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Plurals of Words Ending In -Y Activities

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

-ys and -ies ending review, including a simplest responses listening game, mazes,

By: Alex Case
Level: All Levels
Theme: General
Study Area: Nouns
      Page: /

Lesson Plan Content:


Plurals of words ending in y activities

Plurals of words ending in y simplest responses game

Without looking below, listen to your teacher and raise the “-ys” or the “-ies” card that you have been given, depending on what you think about the plural that you hear, or what you think about the plural of the singular word that you hear.

 

Cards to hold up

-ys

-ies

-ys

-ies

-ys

-ies

-ys

-ies

 

Similar plurals presentation

Write the plurals of the words below. Ones on the same line have the same kind of plural. Try to work out the rules as you do so, and use that to help with later lines.

Elementary

baby                                                             battery

boy                                                                day

dictionary                                                     documentary

factory                                            French fry

holiday                                           key
library                                                           nationality

photocopy                                                    story

strawberry                                                    university

 

Pre-Intermediate

ashtray                                           essay

accessory                                                    activity

apology                                          city

country                                           emergency

enquiry                                           lady

memory                                                        party

raspberry                                                     reply

similarity                                                      story

 

Intermediate

ability                                                            accessory

allergy                                                          body

birthday                                                        deejay

delay                                                            highway

journey                                           monkey

necessity                                                     opportunity

play                                                               tray

university                                                     variety

way                                                               weekday

 

Upper Intermediate

alley                                                              attorney

buoy                                                             cowboy

currency                                                       delivery

display                                           guy

homestay                                                     motorway

mystery                                                        policy

priority                                            property

puppy                                                           obituary

quantity                                          query

redundancy                                                 remedy

screenplay                                                   survey

trolley                                                           turkey


Advanced

abbey                                                           alleyway

alloy                                                              archway

array                                                             bay

cemetery                                                      certainty

chimney                                                       choirboy

cockney                                                       convoy

curiosity                                                       daisy

decoy                                                           donkey

emissary                                                      entity

envoy                                                           fairway

fantasy                                           fatality

ferry                                                              festivity

fishery                                                          forgery

formality                                                       functionary

galley                                                           homeboy

identity                                           ideology

idiosyncrasy                                                impurity

inaccuracy                                                   inconsistency

indignity                                                       intermediary

jersey                                                           jockey

joy                                                                 kidney

lackey                                                           medley

melody                                           mercenary

methodology                                               missionary

monastery                                                    monopoly

municipality                                                 nanny

nappy                                                           novelty

obscenity                                                     oddity

osprey                                            pageboy

paperboy                                                     passageway

pathway                                                       payday

peculiarity                                                    penalty

playboy                                          ploy

pony                                                             poppy

possibility                                                    principality

pulley                                                           quay

rarity                                                             refinery

relay                                                             runway

schoolboy                                                    sickbay

slipway                                           stingray

stowaway                                                    stray

sunray                                            tomboy

tragedy                                           treaty

tributary                                                        utility

vacancy                                                       vagary

volley                                                            walkway

 

Different plurals presentation

On each line below, one word should have a plural ending in “-ys” and the other should end in “-ies”. Add “-s” to one and change to the other in “-ies”.

 

Elementary

baby                                               boy

butterfly                                          day

dictionary                                       holiday
key                                                  library

photocopy                                     toy

 

Pre-Intermediate

apology                            ashtray

country                             essay

 

Intermediate

accessory                                     birthday

century                             deejay

delay                                              duty

gallery                                            highway

injury                                              journey

memory                                          monkey

opportunity                                    play

strategy                                          tray

university                                       way

weekday                                        worry

 

Upper Intermediate

alley                                                ally

anxiety                             attorney

authority                                         buoy

commodity                                     cowboy

currency                                         display

enemy                              guy

homestay                                       inequality

minority                            motorway

mystery                                          survey

theory                                             trolley

turkey                                             victory

 

Advanced

abbey                                             agency

alloy                                                amenity

antibody                                         archway

army                                               array

atrocity                             bay

bellboy                             beneficiary

boundary                                       castaway

cemetery                                        chimney

cockney                                         colony

contingency                                   convoy

daisy                                               decoy

deformity                                        donkey

dual carriageway                          embassy

entity                                               envoy

equity                                             fairway

fantasy                             homeboy

identity                             jersey

kidney                                            laboratory

lackey                                             liability

luminary                                         medley

methodology                                 osprey

ovary                                             pageboy

pansy                              paperboy

passageway                                  pastry

pathway                                         penalty

philosophy                                     playboy

ploy                                                 pony

principality                                    pulley

quality                                            quay

rarity                                               relay

robbery                             runway

schoolboy                                      sensitivity

sickbay                             signatory

slipway                             specialty

stowaway                                      subsidy

sunray                              sympathy

tendency                                        tomboy

treaty                                              volley

washday                                        welly

Try to work out the rules for which kinds of words take which ending, then use that to start checking your answers.

 

Plurals of nouns ending with –y maze activities

Start from the top left square in the table. Find the next square which has the same plural form/ plural spelling, then follow the other squares with the same plural ending vertically or horizontally until you reach the bottom left square. When you have a single complete line from beginning to end, check that all the other squares have different plural endings.

