Tag: englishfirstjapan

Welcome back to the third-to-last video of this series! Remember, the Phase III audio will be available on all Patreon badges, and the video series will go live on Podium soon. Nonetheless, there’s a lost to be learned in this video, so get ready!

Objectives

In this chapter, you will learn:

• The pronunciation of the grammatical word endings –s/ -es/ and –ed
• The effect of grammatical endings on the number of syllables in a word.
• The importance of linking the end of one word to the beginning of the next word in a phrase.

The sounds written as –s/ -es and –ed are common word endings in English.  Sometimes these endings are pronounced as extra syllables (e.g., crash-es; start-ed).  Most of the time, however, the endings are added consonant sounds, not extra syllables.  For example, in drives, the sound –s sounds like /z/; in kicked, the –ed sounds like /t/.

To make these strings of consonants easier to say, some students drop the grammatical endings.  Other students might put a vowel sound between consonants and create extra syllables (e.g., kick-ed instead of kicked). In running speech, these kinds of errors can change the meanings of not only words but also phrases.

1. Former states                                     1. Former status
2. Keep the notes                                    2. Keep the notice
3. The tasks                                             3. The task is…
4. Official quotes                                                4. Official quotas
5. Perfect hosts                                       5. Perfect hostess
6. Planned a garden                                6. Planted a garden
7. Explained to me                                  7. Explain it to me
8. Looked up                                            8. Look it up
9. Used to cook                                       9. Use it to cook
10. Canned a salmon                                10. Canada salmon

Task II

Record yourself while reading the passage below.  After learning this entire lesson, come back and record yourself again and listen to the difference.

Have any airlines ever lost one of your bags? Most lost bags are reclaimed by their owner, but what happened to suitcases that nobody ever claims? They are actually sold to the Unclaimed Baggage Center.  Each year, a million tourists from around the world (40 different foreign countries) visit the story.  Customers find a wide variety of items for sale including hats, coats, sunglasses, neck pillows, electronics, and more.  The goal of the Baggage Center is to “find a new home for what was once lost.”

Task III

1. John’s answer                                     1. John answers.
2. The baby’s smile                                 2. The baby smiles.
3. Jakes dance                                         3. Jake dances.
4. My mother work                                 4. My mothers work.
5. His friend helps                                   5. His friends help
6. Our dog barks                                     6. Our dogs bark.

Rules and Practice

We use the –s/ -es ending in the following ways:

Plurals: We haven’t checked the answers yet.

Verbs (present singular): I hope that answers your question.

Possessives: I want to ask my teacher’s opinion.

Contractions: My teacher’s absent today.

Audio now available on Patreon