Plural Nouns to Remember

    Today we are remembering another issue we have previously discussed, because the plural nouns are used frequently and we must keep in mind the spelling.
     Most nouns make their plurals by simply adding –s to the end (e.g. cat/cats, book/books, journey/journeys). Some do change their endings, though, the main types of noun that do this are:

1. Words ending in a consonant + "y": "y" changes to "i" and add "es".
party / parties (fiesta/s)
city / cities (ciudad/es)

2. Words ending in a vowel + "and" add an "s".
boy / boys (chico/s)
toy / toys (juguete/s)

3. Words ending in "s", "ss", "sh", "ch", "x", "or" add "is".
bus / buses (bus/es)
glass / glasses (copa/s)
brush / brushes (cepillo/s)
watch / watches (reloj/es)
box / boxes (caja/s)
tomato / tomatoes (tomate/s)
 There’s one exception to this rule. If the -ch ending is pronounced with a ‘k’ sound, you add -s rather than -es:
singular    plural
stomach    stomachs
epoch    epochs
4. Words that end in -f or -fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and add s or -es.
leaf / leaves (hoja/s)
wife / wives (esposa/s)
There are, however, exceptions: more than one dwarf = dwarfs; more than one roof = roofs


     SpellingCity gives an interesting list of words that includes many of the rules discussed above.

Fingers                                                  

     
   Many other nouns are pluralized in an irregular manner. There are two cases:
   




Foxes

  

 1. When the plural and singular do not change.
 
fish (peces o pescados)        sheep (ovejas)         




Wishes
   2. When the plural varies irregularly. There are several nouns that have irregular plural forms. Plurals formed in this way are sometimes called mutated (or mutating) plurals.



 Cities

   
    more than one child = children
    more than one woman = women
    




 Visitors

   
    
    more than one goose = geese
    more than one barracks = barracks
   






Ladies

    
    
    more than one man = men
    more than one person = people  






Classes

 more than one deer = deer
 more than one tooth = teeht





Wolves

  
more than one foot = feet
more than one goose = geese






Mice

more than one louse = lice
more than one cactus = cacti





Branches

  
  more than one appendix = appendices
  more than one ox = oxen







The point of learning languages is in large part for travel.  CarmensLuxuryTravel.com, has travel tips and helps support this site.  The site has  ideas for travel to the Seattle Space Needle, Cuba Remedios, and with discussions of the best rooftop breakfasts on the planet.

Short Vowels Review

     Hey guys!!! I have already returned to continue the second phase of the blog, something like a second season as in  television series ... lol ... I will continue with the same dynamics: each entry will be related to the lesson daily of VocabularySpellingCity, and this time we will be trying lists words for fourth grade.
     So we start with a reminder of a very important issue that we saw in the first stage: Short Vowels Sound
     When there is one vowel in a word, either at the beginning or between two consonants, it usually has the short vowel sound. A short vowel word is any word that does not allow the vowel within it to generate that vowel’s long vowel sound.For instance, the word bug is a short vowel word, because there is no long U sound. 
      You can see that a vowel is usually short when there is only one vowel in a word or syllable, as in cat, bed, and hot; but a word doesn’t necessarily have to have three letters to be a short vowel word, although it makes for the easiest example, and three-lettered words make up the bulk of any list of words with short vowels. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as with irregular vowels.

 -I should get credit for access to my favorite college

farm ranch is abandoned.

-My shadow is cast on the wall when I interpose between it and the light.

-The drink is very chilly

-The girl put her head on the boy's chest and hugged him

-I have lunch at 2 pm every day.

-The frog jumps in puddles and likes hunting flies

-The girl split the candy to share with her ​​little sister

-The car trunk is full of luggage

-We must solve the exercise which left the teacher in math class

     Here you have a great list!!! and I leave you a  funny video about Short Vowels too.

