Unit 84: More Spelling Patterns and Exceptions

Level: A2
Target Can-Do Goal: I can correctly spell plural nouns that end in -y by following vowel and consonant rules.

1. Vocabulary Focus

Study the following nouns that end in plural forms of -ys or -ies. Pay close attention to their singular roots.

Word (Plural) POS Definition Translation Contextual Example
monkeys noun small primates often found in trees những con khỉ The monkeys at the zoo are very playful.
flies noun small insects with two wings những con ruồi There are many flies in the garden during summer.
ladies noun polite plural term for women những quý cô The ladies in the office organized a party.
babies noun very young children who cannot walk yet những đứa trẻ sơ sinh The babies are sleeping in their cribs.
fries noun thin strips of potato that have been fried khoai tây chiên I like to eat my burger with salty fries.
turkeys noun large birds often raised for their meat những con gà tây The farm has many turkeys ready for the market.
holidays noun days of celebration or time away from work những ngày lễ We always visit our grandparents during the winter holidays.
cries noun loud sounds made when someone is upset or shouting tiếng khóc/tiếng la We heard the cries of the hungry kittens.
chimneys noun vertical pipes that carry smoke from a fireplace những ống khói Most old houses in the village have brick chimneys.
journeys noun long trips from one place to another những cuộc hành trình The explorers wrote books about their long journeys.
[IMAGE GENERATION PROMPT: A cozy vintage village in winter, showing smoke gently rising from beautiful red brick chimneys while flock of turkeys walks nearby on thin snow.]

2. Grammar & Spelling Rules

When making a singular noun ending in -y plural, look at the letter right before the -y. This determines which structural spelling path to take.

Rule 1: Consonant + y Pluralization

If a noun ends in a consonant followed by -y, change the -y to -i and add -es.

Structure: consonant + y → -ies
Examples:
  • The small butterfly lands on the flower → The small butterflies land on the flowers.
  • That story was very exciting → Those stories were very exciting.
  • The city is very crowded → The cities are very crowded.

Rule 2: Vowel + y Pluralization

If a noun ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) followed by -y, simply add -s to make it plural. Do not drop or change the -y!

Structure: vowel + y → -ys
Examples:
  • Put the key on the table → Put the keys on the table.
  • The boy is playing football → The boys are playing football.
  • Today is a sunny day → My holidays are full of sunny days.
[IMAGE GENERATION PROMPT: A split educational diagram showing a consonant chart path transforming “baby” into “babies”, and a vowel path transforming “monkey” into “monkeys” clearly.]

3. Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Vocabulary Matching (Nối Từ và Nghĩa) 6 Questions

Match the target words on the left with their accurate English structural or semantic descriptions on the right.

  1. monkeys
  2. flies
  3. babies
  4. holidays
  5. chimneys
  6. journeys
  • A. Long trips from one place to another.
  • B. Vertical structures built to exhaust fireplace smoke.
  • C. Very young children who cannot yet walk.
  • D. Special days of celebration or extended time away from school/work.
  • E. Small playful primates frequently dwelling in tropical trees.
  • F. Two-winged insects commonly seen hovering around outdoor spaces.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1 – E: monkeys = small primates (những con khỉ).
2 – F: flies = small insects with two wings (những con ruồi).
3 – C: babies = very young children (những đứa trẻ sơ sinh).
4 – D: holidays = days of celebration (những ngày lễ).
5 – B: chimneys = vertical smoke pipes (những ống khói).
6 – A: journeys = long trips (những cuộc hành trình).
Exercise 2: Gap Fill (Điền từ vào chỗ trống) 6 Questions

Complete the sentences by writing the correct plural spelling of the word provided in brackets.

  1. The old village houses have tall brick to let out smoke. (chimney)
  2. We could hear the loud of the newborns in the delivery room. (cry)
  3. Several were having tea and discussing politics. (lady)
  4. The fast food restaurant serves delicious burgers with crispy, golden . (fry)
  5. Wild were eating seeds near the forest edge. (turkey)
  6. Our upcoming summer will last for three whole weeks! (holiday)
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. chimneys: “chimney” ends in vowel + y (-ey), so simply add -s. (Nguyên âm + y nên chỉ thêm s).
2. cries: “cry” ends in consonant + y (-ry), so change y to i and add -es. (Phụ âm + y nên đổi y thành i và thêm es).
3. ladies: “lady” ends in consonant + y (-dy), so drop y and add -ies. (Phụ âm + y nên đổi sang -ies).
4. fries: “fry” ends in consonant + y (-ry), change to -ies. (Phụ âm + y chuyển thành -ies).
5. turkeys: “turkey” ends in vowel + y (-ey), simply append -s. (Nguyên âm + y nên thêm s).
6. holidays: “holiday” ends in vowel + y (-ay), simply append -s. (Nguyên âm + y nên thêm s).
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice Selection (Chọn đáp án đúng) 6 Questions

Select the option that represents the correctly spelled plural noun according to context rules.

