How old is the General Sherman tree? A, an, plurals and big numbers

Q: How do you make plural nouns in English?

Add -s to most nouns , with a few spelling rules for the rest: -es after s, x, ch and sh ( boxes ), -ies for a consonant plus y ( cities ), -ves for some f and fe words ( knives ). A handful change completely, like child to children and tooth to teeth . On edio.ai, the A1 lesson How old is the General Sherman tree? sorts them all into one table, from trees to mice .

Q: When do you use "a" or "an"?

An before a vowel sound, a before a consonant sound : a tree , a giant sequoia , but an apple pie , an architecture student . Go by what you hear, not the letter you see: it's an umbrella but a uniform , because uniform begins with a you sound.

Q: How do you answer "How old are you?"

Say I'm and your age : I'm 23 , or I'm 23 years old . For other people the verb changes, in the question and the answer: How old is he? He's 27. How old are they? They're 26 and 34. Things work the same way, as a video call in How old is the General Sherman tree? on edio.ai shows: How old is it? It's more than two thousand years old!

Q: How do you say big numbers in English?

Work from the biggest part down : 275 is two hundred seventy-five , 1,400 is one thousand four hundred , and 91,000 is ninety-one thousand . For 100 and 1,000, a and one both work: a hundred , one thousand . Years are the exception, read as two pairs, so 1890 is eighteen ninety .

Q: Is it "I have 23 years" or "I'm 23"?

I'm 23 is right, because English gives age with be , not have. You can add years old , as in I'm 23 years old , but not years alone: She's 23 years is wrong too. Things follow the same rule, so it's The tree is more than 2,000 years old , never The tree has 2,000 years .

Q: Is it "two thousand" or "two thousands"?

Two thousand , with no -s : after a number, hundred and thousand stay singular. The plural ending goes on the noun that follows instead: three hundred trees , two thousand years , ninety-one thousand seeds . The same holds inside bigger numbers: one thousand four hundred , not one thousand four hundreds .

Q: Is it "two deer" or "two deers"?

Two deer : the plural is the same as the singular , just like fish and sheep . Some other everyday nouns change their form instead of taking -s: child becomes children , person becomes people , foot becomes feet . So two childs and 275 foots tall are both wrong.

Q: What are the parts of a tree called in English?

The trunk, the branches and the leaves , with bark on the outside of the trunk and seeds that start new trees. Two of these plurals need care: branch adds -es ( branches ), and leaf changes to leaves . Two more words for a walk: a forest is a big place with many trees, and a trail is a path for walking in nature.

Q: How do I teach a, an and plurals to beginners?

Let students hear a and an before the rule , and give them things to count for plurals. How old is the General Sherman tree? on edio.ai sets both in a forest: a video call with a tree , a giant sequoia and two deer , then a scheme of both rules. Students write a or an by the first sound, complete a table from trees to deer , and pick the correct sentence.

Q: What's a good game for practicing plurals and big numbers?

A spinning wheel of quick questions keeps everyone talking: each spin lands on one thing to say out loud. The wheel in How old is the General Sherman tree? on edio.ai asks students to read 130, 275, 1,400 and 91,000, to add two animals after two bears, ten deer… , and to say the year in English. Prompts like How old is your best friend? bring in ages too.

An A1 ESL lesson plan on a, an and plural nouns, with big numbers and the question How old…?

Grammar: A or an by the first sound (a uniform, an old tree), plurals from trees to children and deer, hundreds and thousands with no -s, and age with be: How old is it?
Topic: The General Sherman Tree, a giant sequoia in Sequoia National Park, California, with words like trunk, branch, trail and park ranger.
Activities: Students read the sign by the tree, follow a video call and a ranger's talk, do self-checking drills, answer a chat from the park, spin a question wheel and record a short talk.

