英语自然拼读Phonics-Sophie-dad-整理

The English alphabet is a set of 26 letters, each of which roughly represents a phoneme. The word "alphabet" comes from alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.The 26 letters of the alphabet are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Each comes in both an upper and lower case. The letters of the alphabet in lower case are a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, and z.Of these 26 letters, there are two kinds: consonants and vowels. The consonants of the alphabet are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, and z. The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u. Note that the letter y is classified as a consonant, but sometimes acts like a vowel.Each letter is like an animal. Each has a name, but also makes a certain sound. For example, a cat says "meow." These sounds are called phonemes.Consonant SoundsConsonants are the letters which stop or limit the flow of air from the throat in speech. These are the sounds, or phonemes, of single consonants: ∙/b/ sound as in bonfire, black, bathtub, and balcony∙/d/ sound as in dry, draw, design, and duet∙/f/ sound as in fossil, fail, frame, and fingerprint∙/g/ sound as in greeting, grill, goose, and grapefruit∙/h/ sound as in hail, hieroglyphics, hostage, and hit∙/j/ sound as in magician, syringe, jeep, and message∙/k/ sound as in key, knock, kangaroo, and kayak∙/l/ sound as in lizard, learn, lamp, and library∙/m/ sound as in mug, money, maze, and mechanical∙/n/ sound as in night, newspaper, nightmare, and noodle∙/p/ sound as in panda, pie, pen, and potato∙/r/ sound as in rose, restaurant, run, and reporter∙/s/ sound as in safe, sunset, sand, and seat∙/t/ sound as in tile, thermometer, tongue, and toy∙/v/ sound as in violin, volcano, vaccination, and vote∙/w/ sound as in waterfall, wagon, windmill, and watch∙/y/ sound as in yoke, yawn, yacht, and yoga∙/z/ sound as in zebra, zoo, and zipperSometimes the vowel u takes upon itself the consonant sound of w, as in quick or suave. This is usually the case when q is followed by u, as in quiet and quaint.Vowel SoundsA vowel is a sound made by the relatively free movement of air through the mouth, usually forming the main sound of a syllable. The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u.Each vowel has two sounds: a long sound and a short sound. The long sound is the same as its name. Every vowel also makes a third sound: the schwa. This is the sound of a vowel that is unstressed in an unstressed syllable. There are also some more advanced vowel sounds besides the long, short, and schwa. For instance, the a in father is different than the a in cat.When a single vowel letter is in the middle of a word (or syllable), it usually says its short sound (e.g., got, bed.) But there are many exceptions to this rule, such as irregular vowels. When a single vowel letter is in the end of a word (or syllable), it usually says its long sound (or its name), as in go and be. When two vowels go hand in hand in the same word (or syllable), the first vowel is usually long, and the second vowel is usually silent. e.g., bake makes the ay sound (long a) and the e is silent; goal makes the oh sound (long o) and the a is silent. But there are many exceptions to this rule, such as irregular vowels.The following is a list of vowel sounds, shown along with their diacritical marks:∙Long a (ā) sound as in ape, snail, ache, explain, and reindeer∙Long e (ē) sound as in eat, agony, needle, pianist, and electricity ∙Long i (ī) sound as in eye, cry, tightrope, tile, and violin∙Long o (ō) sound as in oh, domino, ghost, pillow, andstethoscope∙Long u (ū) sound as in you, salute, toothbrush, goose, boot, and costume∙Short a (ă) sound as in at, taxi, anniversary, laboratory, and tackle∙Short e (ĕ) sound as in elm, elevator, jellyfish, pentagon, and dentist∙Short i (ĭ) sound as in it, gift, inflate, spinach, and cereal∙Short o (ŏ) sound as in hop, camouflage, garage, chop, father, paw, and binoculars∙Short u (ŭ) sound as in up, cut and subtract∙Schwa (ə) sound as in about, item, gallop, and circusThe letter y sometimes substitutes for i and is a vowel when it does so. Likewise, the vowel w sometimes substitutes for u and is considered a vowel when it does so. However, y sometimes appears as the only vowel in a syllable, such as in gym and why, whereas w never appears as a vowel all by itself. When w acts as a vowel, it always follows a (as in paw), e (as in new), or o (as in grow).Consonants are letters that are not vowels. Specifically, consonants are speech sounds (phonemes) made by partially or completely blocking the vocal air stream, and letters (graphemes) that represents such sounds. When y is not acting as a vowel, it is a consonant. Most consonants have only one sound, but a few have multiple sounds. For instance, c can make both the /k/ and the /s/ sound.A comprehensive list of consonant sounds follows:∙b makes the /b/ sound as in bat; also, when b follows m in the same syllable, it is silent as in lamb.