, but jumped has -ed and jumping has -ing.

Question 17

Look at these words. Which word is an ending form of the root word clean?​

  1. clear
  2. cleaning (correct answer)
  3. clown
  4. clan
Explanation: This question aligns with CCSS.L.1.4.c, which focuses on identifying frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms. A root word (or base word) is the main word before any endings are added, and inflectional forms are versions of the same word with endings like -s, -ed, or -ing added; for example, 'look' is the root word, and 'looks,' 'looked,' and 'looking' are its inflectional forms—they're all forms of the same word 'look' with different endings. In this stimulus, the task is to identify an inflectional form (or 'ending form') of the root 'clean' from the choices, where 'cleaning' is the form with the -ing ending. The correct answer, 'cleaning' (B), works because it is an inflection of 'clean,' adding -ing while keeping the same root and meaning. Distractors like 'clan,' 'clear,' and 'clown' fail as they are unrelated words with different roots and meanings, not inflections of 'clean.' To teach, practice adding endings to roots like 'clean' to form 'cleans,' 'cleaned,' 'cleaning.' Use word sorts to distinguish families, watching for confusions between similar-sounding but different roots.

Question 18

Look at these words: talk, talks, talked, talking. Which is the root word?

  1. talks
  2. talking
  3. talk (correct answer)
  4. talked
Explanation: Talk is the root word because it is the smallest complete word, and the other words are built from it by adding endings. Talks adds an ending to show one person doing it now. Talking adds an ending to show it is happening right now. Talked adds an ending to show it already happened.

Question 19

Look at these words: cook, cooked, cooking. Which is the root word?

  1. cookie
  2. cook (correct answer)
  3. cooking
  4. cooked
Explanation: The correct answer is cook because it is the base word found inside cooked and cooking. Cookie is incorrect because it is a different word entirely, not a form of cook. Cooking is incorrect because it has an added ing. Cooked is incorrect because it has an added ed.

Question 20

Read the word family: clean, cleaned, cleaning. Which is the root word?​​

  1. cleaning
  2. clean (correct answer)
  3. cleaned
Explanation: We're looking for the root word. Clean is the root word. It's the word without -ed or -ing added.