---
title: Identify the principal reason for which nouns terminating in s, x, z… — Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which nouns terminating in s, x, z, ch or sh take the ending -es. Exam question 2 of lesson 6 «Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each opt
---

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# Exam question 2 · Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which nouns terminating in s, x, z, ch or sh take the ending -es.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, nouns · **What happens:** identify, terminate, take · **To what, where:** principal reason, s, ending es

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 6 «Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones» of the English course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/6-spelling-plurals/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e2:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which nouns terminating in s, x, z, ch or sh take the ending -es.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	7	det	_	_
7	nouns	noun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	nsubj	_	_
8	terminating	terminate	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	acl	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	s	s	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	x	x	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	z	z	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	ch	ch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	sh	sh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	_
19	take	take	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
21	ending	ending	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	compound	_	_
22	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	es	e	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **terminate** | gerund | which nouns and x and z and ch or sh *not said here* |  |  | s |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 3 | **take** | present | which nouns and x and z and ch or sh | the ending es |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent e=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Such nouns are always verbs in disguise

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e2:o1:1
# text = Such nouns are always verbs in disguise
1	Such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	nouns	noun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	5	advmod	_	_
5	verbs	verb	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	disguise	disguise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Such nouns | verbs |  | disguise |  | always *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Such nouns are invariably of French origin and retain the French manner of forming the plural

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e2:o2:1
# text = Such nouns are invariably of French origin and retain the French manner of forming the plural
1	Such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	nouns	noun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	invariably	invariably	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	French	French	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	origin	origin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	retain	retain	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	French	French	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	manner	manner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
13	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
14	forming	form	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	12	acl	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	plural	plural	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Such nouns |  |  |  |  | of French origin; invariably *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **retain** | present | Such nouns *not said here* | the French manner |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **form** | gerund | the French manner *not said here* | the plural |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location plural=Theme |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The plural thereby acquires an additional syllable which is audible in speech

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e2:o3:1
# text = The plural thereby acquires an additional syllable which is audible in speech
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	plural	plural	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	thereby	thereby	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	acquires	acquire	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	additional	additional	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	syllable	syllable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	audible	audible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	acl:relcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **acquire** | present | the plural | a additional syllable |  |  |  | thereby *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset syllable=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present | a additional syllable |  |  | speech |  | audible *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ending -es denotes possession in such nouns

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e2:o4:1
# text = The ending -es denotes possession in such nouns
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ending	ending	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	es	e	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	_
5	denotes	denote	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	possession	possession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	nouns	noun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **denote** | present | the ending and es | possession |  |  |  | in such nouns | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot possession=Theme in noun=Attribute |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/6-spelling-plurals/e1/)
- next →: [Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/6-spelling-plurals/e3/)
- ↑ back to [Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/6-spelling-plurals/)