Homeschool 1st Grade Grammar: Teaching Verbs

Verbs bring a different kind of energy to grammar time than nouns do, and first graders tend to love that. An action word is something you can jump up and act out, which makes verbs one of the most fun grammar concepts to teach at this age.

Beyond the fun factor, verbs are essential because they're what turns a list of nouns into an actual sentence. Once your child understands that sentences need someone or something doing an action, their own writing starts to take shape.

Here's how to build verb instruction for a first grader, from basic identification all the way through tense and those tricky -ed and -ing endings.

What First Grade Verb Work Covers

Verb instruction in first grade usually opens with simply identifying verbs, spotting the action word in a short sentence or a list of words. Action verbs get special attention here, since they're the most concrete kind: run, jump, eat, sing, words a child can physically demonstrate.

From identifying, kids move into using verbs, choosing the right one to complete a sentence, and eventually writing verbs of their own into original sentences. This is where verb knowledge starts feeding directly into your child's own writing.

Singular and plural verbs get taught as their own skill, since this is genuinely tricky for young kids: one dog runs, but two dogs run, no s. First graders need repeated exposure to see that the verb form changes with the subject, which is the opposite pattern from plural nouns.

Tense is the other major thread. First graders start sorting sentences into past, present, or future, then focus specifically on the -ed ending for past tense (walked, jumped, played) and the -ing ending, often paired with a helping verb, for ongoing action (is walking, was jumping). Present tense verbs get dedicated practice too, since kids need to recognize and produce action-in-the-moment sentences confidently before tackling the more complex past and future forms.

How to Teach It Step by Step

Step 1: Act it out. Call out action words, jump, clap, spin, wave, and have your child perform each one. Tell them the word for what they just did is a verb.

Step 2: Spot the verb in a sentence. Read a short sentence aloud, like "The dog runs fast," and ask your child to identify the action word.

Step 3: Practice singular vs plural agreement. Show pairs of sentences: "The cat jumps" and "The cats jump." Point out how the verb changes depending on whether there's one or more than one.

Step 4: Introduce tense with a timeline. Use yesterday, today, tomorrow as anchors. Walk through one verb across all three: walked, walk, will walk.

Step 5: Practice -ed and -ing directly. Give your child a base verb like "jump" and ask them to add -ed for something that already happened and -ing for something happening right now.

Step 6: Write original sentences. Ask your child to write two sentences, one in past tense and one in present tense, using a verb of their choice.

Common Mistakes and Activity Ideas

The most common trip-up is subject-verb agreement, especially with irregular patterns. Kids often say "the dogs runs" instead of "the dogs run" because singular verbs ending in s feel like the "normal" form to them. Plenty of side-by-side sentence comparisons help this click.

Another very normal mistake is overregularizing irregular past tense verbs, saying "runned" instead of "ran" or "goed" instead of "went." This actually shows your child has correctly learned the -ed rule, they're just applying it a little too broadly. Gentle, repeated modeling of the correct irregular form is the fix, not worksheets.

For extra practice, try a "verb charades" game where you write action verbs on slips of paper and take turns acting them out for each other to guess. Reading a favorite picture book together and hunting for verbs on each page works well too, and it ties the grammar concept directly back to real reading.

FAQ

What's a simple way to explain verbs to a first grader? Tell them a verb is an action word, something you can do or act out. Have your child jump, clap, or spin and then tell them the word for what they just did is a verb.

How do I teach the difference between past, present, and future tense? Use timeline language your child already understands: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Practice a single verb across all three, like "yesterday I walked, today I walk, tomorrow I will walk," so the pattern is easy to see.

My child says things like 'I runned' instead of 'I ran.' Should I correct that? Yes, gently. This is called overregularization, and it's actually a great sign, it means your child has learned the -ed rule and is applying it everywhere, including to irregular verbs where it doesn't belong. Model the correct form back to them without making a big deal of it.

Do first graders need to learn subject-verb agreement by name? Not by name, but they do need the concept. Focus on the pattern, one dog runs but two dogs run, through plenty of examples rather than teaching the grammar term itself.

Keep Reading

• Homeschool 1st Grade Grammar: Teaching Nouns

Verbs bring so much energy into grammar time, and that's worth leaning into. Let your kiddo get silly acting out action words, and the grammar concept will stick far better than any worksheet alone could manage. 😊