Adding s or es

When does the rule apply?

Students can hear this rule. Say "box" and then "boxes": the plural has an extra syllable, and that syllable needs a vowel, so the spelling is -es. Every ending on the -es list is a hissing or hushing sound, and another /s/ or /z/ cannot follow one of those without a vowel in between. The same rule covers verbs: he wishes, she fixes. Words ending in a consonant and y change to -ies, and some words ending in o take -es; both have their own place.

Words that follow the rule

Words that break the rule

How do you teach it?

Teach -s first, then -es as a listening task. Say pairs, "cat, cats" and "dish, dishes", and ask students to clap the syllables. If the plural has one more clap, it gets -es. Then show the five endings in writing so students can predict the extra syllable before they spell.

"Let's make 'church' plural. Say it: churches. How many claps? Church-es, two. The singular had one. A new syllable means -es: c-h-u-r-c-h-e-s. Now 'book'. Books. Still one clap. Just -s."

What is the common error, and the fix?

Typical errors are "boxs", "wishs" and "buss", followed later by "dogses" from overcorrection. The fix is to say the word aloud with the ending. A new syllable you can hear means -es. No new syllable means -s.

Sort it: a hands-on activity

Put singular nouns on cards (fox, bench, cup, brush, gas, hat, kiss, quiz). Students say each plural and sort by the number of claps into -s or -es. Then they underline the last one or two letters of the -es words and find the five endings.

How this list was built