About this activity
Fourteen plurals covering three patterns: cat, dog, cup and book take a simple s; box, bus, dish and glass take es; foot, tooth, mouse, child and man are irregular; and sheep does not change at all. Putting all three in one deck is deliberate, because the difficulty is choosing between them rather than producing any one.
How to use it in a session
Sort before producing. The es group all end in a hissing sound already — box, bus, dish, glass — which is why they need the extra syllable, and pointing that out turns four separate facts into one rule. Then use a number: three boxes, five feet, two sheep, since the number forces the plural and stops the student answering with the singular. Eight minutes covers the fourteen.
What to listen for
Listen for the es rule being applied by ear rather than by spelling. A student who says boxs is not hearing that the word already ends in a hiss, and asking them to say it fast usually makes the problem audible. Watch sheep, which is the hardest here because it requires suppressing the rule rather than applying one.
Carrying it home
Counting things gives plurals constantly. Two feet, three dishes, five children — the number is what forces the form, and the child hears the correct version in a real sentence.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Kindergarten through third, and older students learning English as an additional language.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all fourteen pairs play free.
- Why do some words add 'es'?
- Because the word already ends in a hissing or hushing sound — box, bus, dish, glass — and an extra syllable is needed to hear the plural at all. It is a rule the ear can check.