What's inside

Chapter 1Hello, forest!
- PictureUnlock
- Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
- Study the new wordsVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and choose the right wordChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Let's read: a giant tree
- Look at the photo: the General Sherman TreePictureUnlock
- Read the sign next to the treeReal-life documentTry it
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Let's listen: a call from the forest
- Listen to Olivia and JackListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to the park rangerListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen again and choose the right answerChoose the optionUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: How old? a or an? One or two?
- Study the scheme: How old…? a or an? PluralsGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right words for the numbersChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: listen to the first soundFill in the gapsTry it
- Fill in the table: one and twoFill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Let's talk: big and old!
- Choose the right repliesChatTry it
- Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
- Record yourself: How old is it?Speaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

forest
trunk
branch
trail
seed
bear
park ranger

Grammar: a, an and plurals, with big numbers and How old…?

A tree that is more than 2,000 years old raises two questions at once: How old is it? and how to say that number. The forest supplies the rest: a bear, an old tree, two deer near the trail. Learners give ages with be, say hundreds and thousands, and choose a or an, or a plural noun, for what they see.

How old? Big numbers, a or an, plurals

Ask about age, say big numbers, and use a, an and plurals.

How old…? Age takes be, not have

English gives age with be: How old are you? I'm 27. It's never I have 27 years. For a person, say the number alone or add years old: She's 23 or She's 23 years old, but not She's 23 years.

How old…? Use be!

Question	Answer
How old are you, Jack?	I'm 27. / I'm 27 years old.
How old is Jack?	He's 27.
How old is Olivia?	She's 23.
How old is the tree?	It's more than 2,000 years old.
How old are you and Jack?	We're 23 and 27.
How old are Mia and Kofi?	They're 26 and 34.

Age: be, not have

In English, age is be: I'm 23. The tree is more than 2,000 years old. For a person, say only the number or the number + years old: She's 23. / She's 23 years old. Not: She's 23 years.

Big numbers: hundred and thousand take no -s

A hundred and a thousand can also start with one, and after another number they never take -s: three hundred, two thousand. Years are said in two halves: 1890 is eighteen ninety, and 2026 is twenty twenty-six.

Number	Say it
100	a hundred (or one hundred)
130	a hundred thirty (or a hundred and thirty)
275	two hundred seventy-five
300	three hundred (not three hundreds)
1,000	a thousand (or one thousand)
1,400	one thousand four hundred
2,000	two thousand (not two thousands)
91,000	ninety-one thousand
the year 1890	eighteen ninety (18 + 90)
the year 2026	twenty twenty-six (20 + 26)

A or an? Listen to the first sound

The sound decides, not the letter: a before a consonant sound (a bear, a park ranger), an before a vowel sound (an animal, an old tree). A uniform takes a because it starts with a you sound.

a + a consonant sound (b, g, p, t…)

a tree
a bear
a giant sequoia
a park ranger
a uniform (a “you” sound)

an + a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u)

an old tree
an animal
an apple pie
an architecture student
an umbrella

Plurals: one tree, two trees, three deer

Most nouns add -s (trails); after s, x, ch and sh it's -es (branches); a consonant plus y becomes -ies (families); some f words take -ves (leaves). A few change completely or not at all: people, children, feet, deer.

Rule	One	Two or more
+ s	tree, trail, bear	trees, trails, bears
s, x, ch, sh + es	bus, box, branch	buses, boxes, branches
consonant + y → ies	city, family	cities, families
some f, fe → ves	leaf, knife	leaves, knives
a new word	person, child, man, woman	people, children, men, women
a new word	foot, tooth, mouse	feet, teeth, mice
no change	deer, fish, sheep	deer, fish, sheep

Common mistakes

I have 23 years.
I'm 23. / I'm 23 years old.
age: be, not have
two thousands years
two thousand years
no -s on hundred or thousand after a number
a old tree
an old tree
old starts with a vowel sound → an
two childs, three deers
two children, three deer
a new word / no change

