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Published: July 27, 2015, 6:46 a.m.

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Have you already mastered the plural \\u201cs\\u201d sound in the English language? If not, you will want to watch this English tip from Gabby at Go Natural English. If you have had trouble understanding this concept, don\\u2019t worry, you are not alone. There are a number of English learners that had experienced trouble with the plural \\u201cs.\\u201d

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Gabby explains that sometimes you can tell immediately from the context of the conversation that you need a plural \\u201cs.\\u201d Sometimes you just have to listen and train your hears to hear the sounds. She also mentioned that the plural \\u201cs\\u201d can sometimes sound like a \\u201cz\\u201d and sometimes like an \\u201cs\\u201d. As you listen to more and more English conversations, you will be able to distinguish the difference sounds.

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Gabby\\u2019s tips are designed to help you, the non-native English learner, improve your fluency and comprehension. For more tips and support, visit gonaturalenglish.com and pick up a free eBook just for visiting. While there, be sure to check out the premium Go Natural English course for more comprehensive tips and support.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adLVNaRZIcE

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Episode transcript below:

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Hey! How\\u2019s it going?

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Welcome to Go Natural English.

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I have a great question from an audience member named Gusty.

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Gusty asks, \\u201cHow can I hear \\u2013 how can I improve my listening comprehension to hear the plural \\u2018s\\u2019 sound\\u201d?

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Gusty was telling me about how in his English class, he has to fill in the blanks.

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Maybe he was doing a listening exercise, maybe a worksheet, or a test.

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And he has a really hard time understanding when to put an \\u201cs\\u201d at the end of the word.

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He knows the grammar, of course \\u2013 \\u201cs\\u201d is for plural but for listening it\\u2019s so hard to hear that \\u201cs\\u201d, and that\\u2019s a great question.

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I hear this problem, or this complaint, from a lot of English learners and it\\u2019s a really common problem.

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So, it\\u2019s important to talk about it.

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So, Gusty, thank you for asking that question.

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If you\\u2019d like to ask more questions, the best way is to come to gonaturalenglish.com/contact.

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Also at gonaturalenglish.com, while you\\u2019re there, you can pick up a free eBook guide to fluency in English and check out the premium Go Natural English course with a lot more practice and support and real natural conversations between two or more people.

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Alright, so, Gusty asked about the plural \\u201cs\\u201d.

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Well, sometimes you know there\\u2019s going to be a plural \\u201cs\\u201d from the context, right?

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So, if you hear someone say, \\u201cI love pets. I have four dogs.\\u201d

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Well, you don\\u2019t even have to hear the plural \\u201cs\\u201d to know that if I say \\u201cfour\\u201d then I\\u2019m going to have a plural \\u201cs\\u201d, right?

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I\\u2019m not going to say \\u201cfour dog.\\u201d

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I need to say \\u201cfour dogs.\\u201d

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So, you don\\u2019t even need to hear it though because you know from the context.

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But what about if I didn\\u2019t say \\u201cfour\\u201d?

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What if I just said, \\u201cI have dogs\\u201d?

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Well, we need to train our ears.

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You need to think about the fact that English will have the plural \\u201cs\\u201d, and expose yourself to a lot of English.

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Understand that the Plural \\u201cs\\u201d has different sounds.

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It could be either a \\u201cz\\u201d sound as the example that I gave just now \\u201cdogs.\\u201d

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So, you\\u2019re listening for a \\u201cz\\u201d sound, or it could sound like \\u201cs\\u201d, like an \\u201cs\\u201d as in \\u201cI have four cats.\\u201d

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Right?

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So, we have two different plural \\u201cs\\u201d sounds that you need to be listening for.

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So, those are my two tips, right?

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You have to listen to the context \\u2013 actually three tips \\u2013 listen to the context, listen to a lot of English to train your ears, and understand that there are two different plural \\u201cs\\u201d sounds, \\u201cs\\u201d and \\u201cz.\\u201d

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Alright, I hope this has been helpful for you.

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If you\\u2019d like to learn more, come back to gonaturalenglish.com.

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I\\u2019ll see you there.

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Bye for now.

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