LISTENING NO. 3: What's in a rose: Ethnobotany and the search for useful plants

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GRAMMAR NO. 3: Pronunciation of -es/-s suffix (plural, Saxon Genitive, 3rd Per. Sing. Simple Present)

PLURAL (& 3rd Person Singular & Saxon Genitive) PRONUNCIATION RULES

There are 3 possible pronunciations for the plural suffix -s/-es, whether it be functioning as a plural (cats), 3rd person singular simple present (walks) or Saxon Genitive (Phoebe's):

[S] [Z] [IZ]

I. The plural is pronounced [S] after the following VOICELESS sounds:
A. [p] ⇒ cups
B. [t] ⇒ hats
C. [k] ⇒ cooks
D. [f] ⇒ cliffs
E. [θ] ⇒ myths

II. The plural is pronounced [Z] after the following VOICED sounds:
A. [b] ⇒ crabs
B. [d] ⇒ cards
C. [g] ⇒ rugs
D. [v] ⇒ gloves
E. [m] ⇒ plums
F. [n] ⇒ fans
G. [ŋ] ⇒ kings
H. [l ] ⇒ deals
I. [r] ⇒ tears
J. [ð] ⇒ clothes

III. The plural is pronounced [IZ] after the following sounds:
A. [s] ⇒ races
B. [z] ⇒ pauses
C. [ʃ ] ⇒ dishes
D. [ʒ ] ⇒ garages
E. [ʧ ] ⇒ churches
F. [ʤ ] ⇒ ages, judges

How would you read the following words?

James's car

The sisters' house

The sister's house

Solution: 

dʒemzəz kɑr 

ðə sɪstərz haus

ðə sɪstərz haus

IRREGULAR PLURALS

a) Some nouns do not take a final suffix to make up the plural form: sheep, deer, and fish.

One sheep, two sheep

One deer, two deer

One fish, two fish

b) Other noun change the stem and take irregular suffixes: dice, mice, children, foxen, oxen, feet and teeth are some of the most common ones.

Now, click here to read a more complete explanation on the formation of the plural ending that takes into account spelling rules.



LISTEN TO AN EXPLANATION






PRACTICE

1. Practice the spelling here

2. Practice the spelling of compound nouns here

3. Practice the pronunciation of the plural here

GRAMMAR NO. 3: Pronunciation of -ed/-d suffix (past tense)

Formation of the past tense & past participle

The past tense and the past participle of the verbs in English can be formed in 2 different ways:

a) Regular verbs add the suffix -ed (-d when the verb ends with "e") to the infinitive: for example, "talk" (infinitive) = "talked" (past), or "decide" (infinitive) = "decided" (past)

b) Irregular verbs change the infinitive form, there is not a rule to understand the formation here.

Pronunciation of the -d/-ed suffix

The most complicated part of this suffix is its pronunciation. We can find 3 types of pronunciation, according to the pronunciation of the last sound of the infinitive:

1) Last sound of the verb in the infinitive is VOICELESS (– p – k – s – ch – sh – f – x – h):
-d/-ed = [t]

2) Last sound of the verb in infinitive is VOICED (– l – v – n – m – r – b – v – g – w – y – z):
-d/-ed = [d]

3) Last sound of the verb in the infinitive is /d/ or /t/:
-d/-ed = [id]

EXCEPTIONS!!!

The pronunciation of this suffix has several exceptions. They all adjectives that didn't evolve into the standard pronunciation that we have now and that has been described above. Some of them are: wicked, blessed, learned, beloved, ragged, and naked.

wicked /ˈwɪk.ɪd/ adj

• old-fashioned morally wrong and bad

It was a wicked thing to do

Of course, in the end, the wicked witch gets killed

It was the wicked and wild wind

Near synonyms: evil; naughty

• old-fashioned slightly immoral or bad for you, but in an attractive way

a wicked grin (grin= wide smile)

a wicked sense of humour

blessed /ˈbles.ɪd/ adj

• /ˈbles.ɪd//blest/formal holy

Blessed are the meek (=quite, gentle, not willing to fight) for they shall inherit the Earth

• /ˈbles.ɪd/literary bringing you happiness, luck, or something you need

blessed peace/rain/silence

a blessed relief

learned /ˈlɜː.nɪd//ˈlɝː-/ adj

• formal describes someone who has studied for a long time and has a lot of knowledge

a learned professor

beloved /bɪˈlʌv.ɪd/ adj (/bɪˈlʌvd/ when it is used as a verb, e.g. beloved by his wife)

• loved very much

Her beloved husband died last year

She was forced to leave her beloved Paris and return to Lyon

Eric was a gifted teacher beloved by all those he taught over the years

ragged /ˈræg.ɪd/ adj

• (of clothes) not in good condition; torn

The children were wearing dirty ragged clothes.