1. Short vowel a words

ant

pan

wag

jam

cat

bad

ax

ran

flag

and

bat

dad

wax

van

cap

band

hat

has

can

gas

map

hand

pat

mad

fan

bag

nap

sand

rat

sad

man

tag

ham

lamp

sat

glass

2. Short vowel e words

egg

bed

test

jet

hen

fell

leg

fed

vest

met

men

hell

sled

red

west

net

pen

sell

step

nest

web

pet

ten

well

tent

rest

get

wet

bell

smell

3. Short vowel i words

dig

tip

hid

crib

sit

fill

pig

pin

kid

fist

bit

hill

wig

sin

lid

list

fit

kill

dip

tin

bib

milk

hit

pill

hip

win

fib

silk

pit

will

lip

did

rib

swim

mitt

him

4. Short vowel o words

God

hop

stop

jot

fox

cob

nod

mop

cot

not

ox

mob

pod

pop

dot

pot

box

rob

rod

top

got

rot

pox

sob

sod

drop

hot

tot

mom

pond

5. Short vowel u words

cub

gun

buzz

dug

tug

bus

tub

run

but

hug

cuff

dump

bud

sun

cut

jug

puff

hump

mud

cup

nut

mug

gum

jump

gull

pup

bug

rug

yum

pump

Latin roots "port" & "mot"

     Wow!!!! We finish the Summer Program today. These months have been very useful to develope our English knowledge and vocabulary with the help of Spelling City.

     Learning root words can be helpful in improving your vocabulary. When you know root words, you can recognize the root and use that knowledge to define a word you may not otherwise know. Of course, that is only a helpful technique if you know the meaning of root words.  Today we are going to check words with the root "port" or "mot". The root port means "carry". The root mot means "move".
       In Spelling City there is a representative  list of  the roots "mot & port":

 -Portable radios can be carried everywhere.

-Our car is the finest automobile ever made.

-They inpire and motivate me to work hard.

-He will transport the products by truck.

-The newspaper reporter wrote an article.

-They import foreign food into this country.

-Planes land on a runway at the airport.

-The motion of the boat made me seasick.

-The engine of the car is its motor.

-My boss will promote me to the next level.

     This was the last lesson. It was short and was the last but no for that it is unimportant, because in this English program, everything has been necesary to us. Every lesson, every word list, every activity, have done we as students, have been able to learn small and hidden rules English language that we didn´t know before. Just, I must say thank you Spelling City for this amazing adventure and thanks for the great experience that all lessons have provided me. 
                                                                                                             Good bye bloggers!!!!!

And thanks to you, Alexandra, for all those posts. Very interesting for us to watch your skills in English grow and to see how you have used VocabularySpellingCity.

Social Studies Vocabulary (II)

      As we have seen in a previous lesson, the social studies vocabulary lists are based on broad areas of study to which students can readily relate the words about: family, school, neighborhood, and community life. Today, SpellingCity's list includes vocabulary pertaining to geography and agriculture.

crop ------ a group of plants grow for profit or food
settlement ------ town or region newly populate
fertile ------ able to sustain life
resources ------ total means for life, support or development
trade ------ exchange of goods or services
barter ------ trade of something without using money
erosion ------ natural wearing away of the earth´s surface
custom ------ habit or practice of a person, area or place
culture ------ a society with its own customs and language

     Now you have the next new list about social studies vocabulary:

1. map: a drawing that shows what a place looks like from above.
2. key/legend: shows what symbols are used in the map.
3. symbol: signs that stand for real places and things.
4. model: a small copy of a real thing.
5. globe: a model of Earth.
6. equator: divides the Earth into the northern and southern hemisphere.
7. oceans: 4 biggest bodies of water on Earth.
8. continents: 7 largest land area.
9. compass rose: a drawing that helps you find directions on a map.
10. inset map: a small map that goes with a larger one.
11. abbreviation: shortened form of a word.
12. special purpose map: maps that show a special purpose.
13. canyon: a deep, narrow valley with steep sides.
14. coast: land that borders on the sea or ocean.
15. forest: heavy growth of trees that covers a large area.
16. harbor: a sheltered area of water where ships can anchor safely.
17. hill: raised land that is lower and more rounded than a mountain.
18. island: an area of land that is surrounded by water.
19. lake: a body of water that is sometimes completely surrounded by land.
20. mountain: a steep, high land area.
21. mouth of a river: the place where a river flows into a larger body of water.
22. ocean: the entire body of water that covers almost 3/4 of Earth's surface.
23. peninsula: a piece of land that is surrounded by water on 3 sides.
24. plain: a broad stretch of level, or nearly level, land.
25. river: a flowing body of water.
26. source of a river: the place where a river begins.
27. valley: a long, low area of land, usually between mountains or hills.

      If you want to dig deeper on these lists of words, here is a link to the social studies or geography vocabulary word list. 

