Grammar:Plural -es & -ies
【明報專訊】Pat shares with Bill what she has learnt about healthy eating.
Bill: Thank God it's lunch time. I can eat a cow now! Let me get a peach Danish, mango juice and a tiramisu!
Pat: Bill, watch what you eat! Although they are fruits, mangoes and peaches are high in fructose and are very sweet.
Bill: I see. Let me get some other pastries. How about a tuna croissant?
Pat: Pastries are made with a lot of butter. I recommend sandwiches instead.
Bill: Alright... how about a tuna sandwich and tomato juice? I love tomatoes too.
Pat: Good choice!
If a noun ends in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -z, add -es for plurals. This also applies to some nouns that end in -o.
e.g. Fishes, potatoes, beaches, buses, heroes
For nouns that ends in -y, change the -y into -ies for plurals.
e.g. Cherries, raspberries, parties, inquiries
*Note: Both rules have exceptions, e.g. avocados, photos (short for photographs), kilos (short for kilograms/ kilometres), boys
■Gear up
Fill in the blanks with correct form of the words below.
country / mask / ash / volcano
Japan is one of the (1) _______________ with a lot of (2) ________________. When a volcano erupts, it may release a large amount of (3) ______________. People living nearby wear (4) ______________ to protect themselves.
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
I can eat a cow (idiom) 我很餓
Danish (n) 丹麥牛油酥
fructose (n) 果糖
volcano (n) 火山
[Smarties' Power English 第251期]