∙c makes the /k/ sound as in cat and the /s/ sound as in cease—see Spelling With C and G.∙d makes the /d/ sound as in dog.∙f makes the /f/ sound as in fat.∙g makes the /g/ sound as in get, and the /j/ sound as in gem—see Spelling With C and G.∙h makes the /h/ sound as in hat; also, sometimes h is silent, as in honesty.∙j makes the /j/ sound as in jam.∙k makes the /k/ sound as in kite.∙l makes the /l/ sound as in lap, and the /lə/ sound as in glad and cycle.∙m makes the /m/ sound as in mad.∙n makes the /n/ sound as in nap.∙p makes the /p/ sound as in park.∙r makes the /r/ sound as in race. When r follows a vowel, it makesa special sound: see R-Controlled Vowels.∙s makes the /s/ sound as in sit, and the /z/ sound as in has.∙t makes the /t/ sound as in tap; also, sometimes t is silent, as in whistle.∙v makes the /v/ sound as in van.∙w makes the /w/ sound as in wet. w placed before a single vowel will usually modify its sound, as in wash.∙x makes the /ks/ sound as in box, the /gs/ sound as in exact, and the /z/ sound as in xylophone.∙y makes the /y/ sound as in yet. y can also act as a vowel.∙z makes the /z/ sound as in zip.Note that the consonant q is almost always followed by the vowel u. The u in this case takes on the /w/ sound, so qu together make the /kw/ sound. In some French-derived words, -que makes the /k/ sound as in torque and plaque.When a vowel is followed by a consonant, the vowel is short. The diacritical mark for a short vowel is called a breve (˘), which is in the shape of a downturned arc.A vowel is usually short when there is only one vowel in a word or syllable, as in cat, bed, and hot. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as with irregular vowels.There is both a long and short sound to “oo”. The short sound appears as in the words book, booth, and took.The following is a list of short vowel sounds, shown along with their diacritical marks:∙Short a (ă) sound as in at, taxi, anniversary, laboratory, and tackle ∙Short e (ĕ) sound as in elm, elevator, jellyfish, pentagon, and dentist∙Short i (ĭ) sound as in it, gift, inflate, spinach, and cereal∙Short o (ŏ) sound as in hop, camouflage, garage, chop, father, paw, and binoculars∙Short u (ŭ) sound as in up, cut and subtractFor a complete list of long, short, and other sounds, see letter sounds.A long vowel sound is the same as its name. The diacritical mark for a long vowel is called a macron (¯), which is in the shape of a line above the vowel.When a single vowel letter is in the end of a word (or syllable), it usually says its long sound (or its name), as in go and be. When two vowels go hand in hand in the same word (or syllable), the first vowel is usually long, and the second vowel is usually silent. e.g., bake makes the /ay/ sound (long a) and the e is silent; goal makes the /oh/ sound (long o) and the a is silent. However, there are many exceptions to this rule, such as with irregular vowels.When there are two adjacent vowels in a word, the first one is long and the second one is silent. The first vowel is marked with a long line and second one is crossed out. Examples of this rule are in coat, ride, and read.There is both a long and short so und to “oo”. The long sound appears as in the words boo, food, smooth, and moose.The following is a list of long vowel sounds, shown along with their diacritical marks:∙Long a (ā) sound as in ape, snail, ache, explain, and reindeer∙Long e (ē) sound as in eat, agony, needle, pianist, and electricity ∙Long i (ī) sound as in eye, cry, tightrope, tile, and violin∙Long o (ō) sound as in oh, domino, ghost, pillow, and stethoscope ∙Long u (ū) sound as in you, salute, toothbrush, goose, boot, and costumeFor a complete list of long, short, and other sounds, see letter sounds.A digraph is a single sound, or phoneme, which is represented by two letters. A trigraph is a phoneme which consists of three letters. However, many people will simply