Final Important Sounds (words sound & /oi/ sound)

     At the intersection where noise meets language, we have a wonderful collection of words in English that are imitations of the sounds they represent. We hear the boom of an explosion, the roar of a jet, and the hiss of a snake. Some of these words can also function as verbs: Birds chirp, sirens blare, and cars crash. Words that are imitations of the sounds they refer to are examples of onomatopoeia. Here is a list of over 100 onomatopoeic words associated with noises: 
Human Sounds Voice: hum, grunt, mutter, chatter, yack or yak, blab, lisp, sneer, snicker, giggle, whimper, bawl, squeal, shriek, whoop
Nose and Mouth: shush, whistle, smooch, cluck, smack, crunch, munch, gulp, spit, sputter, splutter, slobber, cough, sniff, sniffle, hiccup, huff, snort, snore, belch
Hands: pat, clap, slap, smack
Animal Sounds Dogs: woof, yip, yap, growl, snarl, howl
Cats: meow or miaow, mew, purr
Birds: chirp, cheep, tweet, peep, twitter, crow, squawk
Insects: buzz, chirp, hum
Vehicle Sounds Engines: roar, hum, purr
Horns: honk, beep
Exhaust pipes: sputter, rumble
Brakes: squeal, screech
Other Sounds   Explosions: boom, bang, pop
Collisions: crash, bang, clash, wham, smack, whomp, whump, thump, bump
High Speed: zoom, whoosh, swoosh, zing
Actions: zip, tap, click, clip, snip, knock, rap, bang, thwack, flap, smack, smash
Objects: creak, squeak, pop, boing, sizzle, fizzle, flap
Groups of Objects: rustle, clack, clunk, clank, jingle, rattle, clatter
Sirens: blare, shriek
Alarms: ding, buzz, beep, clang
Music: drum, throb, thump, twang, plink, plunk, bong
Liquids: squish, slush, burble, gurgle, trickle, glug, splatter, squirt, fizz, plop
Air: puff, hiss, whistle, swoosh, whoosh
Electricity: buzz, hum, zap
      The list of  Spellingcity  was very good:

   
    In English /oi/ sound is very important too and  frequently we can see it. Words that contain the /oi/ sound spelled either /oi/ or /oy/.

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
oi	oil      voice      point		none
oy	boy      joy      loyal

 Here you have the list of Spelling City for these kind of words:

We are going to the cinema; come and join us!
I revealed the secret and then I spoil the surprise party.
I have no choice, I must do the right thing.
The air was moist and heavy.
A deafening noise hit us a terrible fright.
We should avoid the use of drugs and alcoholic beverages.
Enjoy the party and let's dance!
Pets are loyal to their owners.
The human greed will destroy the world.
The noise of the big city annoys people field.

As a particular case of this rule is lawyer. The word lawyer can be pronounced with either the oi sound or the aw sound followed by a y sound.

	boy	The new boy in school was named Luke.
	joy	The baby has brought them great joy.
	toy	That child has far too many toys.

voice

I've a sore throat and I've lost my voice.

	loin	Loin of lamb is a very tender meat.
	joint	My hip joint is hurting after that long run.
	void	Void means empty or invalid.
	hoist	Use a hoist to lift a heavy weight.
	joist	You need a new joist fitted above that door.

	toil	Toil means to work long and hard.
	coin	Toss a coin to see who pays the bill.

	boil	Let the water boil before making tea.
	foil	Cover the meat with foil to keep it warm.
	soil	This garden soil is good quality.

/aw/ Sound

   
    The North American /aw/ sound is one of the sounds with the greatest variation in pronunciation even within the continent. Some regions of the United States do not consider this to be a different sound from the short o. However, in many regions of the country it is a unique sound; therefore it is described separately.
     The letters (aw, au) have the same sound as short (o). The sound of (al) varies. It has either the short (o) sound as in talk, or may include the sound of “l” as in salt. (all) has a short (o) sound plus “l” as in ball.

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
aw	law awful drawn		none
-o- (CVC)[1]	dog lost soft		short o (top) long o (most)
au	caution haunt author		none
augh	caught daughter taught		none
ough(+t)[2]	brought thought fought		none
(w+)a[3]	want wash watch		none

[1] o spelling followed by the letter r
When the consonant following the letter o is the letter r (as in the words for and order), the sound is usually pronounced as the or sound. If the or spelling occurs on an unstressed syllable (as in the words honor and factor), a schwa+r pronunciation is also possible.

