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Saying the ends of words
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Keep the word you mean
- Outcome: use endings to keep words and quantities clear, then make a spoken request and replay one ending. Start with names and numbers if following short clips is new.
- Worked contrast: I like tea. expresses a preference. Replacing like with lie loses /k/ and changes the word; adding another vowel is not the repair.
- Try the familiar clip question before opening reading help. Replay as useful; understanding a printed contrast alone does not establish hearing or production.
Transcript — reading help after your first attempt
See. Seed. Lie. Like. No. Nose.
Audio practice using a familiar clip. In clip 1’s second pair, which word comes second?
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The second pair is lie – like. The second word, like, ends in /k/; lie ends in a vowel. If uncertain, replay just that pair and compare the two whole words.
Written meaning check. I like tea. is changed to I lie tea.. Which repair preserves the intended meaning?
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Like expresses a preference; lie is a different word. A final consonant can distinguish words. This chooses a written repair, without measuring its pronunciation.
Different movements, different endings
- For the /n/ in rain, the tongue touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while air passes through the nose. For /f/ in beef, air continues between the lower lip and upper teeth. Endings do not all stop the air.
- The word car may itself end in /r/, depending on accent. Keep the useful contrast without treating one accent as the only English pronunciation.
Transcript — reading help after your first attempt
Car. Card. Bee. Beef. Ray. Rain.
Audio practice using a familiar clip. Which pair comes last in clip 2?
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The final pair is ray – rain. Rain adds the /n/ ending. The earlier car/card and bee/beef pairs use different endings; replay the final pair rather than guessing from a familiar word.
Written sound-knowledge check, without audio. Match each printed word to its final sound. This does not check whether you heard or produced the sound.
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The printed words end in /d/, /k/ and /n/ respectively. Compare the final sound; matching print is a knowledge check, not hearing or speaking evidence.
Predict a regular ending from its sound
- Check the base word’s final sound first. Sibilants are hissing/buzzing sounds such as /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/: add a syllable, shown here as /ɪz/ (also transcribed /əz/). Otherwise use /s/ after a voiceless sound and /z/ after a voiced sound or vowel.
- Worked comparisons: cup /p/ → cups /s/; bag /g/ → bags /z/; dish /ʃ/ → dishes /ɪz/. Only the third adds a syllable. Printed letters alone are unreliable: games ends with /z/ after /m/, despite its written -es.
- These regular patterns also occur in present-simple endings: works /s/, plays /z/, watches /ɪz/. Check unfamiliar or irregular words in a learner’s dictionary; this rule is not a rule for every final letter s.
Transcript — reading help after your first attempt
Cats. Dogs. Buses. Books. Pens. Watches.
Written sound prediction: regular plural endings
Predict regular plural endings from the base word’s final sound. Printed sorting is a sound-knowledge check, not a listening or speaking assessment.
Written grammar check. Complete with the English plural: I have two ___ (card).
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Two cards uses the plural form. In this regular example, /z/ follows /d/, giving the final cluster /dz/; a written answer does not demonstrate its pronunciation.
Written guided prediction. The base word for cups ends in /p/. Which regular plural ending fits?
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First check whether the base sound is a sibilant. /p/ is not a sibilant. It is voiceless, so use /s/.
Written guided prediction. The base word for bags ends in /g/. Which regular plural ending fits?
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First check whether the base sound is a sibilant. /g/ is not a sibilant. It is voiced, so use /z/.
Written guided prediction. The base word for dishes ends in /ʃ/. Which regular plural ending fits?
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First check whether the base sound is a sibilant. /ʃ/ is a sibilant, so the ending adds a syllable.
Written rule check. Every regular plural -s adds a syllable.
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Only the sibilant-ending group here adds a syllable: dish → dishes. Cup → cups and bag → bags add a consonant, not an extra vowel syllable.
Keep meaning clear inside a sentence
- Notice the endings in like, red, cards, old, books. Practise slowly, then join the words. You do not need a separate extra vowel after each consonant.
- Natural connected speech can link, weaken or omit sounds. A stop consonant need not have a loud release to be present; do not turn this exercise into a rule that every sound needs its own explosion.
Transcript — reading help after your first attempt
I like red cards and old books.
Audio practice using a familiar clip. True or false: the speaker says they like blue cards in clip 4.
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The sentence is I like red cards and old books.. Red gives the colour; blue changes that detail. Check the adjective as well as the endings in cards and books.
Written translation practice. Translate into English: 我喜欢旧书。
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books — plural -s is part of the meaning.
Listen to an existing ordering clip
- The clip's phrase a beef noodle is an awkward model for an ordinary bowl order. In your own request, use I'd like a bowl of beef noodles, please. Keep the recorded wording separate from that more natural request.
- Listen for the endings in beef, drink, milk. This written correction does not constitute a review of the recording's pronunciation.
Transcript — reading help after your first attempt
What would you like? I'd like a beef noodle, please. Anything to drink? Milk, thanks.