use the term 'digraph' generally to describe both combinations. In digraphs, consonants join together to form a kind of consonant team, which makes a special sound. For instance, p and h combine to form ph, which makes the /f/ sound as in phonemic.When two or more letters appear together and you hear each sound that each consonant would normally make, the combination is called a blend. For instance, the word blend has two consonant blends: bl, for which you hear the sounds for both b and l, and nd, for which you hear the sounds for both n and d.Two-Letter Blends∙bl, which blends the /b/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /bl/ sound as in blend and blight∙br, which blends the /b/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /br/ sound as in break and brown∙cl, which blends the /c/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /cl/ sound as in cluster and class∙cr, which blends the /c/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /cr/ sound as in crash and cross∙dr, which blends the /d/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /dr/ sound as in drive and drab∙fl, which blends the /f/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /fl/ sound as in flu and flake∙fr, which blends the /f/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /fr/ sound as in freedom and frost∙gl, which blends the /g/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /gl/ sound as in glad and glory∙gr, which blends the /g/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /gr/ sound as in green and gravy∙nd, which blends the /n/ and the /d/ sounds together to make the /nd/ sound as in blend and send∙pl, which blends the /p/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /pl/ sound as in play and plow∙pr, which blends the /p/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /pr/ sound as in prime and prowl∙sl, which blends the /s/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /sl/ sound as in slogan and sloppy∙sm, which blends the /s/ and the /m/ sounds together to make the /sm/ sound as in small and smart∙sn, which blends the /s/ and the /n/ sounds together to make the /sn/ sound as in snail and snore∙sp, which blends the /s/ and the /p/ sounds together to make the /sp/ sound as in special and spackel∙st, which blends the /s/ and the /t/ sounds together to make the /st/ sound as in stop and startThree-Letter Blends∙shr, which blends the /sh/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /shr/ sound as in shroud∙spl, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /l/ sound together to make the /spl/ sound as in splash and splendid∙spr, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /spr/ sound as in spring and spray∙squ, which blends the /s/ sound and the /sq/ digraph together to make the /squ/ sound as in squid and squelch∙str, which blends the /st/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /str/ sound as in struggle and strap∙thr, which blends the /th/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /thr/ sound as in throwWhen two or more consonants appear together and you hear each sound that each consonant would normally make, the consonant team is called a consonant blend. For instance, the word blend has two consonant blends:bl, for which you hear the sounds for both b and l, and nd, for which you hear the sounds for both n and d.Digraphs∙ch, which makes the /ch/ sound as in watch, chick, chimpanzee, and champion∙ck, which makes the /k/ sound as in chick∙ff, which makes the /f/ sound as in cliff∙gh, which makes the /g/ sound as in ghost and ghastly∙gn, which makes the /n/ sound as in gnome and gnarled∙kn, which makes the /n/ sound as in knife and knight∙ll, which makes the /l/ sound as in wall∙mb, which makes the /m/ sound as in lamb and thumb∙ng, which makes the /ng/ sound as in fang, boomerang, and fingerprint∙nk, which makes the /nk/ sound as in ink, sink and rink∙ph, which makes the /f/ sound as in digraph, phone, and phonics∙qu, which makes the /kw/ sound as in quick∙sh, which makes the /sh/ sound as in shore, shipwreck, shark, and shield∙ss, which makes the /s/ sound as in floss∙th, which makes the /th/ sound as in athlete, toothbrush, bathtub, thin, and thunderstorm∙th, which makes the /th/ sound as in this, there, and that∙wh, which makes the /hw/ sound as in where and which∙wr, which makes the /wr/ sound as in write∙zz, which makes the /z/ sound as in fuzz and buzzTrigraphs∙chr, which makes the /chr/ sound as in chrome