Changing 'y' to 'ies' or 's' to make the plural

It's been quite a long time since we last posted about Joanne Rudling and her Spelling blog.

In early August Joanne published this lesson for elementary students (Básico 1 and Básico 2) about when to change final -y into -ies to make the plural (or the third person singular of present simple, for that matter).

The 5-minute video is self-contained. Learners have the opportunity to listen to Joanne explain the rules, with lots of examples and visual aids. In the end, a short test is given.



Drop by Joanna's webpage How to spell and click on the tag lessons for more tips on how to spell correctly.

Adding -es to the end of verbs and plurals

A couple of months ago Joanne Rudling published a blogpost on her Spellingblog to remind us of the rule to add -es to nouns to make plurals and to form the third person singular of the present simple tense.

This spelling rule entails a pronunciation rule, as the words/verbs that take -es add an extra syllable when being pronounced.

Drop by Joanne's blog to read everything she says about this point and to do a practical activity which involves listening and writing.

Remember you can find some other entries on the same pronunciation problem by clicking on the tag Plurals on this blog.

Spelling test -how to write plurals

This a test Joanne Rudling has prepared for us. What is the plural of the following words?

1. man
2. fox
3. family
4. mobile phone
5. baby
6. person
7. radio
8. dictionary
9. teacher
10. watch
11. bus
12. fish
13. photo
14. tomato
15. woman
16. wife
17. body
18. fly
19. colour
20. mother-in-law

To check the answers, click on the picture below or on the link above, and you'll be directed to Joanne's webpage, who also offers an explanation of the rules governing the spelling rules of plurals.

Pronunciation of the -(e)s endings

The pronunciation of the -(e)s endings in English, which comprises several grammar items including the pronunciation of the third person singular, plurals and the possessive case (saxon genitive), is a difficult pronunciation point for both students who are just starting to learn English and for a minority of English learners who have managed to reach the intermediate and even the advanced level without fully grasping how to pronounce them.

English teachers very often have to revise on a regular basis how -(e)s endings are pronounced. Today's activity has been designed by Cristina Cabal , an EOI English teacher, for her elementary students.

Her presentation includes some theoretical background, an audio file and an online activity. Click on the picture below to be directed to Cristina's activity.

 

If you wish to do further practise on the -(e)s endings, you can visit the following blog entries:

- Possessive case.

- Plurals.

- Plurals revisited.

- Plurals (from the Machine goes on).

Plurals

From The Machine goes on blog comes another beautful presentation, this time about the use of plurals in English. I hope you enjoy it.

Plurals revisted -Theory and games

From One clil to climb comes this detailed revision of the spelling rules for plurals in English together with a number of games to practise.

Plurals

Self-study activity: If possible, try and get together with a classmate or with someone who speaks English.

One of you must read the questions in this photocopy aloud, paying special attention to the pronunciation of the words in plural or third person singular. The other must answer each of the questions, but should include the information in the questions in their answers, so that you can get more practice with the plural.

Example:
A: "How many glasses of water do you drink every day?"
B: "I usually drink four or five glasses of water every day."

You can check the pronunciation of your questions here.

After the questions, you have a short theoretical revision of how to pronounce the plurals and some other activities.