Which word should replace the underlined word? “There are three [childs] waiting at the bus stop.”

Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grades 4–5 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 [childs] waiting at the bus stop. Which word should replace the underlined word?

• AchildrenCorrect answer
• Bchildrens
• Cchildes
• Dchild

Why “children” is correct

This tests an irregular plural. The plural of "child" is "children," not "childs." Like "goed," this error comes from applying the regular rule (add -s) to a word that does not follow it. Other irregular plurals worth practicing are men, women, feet, teeth, and mice.

Why the other answers are wrong

• childrens — "Children" is already plural, so adding -s makes a word that does not exist.
• childes — This adds an ending to "child" that English does not use.
• child — "Child" is singular, but "three" tells us there is more than one.

Practice more of this

More writing practice for Grades 4–5, or see the TELPAS practice test for 4th and 5th grade.