andchromosome∙dge, which makes the /g/ sound as in dodge and partridge∙tch, which makes the /tch/ sound as in catch, matchBesides long vowel sounds, short vowel sounds, and the schwa sound, there are some other special sounds in English that are represented by vowels. They are as follows:∙/aw/ sound as in awful and awe∙/oi/ sound as in boil, poison, toilet, and annoy∙/ou/ sound as in lighthouse, cow, flower, and fountain∙/oo/ (ʊ) sound as in took, pulley, platypus, pull, and footballNote that "oo" makes two different sounds in different words, having the ʊ sound as in hook, or the ū sound as in boot.When a vowel is followed by an r, it makes a special sound. These are called r-controlled vowels, or r-colored vowels. These phonemes are as follows:∙/ar/ sound as in car, guitar, Arthur∙/âr/ sound as in care, bear, mare, scare, aquarium∙/îr/ sound as in pier∙/ir/ sound as in turnip, spider, certificate, and beaver∙/or/ sound as in manor, observatory, author, brought, and orchard ∙/er/ sound as in butter, cutter, and motherUsually, /ar/ always sounds like the ar in car, and /or/ always sounds like the or in for. The ir, er, and ur, sound the same as in bird, her, and fur. These all make a /ər/ sound.Sometimes, the basic rules of phonics do not apply. Each of these instances must be memorized. Common examples include, but are not limited, to:∙IGH as in "high" or "sight"∙-NG as in "sing," "song," "sung"∙OST as in "most" (but not "lost" or "cost") uses the long sound instead of the normal short sound.∙OW has two different sounds as in "low" and "cow." (or, "sow"and "sow.")∙ED has three different sounds as in "lifted," "played," and "walked"∙OI does not follow the two vowels rule, e.g., "moist" or "boil."∙Double O has two different sounds, as in "book" and "loose."∙OUS as in "nervous."∙AU as in "fault" or "haul."∙-SION, -TION, and -CION are all pronounced "shun."∙OUGH has at least seven different sounds, as in "bough," "cough,""hough," "tough," "thorough," "thought," and "through."∙A word consists of a series of letters. Every word must have at least one vowel in it. Each syllable is made by blending the sounds of each component, that is, reading the word by adding one sound at a time, as in -e, -ed, bed. The following are some rules for spelling and pronouncing words.1.c followed by e, i or y usually has the soft sound of s. Examples:cyst, central, and city.2."G" followed by "e, i or y" usually has the soft sound of "j".Example: "gem", "gym", and "gist".3.When two consonants a joined together and form one new sound,they are a consonant digraph. They count as one sound and oneletter and are never separated. Examples: "ch,sh,th,ph and wh".4.When a syllable ends in a consonant and has only one vowel, thatvowel is short. Examples: "fat, bed, fish, spot, luck".5.When a syllable ends in a silent "e", the silent "e" is a signal thatthe vowel in front of it is long. Examples: "make, gene, kite, rope,and use".6.When a syllable has two vowels together, the first vowel is usuallylong and the second is silent. Examples: "pain, eat, boat, res/cue,say, grow". Diphthongs don't follow this rule.7.When a syllable ends in any vowel and is the only vowel, thatvowel is usually long. Examples: "pa/per, me, I, o/pen, u/nit, andmy".8.When a vowel is followed by an "r" in the same syllable, thatvowel is "r-controlled". It is not long nor short. "R-controlled"er,ir,andur" often sound the same (like "er"). Examples: "term, sir, fir, fur, far, for, su/gar, or/der".Words may have prefixes or suffixes added to them, which will modify their meaning. For example, the root word use and the suffix -able combine to create the word usable.Sometimes, the letter y is a consonant, and other times it is a vowel. The rule for telling the two apart is simple: The letter y is a consonant when it is the first letter of a syllable that has more than one letter. If y is anywhere else in the syllable, it is a vowel.Examples of Y as a Consonant∙yes∙yam∙yell∙yellow∙yogurtExamples of Y as a Vowel∙gym∙my∙cycle∙baby∙hairy∙skyA vowel combination is a combination of two or three vowels, or of a vowel and at least one consonant, that is associated with one or more specific single sounds. For example, ea has the sounds /long e/ and /long a/; ay has the sound /long a/, and igh has the sound /long i/. These vowel combinations are sometimes called digraphs, diphthongs, trigraphs, and triphthongs.Vowel combinations occur in three different forms in written English:1.Vowels