These days, it’s hard to find time to spend in the great outdoors. Most people have to work or go to school inside of a building. But sometimes, one needs to leave the city and breathe some fresh air. Camping is a great way to get away from all the noise of daily life.

One of the best things about camping is that one can do it anywhere. For people who like the beach, one can simply set up a tent right on the sand. Some people like the mountains more and might even camp in the snow. Many people like camping because it is easier to see the stars away from city lights. Camping lets people take a break from normal life.

Jessica is excited to camp with her friends this summer. But does Julie like camping? Find out more in today’s English lesson about sleeping outside.

Dialogue

Jessica: So, Julie…
Julie: Yes?
Jessica: I just started to get all of my plans together to go camping this summer. And I am so excited to get back outdoors, and watch the sunset and the sunrise when it’s not freezing cold outside.
Julie: Do you camp a lot?
Jessica: I do. Not as much as I would like to, but I do a big camping trip every year. And all of our friends get together with our camping gear, and our backpacks and sleeping bags. It’s wonderful.
Julie: Do you go the whole nine yards and build a campfire and roast s’mores and all that?
Jessica: Absolutely. I don’t think you can go camping without s’mores. But until then I’ve just been hiking, and trying to enjoy nature without the overnight camping aspect. Do you like to go camping?
Julie: I love camping. I camp at every opportunity that I have. But it’s hard because I work several jobs and it’s hard to carve out that time to get outside. But I do love it. It’s very therapeutic.

Discussion

Jessica is planning on going camping this summer. Every year, she and her friends like to get their sleeping bags and find somewhere new to sleep outside. She likes to eat s’mores, and thinks that no camping trip is complete without them.

Julie is sad she doesn’t have much time for camping. She says it is hard to work multiple jobs and still be able to camp. She finds camping therapeutic, and goes whenever she can.

Do you like camping? Where is your favorite place to go?

Grammar Point

Plural vs. Possessive “S”

Plural vs. Possessive “S”

Jessica likes camping with her friends. She says “And all of our friends get together with our camping gear, and our backpacks and sleeping bags. It’s wonderful.” She uses the plural “s”.

Most nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es. For example, boat becomes boats, or hat becomes hats.

A noun ending with a consonant and the letter y forms the plural by adding -ies. For instance, city becomes cities, and baby becomes babies.

This is not true for all nouns. There are many irregular plural nouns, such as woman (women), potato (potatoes), or tooth (teeth), and some nouns are the same in both the singular and plural forms (such as sheep and fish), but most nouns are made plural by adding -s, -es or -ies.

When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add ’s to a singular noun, and an apostrophe ‘ to a plural noun. For example, the boy’s ball (one boy) or the boys’ ball (two boys). The number of balls doesn’t matter, only the number of possessors (in this case, boys).

We often use possessive ’s with proper nouns (names): Mary’s car, Sarah’s son, or Robert’s book. If the name ends in s, like Charles, we usually treat it like a singular noun and add ’s: Charles’s friend. However, it is also correct to just add the apostrophe: Charles’ friend.

Which is correct, “Madison has a lot of shoe’s,” or, “Madison has a lot of shoes”?