Which word should replace the underlined word? “There are three [bird] in the tree.”

Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grade 2 writing. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 2: find and fix an error in a short text. On the real test some of these are typed answers or sentence rewrites. Here they are multiple choice so they can be checked.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Read the sentence. The underlined word has an error. There are three [bird] in the tree. Which word should replace the underlined word?

• Abirdes
• BbirdsCorrect answer
• Cbird's
• Da bird

Why “birds” is correct

When there is more than one of something, most nouns add -s. "Three" tells us there is more than one bird, so the word must be birds. Many languages do not add an ending for plurals after a number, so this is a very common error for English learners.

Why the other answers are wrong

• birdes — Bird adds only -s, not -es. Words like box and dish add -es.
• bird's — An apostrophe with -s shows that something belongs to the bird. It does not make a plural.
• a bird — "Three a bird" does not make sense. Three means more than one.

Practice more of this

More writing practice for Grade 2, or see the TELPAS practice test for 2nd grade.