often appear in clusters within a single syllable. This is the mostcommon form.2.Vowels often appear in combination with a particular consonant orconsonants which, together, represent a sound unit that is different from what you would expect if you didn't know the specific combination. Forexample, the o in old has the /long o/ sound, but if you didn't alreadyknow that already, you would think that the o in cold was short.3.Another common combination in English is one or two vowels followedby gh. The gh is usually silent. It is usually easier to decode the whole unit (igh, eigh) than to process the vowel and the gh separately.A Vowel Combinationsai/ayTogether, ai or ay make a /long a/ sound.Example words: aim, rain, braid, paint, ray, say, stay, tail, twain, praise, stain, and mainOther a vowel combinations∙ay as in day, say, play, spray, and tray∙au as in fault, gaunt, fraud, launch, pause, and sauce∙aw as in saw, paw, claw, dawn, and crawl∙augh as in caught, taught, daughter, naughty, haughty, and slaughter∙wa /wô/ as in want, wash, swamp, squash, squat∙wa/wă/ as in wax, wag, swam, and quack∙all as in ball, tall, hall, and small∙ald as in bald, scald, and alder∙alk as in talk, walk, chalk, and stalk∙alm as in alms, calm, palm, and psalm∙alt as in halt, malt, and saltE Vowel Combinationsee and eaTogether, ee or ea make a /long e/ sound. Sometimes, ea together makes a /short e/ sound or a /long a/ sound instead.Example words (ee): peek, see, queen, sleep, cheese, street, meet, and teamExample words (ea /long e/): eat, sea, each, leaf, peach, mean, team, ease, and pleaseExample words (ea /short e/): dead, head, spread, health, and meantExample words (ea /long a/): break, great, steak, and yeaOther e vowel combinations∙eu/ew as in sleuth, deuce, few, new, and shrewd∙ei/ey/eigh /long a/ as in veil, beige, they, whey, eight, and weigh∙ei/ey/eigh /long e/ as in seize, key, money, valley∙ei/ey/eigh /long i/ as in heist, eye, geyser, heightI Vowel Combinations∙ie /long e/ as in brief, field, grieve, and piece∙ie/ye /long i/ as in die, tie, dye, and rye∙igh as in high, thigh, night, flight, and wright∙ign as in sign, align, assign, and benign∙ind as in bind, kind, mind, grind, and behindO Vowel Combinations∙oo as in boo, food, smooth, and moose∙oo as in book, look, good, and stood∙oa /long o/ as in oat, loam, groan, loathe, and loaves∙oe /long o/ as in doe, and hoe∙oi/oy /y/ as in oil, coin, voice, boy, and ploy∙old/olk/olt /long o/ as in gold, scold, folk, yolk, bolt, and volt∙oll/ost /long o/ as in roll, knoll, scroll, ghost, most, and post∙oll/ost /short o/ as in doll, loll, cost, lost, and frost∙ou/ow as in out, round, bounce, how, down, and browse∙ou/ow /long o/ as in soul, poultry, own, glow, snow, and owe∙ou as in you, soup, group, and rougeU Vowel Combinations∙ue /long u/ as in cue, due, hue, rue, sue, blue, clue, flue, glue, and true∙ui /long u/ as in suit, fruit, cruise, juice, and sluiceMost English words used today were not originally English. These words were adapted from other language, such as Latin and Greek. It can be helpful to know some of these roots of English vocabulary. It may be possible to guess the meaning of an unknown word when one knows the meaning of its root. Knowing prefixes and suffixes can also help.An English word can consist of three parts: the root, a prefix, and a suffix. The root is the part of the word that contains the basic meaning, or definition of the word. The prefix is a word element placed in front of the root, which changes the word's meaning or makes a new word. A suffix is a word element placed after the root, which changes the word's meaning as well as its function.When adding a suffix to a one-syllable word, if the root word ends in only one consonant and has only one vowel before it, and if the suffix begins with a vowel, then the consonant ending the root word will be doubled. For example, when adding -ing to can, we double the n to end up with canning. The rule for multisyllable words is the same, but applies only when the last syllable of the root is accented, like in beginner and concurring, but not in begins or forgetful.For words ending in silent e, when the suffix begins with a vowel, that silent e is usually dropped before adding the suffix. For example, in take and -ing, we drop the silent e off of take, then add the suffix, and end up with taking.When adding a suffix to a word ending in y, if there is a vowel before the y, just add the suffix. For