Audio practice using a familiar clip. Which drink does the customer request in clip 5?
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The customer requests Milk, thanks.. Water and tea are different drinks. Replay the final response and keep milk’s /k/ distinct without adding another vowel syllable.
Repair a missing contrast
- If you mean like, check that your listener does not hear lie. Practise the /k/ closure without adding another syllable.
- Two cards needs the plural form in this sentence; two card loses the required ending. He works every day needs the present-simple ending.
- In good morning, the /d/ may have no strong audible release before /m/. Aim for intelligible connected words rather than a large gap after good.
Written English practice. Write two sentences about things you or an imaginary person likes, including at least one regular plural ending in -s.
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Example: “I like new pens and old books.”
Written connected-speech check. Every final stop must have a loud separate release in every sentence.
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A stop can be unreleased, and neighbouring sounds affect pronunciation. Preserve intelligible distinctions without forcing a separate explosion or added vowel after every consonant.
Try, listen back, choose one repair
- Read the six pairs aloud: see/seed, lie/like, no/nose, car/card, bee/beef, ray/rain.
- Use your own recorder or a partner. Which pair was hard to distinguish? Practise that pair, then use one word in a sentence. Compare again; a second take is not automatically clearer.
- For the ordering exchange, use a bowl of beef noodles. A partner can ask you to repeat an unclear word; that is useful feedback, not failure.
Plan a useful second attempt
- Choose one word or ending that was unclear. Replay that part and try the full phrase again, keeping its meaning; a second take is not automatically clearer.
- Local recording tasks below need your voice before comparison opens. Their guidance checks content and self-review; independent intelligibility feedback still needs a listener or specialist.
New written decisions, then a fresh request
- First make the written sound predictions without copying the earlier examples. They check knowledge of the regular patterns, rather than hearing a recording.
- Then make the borrowing request aloud before seeing content guidance. Use both quantities and replay the complete phrase to check one specific ending.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For maps, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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A map ends in voiceless non-sibilant /p/. The ending is /s/. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For rooms, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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Room ends in voiced non-sibilant /m/. The ending is /z/. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For faces, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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Face ends in sibilant /s/ despite its final silent e. The ending is /ɪz/, adding a syllable. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For keys, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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Key ends in a voiced vowel. The ending is /z/. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For boxes, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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Box ends in /ks/; its last sound /s/ is a sibilant. The ending is /ɪz/, adding a syllable. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For stops, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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Stop ends in voiceless non-sibilant /p/. The regular verb ending is /s/, without an extra vowel syllable. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For grows, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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Grow ends in a vowel. The regular verb ending is /z/, without an extra syllable. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written sound prediction, without audio. For washes, choose the regular -s/-es ending. Use the base word’s usual pronunciation.
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Wash ends in sibilant /ʃ/. The ending is /ɪz/, adding a syllable. This is written sound knowledge; check an actual spoken attempt separately.
Independent written meaning check. A visitor needs two tickets. Choose a complete request preserving that quantity.
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Two needs the plural tickets here. A ticket changes the quantity; two ticket omits the required plural. In speech, check that the final cluster stays intelligible.
Independent written sound check. Which regular plural adds a syllable compared with its base noun?
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Peach ends in sibilant /tʃ/, so peaches adds a syllable. Lamp ends in /p/ and chair ends in a vowel or /r/ depending on accent; their regular plurals do not add a syllable.
Speak in English to borrow two maps and three pens for a group. Make a complete request using both quantities. Record locally, replay and choose one ending to check.
Record, replay and compare the actual spoken words. Content guidance is one possibility, not a model recording. No automated pronunciation or proficiency score is given.
Transfer the quantity into an order
- Keep the number of containers and the food distinct: one bowl can contain noodles. Repeating an unclear request should preserve the meaning rather than change the quantity.
- Write the plural repair, then make the café exchange aloud. Compare your actual words and choose a possible repair; several natural requests can fit.
Written transfer. Repair the request to keep both quantities: I need three cup and two dish, please. Write the complete English request.
Compare meaning and the sound pattern. A written explanation does not show how the sounds were heard or produced.
Speak in English at a café. Ask for two cups of tea and one bowl of beef noodles. The server asks you to repeat the food request. Repeat that part, keeping the quantity and using a natural bowl order. Record both of your turns locally.
Record, replay and compare the actual spoken words. Content guidance is one possibility, not a model recording. No automated pronunciation or proficiency score is given.
Retrieve and connect
- Tomorrow, explain one regular-ending contrast before rereading, then make a new short request aloud. Ask a listener which words or quantities they understood where possible.
- Next: local recorded introductions or word stress and rhythm. Planning time is provisional; independent recording, language and learner reviews remain pending.
Usage checked 21 October 2026: British Council connected speech, Iowa State University: regular endings.
Later written review. A friend says that every written -es ending adds a syllable. Explain the contrast between wishes and games in one or two short English sentences.
Compare meaning and the sound pattern. A written explanation does not show how the sounds were heard or produced.