[2] ough(+t) spelling
The ough spelling is pronounced with the aw sound when it is followed by the letter t. There are no pronunciation patterns when ough occurs at the end of a word. For example, the words enough, through, and though each have different pronunciations for the ough spelling.

[3] (w+)a spelling
The letter a is often pronounced as the aw sound when it occurs between the letter w and a consonant. Exceptions to this pattern include the words wax, waste, and wagon.

Spelling City brought the following list of words that are very representative of the /aw/ sound:

 

     And finally another small list of words with this sound I found:

awful	applause	almost	all
claw	August	alright	ball
crawl	Austin	also	call
draw	author	always	fall
jaw	because	chalk	hall
law	fault	malt	mall
lawn	haul	salt	small
paw	Paul	stalk	stall
raw	sauce	talk	tall
yawn	sausage	walk	wall

History and Feelings

    Ending the summer program there are two important lessons that collect words  frequently used.
    American culture is very rich, and if you are learning English, we inevitably approach to all these history. Spellingcity is no exception, so one of the word lists in these final lessons brings words used when talking about American customs and idiosyncrasy.The class is accordingly entitled "Cows for America"

tribe---- tribu
shelter---- refugio
remote---- lejano
village---- pueblo
gather---- reunir
nearby---- cercano
edge---- borde
offer---- oferta
herd----manada
nation---- nación



 For its part, the words that represent feelings and emotions are also frequently used, here is the importance of being able to express how we feel in English.

angry---- enojado                                 -She is angry at me for breaking her toy.
puzzled---- perplejo                              -She had a puzzled, confused expression.
worried---- preocupado                        -I was worried earlier, but I am at peace now.
thankful---- agradecido                         -I am a thankful for all my blessings.
silly---- tonto                                         -The silly clown walked into the closed door.
brave---- valiente                                  -The brave soldier fights without fear.
eager---- ansioso                                  -I am eager to read my exciting new book.
lonely---- solitario                                 -I feel lonely when I have to play alone.
proud---- orgulloso                               -I was proud to finish first in the race.
nervous---- nervioso                             -I was nervous about messingup onstage.

/ow/ Sound

     Today's class is going on /ow/, a very common sound in English. Words with the /ow/ sound spelled either /ou/ or /ow/. The point is that ow is not unique in any way. There are lots of letter combinations in English that are not always pronounced the same. Even a simple o can be pronounced in a number of different ways, not to mention ough. There are quite a few forces at work here, but the big picture is probably this: pronunciation changes all the time, and so does spelling, but for entirely different reasons, to varying degrees, and not simultaneously. And this isn't something unique to English, either.

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
ow	cow brown owl		long o (snow)
ou	mouse count out		none

     This is the list of Spelling city to illustrate the theme of the lesson and, as always, practice writing sentences, turned out to be my favorite activity.

-To sow the seed we must dig a hole in the ground.
-I will scout the cave that I found. 
-The brown bear tried to pounce on salmon.
-Ouch! That hurts.
-By adding all the products we buy, we get the total amount due.
-There are many tourist places in my town; someday I will invite you.
-The circus clown made ​​the children laugh with his jokes.
- Flowers adorn the garden of my house.
-Make up putting powder on your cheeks.
-I will allow you drive my car just tonight. 




        Here you have my word list.These are in alphabetical order.

OW Words  (that sound like the ou in out)

	allowance	anyhow	avow
blowsy	bow	bowel	bower
bowery	bowsprit	brow	browbeat
brown	brownout	browse	chow
chowder		cow	coward
cowboy	cower	cowhide	cowl
cowlick	cowl	cowpox	cowrie
cowslip	crowd	crown	dowager
dowdy	dowel	dower	down
downy	downright	downside	downspout
dowry	dowse	drown	drowse
drowsy	empower	endow	endowment
	fowl	fowler	frown
frowsy	glower	gown	growl
gunpowder	how	however	howitzer
howl	jowl	jowly	kowtow
manpower	meow	now	owl
plow	plowshare	pow
powwow	prow	prowl	-prowler
prowess	renown	row (brit)	rowdy
rowel	safflower	scow	scowl
shower	sow (pig)	tower	towel
	trowel	vow	vowel
wow	yowl	Howard	Moscow