Elementary to Intermediate

boy

 

baby

party

photocopy

reply

category

bully

day

 

butterfly

country

apology

nationality

party

story

holiday

 

key

gallery

memory

birthday

delay

highway

city

 

journey

toy

way

play

duty

essay

spy

 

body

battery

lady

library

hobby

monkey

activity

 

disability

injury

factory

cherry

dictionary

deejay

enquiry

 

charity

allergy

accessory

subsidiary

discovery

ashtray

 

Upper Intermediate

guy

 

turkey

valley

ferry

authority

democracy

economy

puppy

 

fly

trolley

luxury

gallery

mystery

redundancy

theory

 

lorry

alley

remedy

ministry

community

obituary

victory

 

county

motorway

commodity

quantity

ally

delivery

society

 

priority

survey

facility

currency

minority

policy

casualty

 

query

attorney

display

homestay

screenplay

cowboy

anxiety

 

industry

ceremony

enemy

community

property

buoy

 

Advanced

bay

 

army

agency

entity

antibody

melody

penalty

bellboy

 

boundary

ferry

donkey

jockey

ploy

oddity

chimney

 

envoy

embassy

castaway

cemetery

playboy

tragedy

colony

 

kidney

capability

choirboy

fairy

storey

symphony

irregularity

 

jersey

treaty

volley

subsidy

relay

stray

mercenary

 

medley

missionary

abbey

daisy

tapestry

runway

vacancy

 

quay

pulley

alloy

diary

specialty

sickbay

 

Answer key – The big list of plurals of words ending in –y

Elementary

  • babies
  • batteries
  • boys
  • butterflies
  • celebrities
  • cherries
  • cities
  • days
  • dictionaries
  • documentaries
  • factories
  • French fries
  • hobbies
  • holidays
  • keys
  • libraries
  • nationalities
  • photocopies
  • stories
  • strawberries
  • toys

Pre-Intermediate

  • accessories
  • activities
  • apologies
  • ashtrays
  • countries
  • emergencies
  • enquiries
  • essays
  • ladies
  • memories
  • parties
  • raspberries
  • similarities
  • television personalities

Intermediate

  • abilities
  • allergies
  • birthdays
  • bodies
  • bullies
  • categories
  • centuries
  • ceremonies
  • charities
  • deejays
  • delays
  • difficulties
  • disabilities
  • discoveries
  • duties
  • galleries
  • highways
  • injuries
  • journeys
  • monkeys
  • necessities
  • opportunities
  • personalities
  • plays
  • replies
  • responsibilities
  • salaries
  • spies
  • strategies
  • studies
  • subsidiaries
  • supplies
  • trays
  • universities
  • varieties
  • ways
  • weekdays
  • worries

Upper Intermediate

  • alleys
  • allies
  • anxieties
  • attorneys
  • authorities
  • buoys
  • casualties
  • ceremonies
  • commodities
  • communities
  • controversies
  • counties
  • cowboys
  • currencies
  • deliveries
  • democracies
  • displays
  • duties
  • economies
  • enemies
  • facilities
  • ferries
  • flies
  • galleries
  • guys
  • homestays
  • humanities
  • industries
  • inequalities
  • lorries
  • luxuries
  • ministries
  • minorities
  • motorways
  • mysteries
  • obituaries
  • policies
  • priorities
  • properties
  • puppies
  • quantities
  • queries
  • redundancies
  • remedies
  • screenplays
  • societies
  • surveys
  • theories
  • trolleys
  • turkeys
  • valleys
  • victories

Advanced

abbeys                             abnormalities                  adversaries                     agencies

alleyways                                      alloys                                              ambiguities                      amenities

analogies                                       annuities                                        anomalies                        antibodies

antiquities                                      archways                                       armies                arrays

arteries                             atrocities                                        autobiographies             bays

beauties                                         bellboys                                         beneficiaries                   boundaries

capabilities                                    capacities                                      castaways                       cemeteries

certainties                                      chimneys                                       choirboys                         cockneys

colonies                                         commentaries                 competencies   constituencies

contemporaries               contingencies                 convoys                           curiosities

daisies                             decoys                             deficiencies                     deformities

deities                                            delicacies                                      dependencies   deputies

destinies                                        diaries                                            dignitaries                        discrepancies

disparities                                      distilleries                                      donkeys                           doorways

driveways                                      dual carriageways                        eccentricities                   embassies

emissaries                                     entities                             entries                envoys

equities                            estuaries                                        eventualities                    extremities

fairies                                             fairways                                         fantasies                          fatalities

ferries                                             festivities                                        fisheries                           follies

forgeries                                         formalities                                      functionaries                   galaxies

galleys                             hippies                             homeboys                        hostilities

identities                                        ideologies                                      idiosyncrasies   impurities

inaccuracies                                  inadequacies                                inconsistencies indignities

inefficiencies                                 insecurities                                    intermediaries   ironies

irregularities                                  jerseys                             jockeys               joys

kidneys                            laboratories                                   lackeys               liabilities

localities                                        loyalties                                         luminaries                        medleys

melodies                                        mercenaries                                  mercies              methodologies

miseries                                         missionaries                                  monasteries                    monopolies

municipalities                  nannies                            nappies              necessities

novelties                                        obscenities                                    oddities              ospreys

ovaries                                          pageboys                                       pansies                           paperboys

passageways                  pastries                                         pathways                         paydays

peculiarities                                   penalties                                        philosophies                   playboys

ploys                                               ponies                                            poppies              possibilities

principalities                   prophecies                                    pulleys               qualities

quays                                             rarities                              refineries                          relays

repositories                                   robberies                                       royalties                           rubies

runways                                         schoolboys                                    sensibilities                     sensitivities

sickbays                                         signatories                                     slipways                           specialities

specialties                                     stingrays                                        storeys               stowaways

strays                                              subsidies                                       sunrays              sympathies

symphonies                                   tapestries                                       tendencies                       territories

tomboys                                         tragedies                                        treaties               tributaries

utilities                              vacancies                                      vagaries                           volleys

walkways                                       washdays                                      waterways                       wellies

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