• (of a person) untidy, dirty and wearing old torn clothes

Two ragged children stood outside the station begging for money

• (especially of an edge) rough and not smooth

The leaves of this plant have ragged edges

The patient's breathing was ragged (= not regular) and uneven

A ragged (= not straight) line of people were waiting at the bus stop

• not performing well, because of not being organized

The team were rather ragged in the first half of the match, but improved in the second half.

naked /ˈneɪ.kɪd/ adj

• not covered by clothes

a naked man

naked bodies

stark naked (= completely naked)

US informal buck/butt naked (= completely naked)

He was naked to the waist (= not wearing clothes above his waist)

The children were half naked (= partly naked)

They stripped naked (= took off their clothes) and ran into the sea

• Something that is naked does not have its usual covering

a naked flame/light bulb (= one with nothing surrounding or covering it)

a naked hillside (= one without trees or plants)

LISTENING TO EXPLANATIONS

PRACTICE

1) Take a piece of paper and write as many examples as possible to show the 3 different pronunciations (results at the bottom of the post)

2) Click here if you would like to practice identifying the pronunciation of the -d/-ed suffix

3) Click here to further practice

4) Read the following text (check unknown words first):

OUR ENCHANTED ANNIVERSARY EVENING

A) It happened to be our anniversary when we traveled to Barcelona, so my wife Doris and I planned a special evening out. I purchased a beautiful bouquet of red roses that smelled wonderful and a black pearl necklace that sparkled in the moonlight. I beamed as I presented them to Doris. She pinned a rose to her sequined lapel. Her auburn hair shimmered in the sunset’s bronzed glow. I called a checkered taxi and we passed many highlighted sights before we arrived in front of the restaurant. The waiter seated us as soon as we walked into the neon-signed restaurant. I noticed a secluded table. (22 verbs)

B) We positioned ourselves near an opened window and prepared to eat. My wife Doris looked at the selections listed on the menu and decided to have an appetizer. I picked the mushroom soup. A few minutes later the waiter returned. “What would you like to have?”, he asked. Doris ordered some steamed shrimp and broiled trout. I requested a tossed Cesar salad with a grilled steak and a baked potato. While we dined, we chatted and sipped a glass of white wine. Doris wolfed down her food but I savored the meal and chewed my steak slowly. When she finished, she munched on some pretzels. She soon gobbled up all the pretzels in the small bowl placed on the table. Later, we nibbled on a slice of decorated cheesecake as we talked. I wanted some coffee with my dessert. Doris preferred to drink iced tea. After the salted pretzels, Doris needed to drink some water. The waiter finally handed me the bill and I offered him a tip. We tipped him 15% of the totaled charges. He thanked us and smiled as we exited the restaurant. (40 verbs)

C) Outside the now closed restaurant, we strolled along the cobble-stoned street, stopped and laughed when we spotted a trained puppy that jumped and played with its owner. We then relaxed and watched the sunset from a padded park bench as the boats in the harbor rocked, pitched and bobbed on the water. Next, we watched a romantic movie at a new cinema that interested us. The aged couple in the movie argued and chased each other as they sailed down an unnamed river that tumbled and surged through rapids which boiled around jagged rocks. Frequently they were trapped and scared. When the colorized movie ended the two discovered that they really loved each other. Finally, at the disco, we danced, swayed to the music and hugged each other often. Whenever I kissed Doris she blushed and giggled. Both of us enjoyed our enchanted evening out together. We hope you liked our story. (41 verbs)

---------------------------------------
Results:
1) asked
baked
brushed
cooked
cracked
crashed
danced (da:ns) + t
dressed
dropped
escaped
finished
fixed
guessed
helped
hoped
hiked
joked
jumped
knocked
kissed
laughed (læf) + t
locked
looked
missed
mixed
packed
passed
picked
pressed
pushed
pronounced
relaxed
slipped
smoked
stopped
shopped
talked
typed
walked
washed
watched
worked

2) advised (ad’vaiz) + d
agreed
allowed
answered
appeared
arrived
believed
belonged
burned
called
carried
changed
cleaned
closed
covered
cried
damaged
described
died
dried
earned
encouraged
enjoyed
entered
explained
explored
filled
followed
happened
interviewed
imagined
jailed
killed
listened
lived
loved
measured
moved
opened
planned
played
performed
pulled
realized
remembered
rained
repaired
saved
shared
shaved
showed
signed
slammed
stayed
snowed
studied
tried
traveled
turned
used
welcomed
whispered
worried
yawned

3) attended
arrested
collected
contacted
counted
decided
defended
demanded
divided
ended
expanded
expected
exported
flooded
graduated
hated
hunted
included
invited
invented
landed
needed
painted
planted
printed
presented
pretended
protected
provided
rented
repeated
reported
respected
rested
scolded
skated
started
shouted
treated
visited
waited
wanted
wasted

READING NO. 3: Effects of Global Warming

The planet is warming, from North Pole to South Pole, and everywhere in between. Globally, the mercury is already up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and even more in sensitive polar regions. And the effects of rising temperatures aren’t waiting for some far-flung future. They’re happening right now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it’s also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.

Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening.

• Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
• Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.
• Sea level rise became faster over the last century.
• Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas.
• Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.
• Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees.

Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues.

• Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).
• Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger.
• Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active.
• Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years.
• Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.
• Some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes.
• Ecosystems will change—some species will move farther north or become more successful; others won’t be able to move and could become extinct. Wildlife research scientist Martyn Obbard has found that since the mid-1980s, with less ice on which to live and fish for food, polar bears have gotten considerably skinnier.  Polar bear biologist Ian Stirling has found a similar pattern in Hudson Bay.  He fears that if sea ice disappears, the polar bears will as well.

Source for climate information: IPCC, 2007

VOCABULARY

far-flung: /ˌfɑːˈflʌŋ/ US /ˌfɑːr-/ adj literary

describes places that are a great distance away, or something that is spread over a very large area

e.g. The news spread to all corners of our far-flung empire.

 

shifting (to shift):/ʃɪft/ v

•  [I or T] to (cause something or someone to) move or change from one position or direction to another, especially slightly

She shifted (her weight) uneasily from one foot to the other.

The wind is expected to shift (to the east) tomorrow.

Media attention has shifted recently onto environmental issues.

• [T] mainly US to move the gears of a vehicle into different positions in order to make it go faster or slower

In cars that are automatics, you don't have to bother with shifting gears.

breeding: /ˈbriː.dɪŋ/ n [U]

•  the keeping of animals or plants in order to breed from them

The family's business was horse-breeding.

We used to keep pigs for breeding purposes.

• when animals have sex and reproduce

The penguins' breeding season has begun.

bark: /bɑːk/ US /bɑːrk/ n

[U] the hard outer covering of a tree

boomed: /buːm/ v

[I] to increase or become successful and produce a lot of money very quickly

OFTEN in continuous tenses

The leisure industry is booming.

booming

adjective /ˈbuː.mɪŋ/

chewed: /tʃuː/ v [I or T]

•  to crush food into smaller, softer pieces with the teeth so that it can be swallowed

This meat is difficult to chew.

You don't chew your food enough - that's why you get indigestion.

•  to bite something with your teeth, usually in order to taste its flavour

Would you like some gum to chew?

She gave the children some sweets to chew (on) during the long car journey.

She sat in the dentist's waiting room, nervously chewing (at) (= biting) her nails.

out of sync: (in/out of sync)

If two things are in/out of sync, they reach the same or related stage at the same time/at different times.

bloom: /bluːm/ v [I]

When a flower blooms, it opens or is open, and when a plant or tree blooms it produces flowers

These flowers will bloom all through the summer.

droughts: /draʊt/ n [C or U]

a long period when there is little or no rain

This year (a) severe drought has ruined the crops.

cap: /kæp/ n [C]

• a small usually protective lid or cover

The camera has a lens cap to protect the lens surface.

• an artificial protective covering on a tooth

• a mass of ice and snow that permanently covers a large area of land (e.g., the polar regions or a mountain peak)

•  a soft flat hat which has a curved part sticking out at the front, often worn as part of a uniform

•  a thin hat that stops your hair getting wet when swimming or taking a shower

a shower/swimming cap

• UK a hat given to someone who plays for their national team in a particular sport, or a player who receives this

Davis has 17 Scottish caps (= has played for Scotland 17 times).

The team contains five international caps.

spread: /spred/ v [I or T] (spread, spread)

• to (cause to) cover, reach or have an effect on a wider or increasing area

The fire spread very rapidly because of the strong wind.

It started off as cancer of the liver but it spread to other areas of the body.

The redundancies are spread across the clothing, banking and building industries.

We spread the picnic rug out on the ground and sat down to eat.

The AIDS virus is spread (= given to other people) through contact with blood and other body fluids.

Are you spreading (= telling a lot of people) gossip/rumours again?

If we spread (= divide) the work between us, it won't seem so bad.

She spread her toast with a thick layer of butter./She spread a thick layer of butter on her toast.

It's a special sort of butter that spreads easily even when cold.

The suburbs spread (out) for miles to either side of the city.

Slowly a smile spread across her face.

skinnier (skinny): /ˈskɪn.i/ adj

•  (mainly disapproving) very thin

You should eat more, you're much too skinny.

 

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

1. What effects that are currently happening because of global warming can you remember?

2. What animals have been mentioned in the text?

3. How many effects of the global warming can you remember that may happen in this century?

4. How much will sea level rise?

5. How may polar bears be affected?