example, obey + -ed becomes obeyed. If there is a consonant before the y, we will usually change the y to an i before adding any suffix (except -ing and -ish.) For example, angry + ly becomes angrily, and baby + -ign becomes babying.Common PrefixesPrefix Meaning Examplepre-before They will show a sneak preview of the movie.un-not The cafeteria will be unavailable tomorrow morning.dis-not Mark disagreed with John's philosophy.re-again Are you going to renew your subscription?mis-not He has mismanaged the company.im-not With hard work and determination, nothing is impossible. bi-two Henry recently received his first pair of bifocals.de-not Many ecologists are concerned about the deforestation ofour world's rain forests.Common SuffixesSuffixes Meaning Example-er doer I work as a computer programmer.-able able These glass bottles are recyclable.-ous full of Driving on the freeway can be dangerous.-ness state of being At night, the earth is covered in darkness.-ful full of The witness gave an honest and truthful testimony.-ly or -y like James whistled happily on his way home from school.-ment state of Mary sighed with contentment.A compound word is a word composed of two or more words that are spelled normally and retain their usual meanings. It is easy to recognize the short, known words within compound words, and each of those short words is accented, which makes them less confusing to a beginning reader. For these reasons, compound words are often the first set of multisyllable words taught to a beginning reader.Examples of Compound Words∙backpack (back + pack)∙newspaper (news + paper)∙knapsack (knap + sack)∙lipstick (lip + stick)∙mouthwash (mouth + wash)∙sunlight (sun + light)∙raindrop (rain + drop)∙sandpaper (sand + paper)∙groundhog (ground + hog)∙afternoon (after + noon)∙motorcar (motor + car)∙eyebrow (eye + brow)∙butterfly (butter + fly) — This is one example in which the original words do not convey their usual meanings well.A noun is a type of word which refers to a person, place, or thing. Nouns can be conjugated in either singular or plural form. A singular noun refers to just one person, place, or thing (for example, a bat or a ship). A plural noun refers to multiple people, places, or things (for example, bats or ships).The majority of English count nouns are regular and predictable in the spelling of the plural form1. However, other nouns have irregular plural spellings. Both of these kinds of nouns will be covered here.Rule #1: Add -sMost nouns can be pluralized simply by adding an -s at the end of the word. For example:∙edge/edges∙girl/girls∙song/songs∙bag/bags∙cat/cats∙boy/boys∙day/daysRule #2: Add -es to nouns ending in s, z, ch, sh, and xNouns which end in the letters s, z, ch, sh, and x-es at the end. For example:∙glass/glasses∙horse/horses∙buzz/buzzes∙dish/dishes∙bush/bushes∙witch/witches∙switch/switchesRule #3: Nouns ending in oFor words ending in the letter o, sometimes they are pluralized by adding s, while other words must be pluralized by adding es. These words must be memorized, because there is no simple rule to explain the differences.2Examples (es):∙echo/echoes∙embargo/embargoes∙hero/heroes∙potato/potatoes∙veto/vetoes∙tomato/tomatoes∙torpedo/torpedoes∙hero/heroes∙veto/vetoesExamples (s):Most nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel are pluralized by simply adding s3. Some other o nouns do this, too:∙auto/autos∙folio/folios∙cameo/cameos∙portfolio/portfolios∙kilo/kilos∙photo/photos∙zoo/zoos∙memo/memos∙solo/solos∙soprano/sopranos∙studio/studios∙pimento/pimentos∙tattoo/tattoos∙video/videos∙piano/pianos∙pro/pros∙kangaroo/kangaroosRule #4: Nouns Ending in a consonant YFor nouns ending in the letter y, replace the ending y with ies. For example:∙story/stories∙poppy/poppies∙baby/babies∙daisy/daisies∙spy/spies∙lady/ladiesNote that for words ending in y preceeded by a vowel (a complex vowel sound), an s is simply added, as usual. For example:∙day/days∙toy/toys∙essay/essays∙turkey/turkeys∙chimney/chimneys∙play/plays∙joy/joys∙valley/valleys∙alley/alleys∙volley/volleys(Irregular) Some nouns Ending in -F or -FEFor some nouns ending in f or fe, replace the ending f or fe with ves:∙calf/calves∙elf/elves∙half/halves∙hoof/hooves∙leaf/leaves∙life/lives∙loaf/loaves∙scarf/scarves∙self/selves∙sheaf/sheaves∙wolf/wolves∙shelf/shelves∙thief/thieves∙knife/knives∙wife/wives(Irregular) Some nouns change the vowel sound in becoming plural: ∙fireman/firemen∙foot/feet∙goose/geese∙louse/lice∙man/men。