More lessons on this grammar: Articles lessons and exercises

Try the a, an and plurals exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

11 auto-checked exercises
4 games
1 teacher-checked task
1 real-life document
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
2 audio clips
2 pictures
2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

ask and answer about age with be: How old is it? It's more than 2,000 years old.
say big numbers and years: two hundred seventy-five, eighteen ninety
choose a or an by the first sound of the next word: a uniform, an old tree
make plurals with -s, -es, -ies and -ves, and use the irregular ones: two children, three deer

Lesson 10 comes second in Numbers all around, the third unit of English A1.1 · Hello, World. It takes lesson 9's numbers from 0 to 100 into the hundreds and thousands, and the unit's review in lesson 12 brings back a, an, plurals and ages. At a tree more than 2,000 years old, How old is it? needs a big number for an answer.

Students open boxes of questions about parks, forests and old things, learn ten words from trunk to park ranger with pictures and audio, and choose words by picture. They read the sign next to the tree: the biggest tree in the world, though not the tallest, with a trunk of almost 1,400 tons. They hear Jack and Olivia's video call (an AI-voiced dialogue) and a park ranger's talk about the tree's first big branch and its tiny seeds. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five exercises, from How old is or are to a table of plurals and a choice of the correct sentence, each checked as students answer. In the speaking chapter, they reply to Jack's messages from the park and spin a wheel of questions.

Homework puts the lesson's sentences back in order and unscrambles forest words. It ends with a recording about three old or big things, a tree, a building, a person or an animal, with how old each one is and one big number, which goes to the teacher.

Grammar:: How old…? · big numbers · a/an · plurals
Topic:: nature · national parks · Sequoia National Park · numbers

Teaching tips

Ask for guesses before the reading: how old is the tree, and how tall? The sign answers with more than 2,000 years and about 275 feet, and students read the numbers aloud.
Say a and an pairs out loud before the gap-fill. The rule is about sound, so a uniform and an umbrella only make sense once students hear them.
Turn the plural table into a race: call out a singular from the scheme, like child, leaf or foot, and the first student to write the plural on the board scores.
Point out the wheel's way out: students who'd rather not say how old they are can answer It's a secret! and talk about a pet or a building instead.

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The whole course: English A1.1 · Hello, World

32 lessons for complete beginners in simple American English, from the verb to be to can and can't. Eight units cover greetings, family, numbers, home, food, daily routines, the town and free time, and each ends with a review lesson. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Hello!
greetings, the verb to be, countries and nationalities, yes/no questions
Unit 2 My people
family members, possessive adjectives, have got, describing people
Unit 3 Numbers all around
numbers and dates, a/an and plurals, phone numbers and prices
1. Lesson 9Why is March 14 Pi Day?Numbers 0 to 100, decimals and US dates
2. Lesson 10 · you're hereHow old is the General Sherman tree?A, an and plurals, with big numbers and How old…?
3. Lesson 119-1-1 and other numbers to knowSaying phone numbers, emails and prices
4. Lesson 12Review: 102 floors and 1,860 stepsNumbers, dates, ages and prices, reviewed
Unit 4 Home sweet home
rooms in a house, this, that, these and those, furniture, opposites
Unit 5 Food I love
likes and dislikes, present simple questions, ordering food
Unit 6 My day
telling the time, daily routines, days of the week, prepositions of time
Unit 7 My town
places in town, prepositions of place, giving directions
Unit 8 Free time
hobbies, can and can't, sports, making plans

Questions about this lesson

How do you make plural nouns in English?

Add -s to most nouns, with a few spelling rules for the rest: -es after s, x, ch and sh (boxes), -ies for a consonant plus y (cities), -ves for some f and fe words (knives). A handful change completely, like child to children and tooth to teeth. On edio.ai, the A1 lesson How old is the General Sherman tree? sorts them all into one table, from trees to mice.

When do you use "a" or "an"?