  1. The wild ________ jumped through the jungle trees.
    • A. monkies
    • B. monkeys
    • C. monkys
  2. We need to buy window screens because there are too many ________ outside.
    • A. flys
    • B. flyes
    • C. flies
  3. The dynamic ________ of the legendary explorers took them across vast desert landscapes.
    • A. journeys
    • B. journies
    • C. journeies
  4. Both ________ were crying softly before they were finally fed warm milk.
    • A. babys
    • B. babies
    • C. babiess
  5. The young ________ smiled politely when they walked into the conference room.
    • A. ladys
    • B. ladies
    • C. ladiess
  6. The holiday menu includes roasted ________ with fresh cranberry sauce.
    • A. turkeys
    • B. turkies
    • C. turkyees
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. B (monkeys): Vowel ‘e’ before ‘y’ means we only add -s. (Trước y là nguyên âm e, chỉ cần thêm s).
2. C (flies): Consonant ‘l’ before ‘y’ requires dropping ‘y’ for ‘ies’. (Trước y là phụ âm l, đổi thành ies).
3. A (journeys): Ends in vowel + y (-ey), hence simply adds -s. (Đuôi -ey kết thúc bằng nguyên âm, chỉ thêm s).
4. B (babies): “Baby” has a consonant ‘b’ before ‘y’, changing to ‘ies’. (Từ gốc baby có phụ âm b đứng trước y).
5. B (ladies): “Lady” transforms into “ladies” by removing the y. (Lady đổi thành ladies vì trước y là phụ âm d).
6. A (turkeys): “Turkey” retains the y because of the preceding vowel ‘e’. (Turkey giữ nguyên y thêm s do e là nguyên âm).
Exercise 4: True or False Spelling Check (Đúng hay Sai) 6 Questions

Identify whether the underlined plural noun spelling in each sentence is Correct (True) or Incorrect (False).

  1. The children read fantasy stories before bed every single night. (True / False)
  2. Santa Claus climbs down the chimnies to deliver beautiful presents. (True / False)
  3. We ordered two plates of chicken burgers and French frys. (True / False)
  4. The monkeys stole fruit from the local farmers’ market stands. (True / False)
  5. Loud cries of joy filled the stadium when our team scored a goal. (True / False)
  6. Many historic European cities have very narrow cobbled roads. (True / False)
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. True: “Stories” is perfectly correct (story → stories). (Đúng, phụ âm r + y chuyển thành ies).
2. False: Incorrect spelling. It must be “chimneys” because ‘e’ is a vowel. (Sai, phải là chimneys vì trước y là nguyên âm e).
3. False: Incorrect spelling. It must be “fries” (fry → fries). (Sai, phải đổi y thành ies thành fries).
4. True: “Monkeys” follows the correct vowel + y pattern. (Đúng, tuân thủ quy tắc nguyên âm + y).
5. True: “Cries” correctly replaces the consonant + y ending. (Đúng, từ gốc cry biến đổi thành cries).
6. True: “Cities” is the exact correct plural spelling for city. (Đúng, từ gốc city biến đổi thành cities).
[IMAGE GENERATION PROMPT: A close-up picture of appetizing crispy golden French fries next to a burger on a rustic table setting.]
Exercise 5: Sentence Reordering (Sắp xếp lại câu) 6 Questions

Rearrange the words to make grammatical sentences. Look closely at how plural nouns fit into the meaning.

  1. / during / flies / garden / are / many / there / the / summer / in / .
  2. / office / the / organized / party / ladies / a / .
  3. / cribs / sleeping / babies / are / their / in / the / .
  4. / keys / put / the / table / the / on / please / .
  5. / winter / visit / holidays / we / relatives / during / .
  6. / dangerous / were / mountain / their / journeys / very / .
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1: There are many flies in the garden during summer. (Có nhiều ruồi trong vườn suốt mùa hè).
2: The ladies in the office organized a party. (Các quý cô trong văn phòng đã tổ chức một bữa tiệc).
3: The babies are sleeping in their cribs. (Các em bé đang ngủ trong cũi của chúng).
4: Please put the keys on the table. / Put the keys on the table please. (Vui lòng đặt những chiếc chìa khóa lên bàn).
5: We visit relatives during winter holidays. (Chúng tôi đi thăm họ hàng trong những ngày nghỉ đông).
6: Their mountain journeys were very dangerous. (Những cuộc hành trình lên núi của họ rất nguy hiểm).
Exercise 6: Grammar Selection Matrix (Phân loại Quy tắc Ngữ pháp) 6 Questions

Decide whether each word follows Rule A (Consonant + y → -ies) or Rule B (Vowel + y → -ys).

  1. stories → Follows
  2. chimneys → Follows
  3. flies → Follows
  4. holidays → Follows
  5. cries → Follows
  6. turkeys → Follows
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. Rule A: story → r is a consonant, drops y for -ies. (Quy tắc A: Phụ âm r + y).
2. Rule B: chimney → e is a vowel, keeps y and adds -s. (Quy tắc B: Nguyên âm e + y).
3. Rule A: fly → l is a consonant, drops y for -ies. (Quy tắc A: Phụ âm l + y).
4. Rule B: holiday → a is a vowel, keeps y and adds -s. (Quy tắc B: Nguyên âm a + y).
5. Rule A: cry → r is a consonant, drops y for -ies. (Quy tắc A: Phụ âm r + y).
6. Rule B: turkey → e is a vowel, keeps y and adds -s. (Quy tắc B: Nguyên âm e + y).
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