Listening · Unit 2: Common mistakes
L10: The "s" you didn't hear: plurals and word endings
Target band 6 to 6.5
The speaker says "bring two jackets." You write jacket. Wrong. One letter, one lost mark. This is one of the most common mistakes in IELTS Listening, and it's very common for Bangla speakers. The good news is that you can fix it without better ears. You just need to use grammar.
Why this matters
In fast speech, the final "s" is very short. Sometimes it blends into the next word. If you depend only on your ears, you'll miss it. But the sentence on your paper almost always tells you whether the answer is singular or plural.
Why it's hard for us
In Bangla, we show plural in different ways, like adding -ra or -gulo, and sometimes we don't mark it at all. So our brain doesn't automatically listen for a tiny "s" at the end of a word. English needs it every time.
Use the sentence to predict
Look at the words before the gap. They often tell you the answer is plural:
| Words before the gap | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| two, three, several, many, a few | plural |
| a variety of, a range of, a number of | plural |
| some (with countable things) | usually plural |
| a, an, one, every, each | singular |
| a lack of, much, a little | often uncountable, so no s |
Example: Visitors should bring several __________. The word "several" tells you the answer ends in s, even if you didn't hear it clearly.
Words that never take an s
Some English words are uncountable. They never take an s, even when we mean a lot of them. Bangladeshi students often add an s to these:
- equipment
- furniture
- information
- advice
- luggage
- accommodation
- research
- homework
You'll never need to write equipments or informations. Those words don't exist in standard English.
Other endings to watch
The final s isn't the only small ending that matters:
- -ed endings: booked, cancelled. Check if the sentence needs a past tense.
- -er and -est: cheaper, cheapest. Check if the sentence compares things.
- -ing: swimming, cycling. Check if the sentence needs an activity.
A quick routine for every gap
- Read the words before and after the gap.
- Ask, "Singular or plural?"
- Write a tiny mark next to the question. I use a small "s" in the margin.
- After you write your answer, check the ending matches your mark.
Try it yourself
Decide: singular, plural, or uncountable?
- The club offers a range of __________.
- Each student receives a free __________.
- Please bring your own __________ (things you need for camping).
- There are three __________ on the second floor.
Show the answers
1) plural. 2) singular. 3) Uncountable is likely, such as equipment. 4) plural.
Honest note
Grammar helps a lot, but it isn't perfect. Sometimes both singular and plural could fit. In those cases, trust what you heard and listen carefully to the end of the word.
Your task today
Go back to your last practice test. Check every answer you got wrong. How many were wrong only because of a missing or extra s? Write that number down.