An before a vowel sound, a before a consonant sound: a tree, a giant sequoia, but an apple pie, an architecture student. Go by what you hear, not the letter you see: it's an umbrella but a uniform, because uniform begins with a you sound.

How do you answer "How old are you?"

Say I'm and your age: I'm 23, or I'm 23 years old. For other people the verb changes, in the question and the answer: How old is he? He's 27. How old are they? They're 26 and 34. Things work the same way, as a video call in How old is the General Sherman tree? on edio.ai shows: How old is it? It's more than two thousand years old!

How do you say big numbers in English?

Work from the biggest part down: 275 is two hundred seventy-five, 1,400 is one thousand four hundred, and 91,000 is ninety-one thousand. For 100 and 1,000, a and one both work: a hundred, one thousand. Years are the exception, read as two pairs, so 1890 is eighteen ninety.

Is it "I have 23 years" or "I'm 23"?

I'm 23 is right, because English gives age with be, not have. You can add years old, as in I'm 23 years old, but not years alone: She's 23 years is wrong too. Things follow the same rule, so it's The tree is more than 2,000 years old, never The tree has 2,000 years.

Is it "two thousand" or "two thousands"?

Two thousand, with no -s: after a number, hundred and thousand stay singular. The plural ending goes on the noun that follows instead: three hundred trees, two thousand years, ninety-one thousand seeds. The same holds inside bigger numbers: one thousand four hundred, not one thousand four hundreds.

Is it "two deer" or "two deers"?

Two deer: the plural is the same as the singular, just like fish and sheep. Some other everyday nouns change their form instead of taking -s: child becomes children, person becomes people, foot becomes feet. So two childs and 275 foots tall are both wrong.

What are the parts of a tree called in English?

The trunk, the branches and the leaves, with bark on the outside of the trunk and seeds that start new trees. Two of these plurals need care: branch adds -es (branches), and leaf changes to leaves. Two more words for a walk: a forest is a big place with many trees, and a trail is a path for walking in nature.

How do I teach a, an and plurals to beginners?

Let students hear a and an before the rule, and give them things to count for plurals. How old is the General Sherman tree? on edio.ai sets both in a forest: a video call with a tree, a giant sequoia and two deer, then a scheme of both rules. Students write a or an by the first sound, complete a table from trees to deer, and pick the correct sentence.

What's a good game for practicing plurals and big numbers?

A spinning wheel of quick questions keeps everyone talking: each spin lands on one thing to say out loud. The wheel in How old is the General Sherman tree? on edio.ai asks students to read 130, 275, 1,400 and 91,000, to add two animals after two bears, ten deer…, and to say the year in English. Prompts like How old is your best friend? bring in ages too.

How do you practice a, an and plurals one-to-one?

Ask real questions that need a, an or a plural, and let the student answer about their own life: What's an old building in your town? How old is your home? The chat in How old is the General Sherman tree? on edio.ai is one-to-one already: the student replies to messages from the park, choosing two deer over two deers and an old apple tree over a old apple tree.

Are there interactive exercises for a and an?

Yes: an online gap-fill can check a and an instantly. Without an account, the page of How old is the General Sherman tree?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, plays four of its parts: the sign next to the tree, the video call, a gap-fill where students write a or an by the first sound (an architecture student, a uniform), and a chat from the park. The plural table and everything else need an account.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Vocabulary

Grammar: a, an and plurals, with big numbers and How old…?

How old…? Age takes be, not have

How old…? Use be!

Big numbers: hundred and thousand take no -s

A or an? Listen to the first sound

Plurals: one tree, two trees, three deer

Common mistakes

Try the a, an and plurals exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English A1.1 · Hello, World

Unit 1 Hello!

Unit 2 My people

Unit 3 Numbers all around

Unit 4 Home sweet home

Unit 5 Food I love

Unit 6 My day

Unit 7 My town

Unit 8 Free time

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students