Today we're going to look at classification - how things are sorted into classes or groups.

We'll listen to an archaeologist talking about artefacts, things left behind from the past,

and what sorts of groups they belong to.

And we'll finish by doing some pronunciation practice on final 's' sounds.

Well, these are all artefacts from the cesspits at Casseldon Place and there's a real assortment

of different types.

Some of the artefacts we've got relate to, I guess, the leisure time activity, the pastimes,

people might've had.

There are some gaming tokens. This is a lead disc with a horse figurine on it as well.

It would've been used as some sort of betting token.

The dice there, the bone dice as well. There's a couple of dominoes - one's made out of bone,

one, we think's made out of slate.

Some of the other pieces, we've got a lead rifle that would've been part of a child's

toy soldier set.

Yeah, these bones, again, from the cesspits of Casseldon, and quite clearly, it's been

cut. These aren't natural breaks at all. These are what we refer to as butchering marks.

So we're not just learning what sort of animals were eaten at Casseldon, we're also learning

about the cuts of meat being provided, whether it's been done locally by individual house

owners, or whether they're going to a local butcher.

I think the artefacts from Casseldon Place and the other results of the archaeological

process are important because they give us a really rare insight into the way Melbourne

operated in its early years.

The speaker, Jeremy Smith, is discussing the artefacts he's found in Melbourne. Let's look

at how he classifies or sorts out these artefacts for us.

First, the 'opening statement' tells us what is being classified. This is an orientation.

Then the things are classified according to certain criteria. They're put into groups.

Finally, at the end of the classification, there's a summary, or a comment on the groups

and their significance.

Let's listen to Jeremy's opening statement or orientation.

Well, these are all artefacts from the cesspits at Casseldon Place and there's a real assortment

of different types.

So the topic of this classification is the artefacts from Casseldon Place.

We are told that there is a real assortment of different types.

From this opening statement, we would expect the rest of the passage to be about the different

types of artefacts found there, and that's exactly what's given.

Listen to how the first type is introduced.

Some of the artefacts we've got relate to, I guess, the leisure time activity, the pastimes,

that people might've had.

The first category is of artefacts relating to leisure time activity, or pastimes.

This is the first group or class of the classification.

To make this clearer to the reader or listener, he could have used signals to show this was

the first category.

He could have said:

Firstly, we have artefacts that relate to leisure time activities.

What's the next group?

Some of the other pieces, we've got a lead rifle that would've been part of a child's

toy soldier set.

So the second category is children's toys.

Again, he could have introduced this by saying second, or secondly.

Secondly, we have children's toys.

And what about the third, or final category?

Yeah, these bones, again, from the cesspits of Casseldon, and quite clearly, it's been

cut.

The third category is to do with bones, evidence of what people ate.

So, "Thirdly, we have bones."

So after describing the different classes or groups, Jeremy summarises by saying why

the artefacts are important.

I think the artefacts from Casseldon Place and the other results of the archaeological

process are important because they give us a really rare insight into the way Melbourne

operated in its early years.

This is a summary statement. He finishes by giving a comment on the importance of the

classification.

Here he is saying the artefacts are important because of the rare insight they give us.

They show what life was like in Melbourne many years ago.

OK, now we're going to look at something completely different- the pronunciation of the letter

's' at the end of words.

But first, let's look at when you'll find an 's' on the end of words.

Well firstly, there's the natural 's'. Some words are always spelt with a final 's'.

Secondly, the letter 's' is added to plural nouns,

thirdly, it's added to 3rd person singular verbs in the present tense,

Finally, it's added to the possessive pronoun it, and possessive nouns.

OK, so there are lots of times when you'll see and 's' on the end of words. For words

where it's added on, it has three different pronunciations. Let's classify them!

The first pronunciation of the final -s is 'uz'.

It's pronounced this way after sounds such as s, z, sh, ch and j.

Listen for an example in the passage.

Some of the other pieces, we've got a lead rifle that would've been part of a child's

toy soldier set.

Did you hear it? The example was pieces, pieces.

The 's' on the end is pronounced 'uz' because it followed an 'ess' sound.

Other examples are:

buzzes

wishes

churches

judges.

The second way 's' is pronounced at the end of a word is 'sss'. It's pronounced this way

after voiceless consonants 'puh', 'tuh', 'kuh', 'ff' and 'th'.

Some examples from the text are:

artifacts

types

breaks

marks

and cuts

The rest of the time, that is after voiced consonants such as 'buh' 'duh' 'guh' 'lll',

'r', 'v', 'th' [hard] 'm', 'n' and after 'vowels and diphthongs', the final 's' is pronounced

'zzz'.

Examples from the text are:

There's

pastimes

tokens

dominoes

child's

bones

animals

years

Now listen to the clip again, and try to hear the difference between these different final

's' sounds.

Yeah, these bones, again, from the cesspits of Casseldon, and quite clearly, it's been

cut. These aren't natural breaks at all. These are what we refer to as butchering marks.

Its is a word that even native English speakers have a lot of trouble with.

Its can be written without an apostrophe, and with an apostrophe.

But what's the difference?

Well, with an apostrophe, it's is a contraction of it is, or it has.

Without an apostrophe its is a possessive pronoun.

The other possessive pronouns are: my, your, his, her, our and their.

These are used to show possession. For example: Is that your dog?

What is its name?

Remember that possessive pronouns NEVER have an 's' added to them, but possessive nouns

do.

Is that Simon's dog?

Apostrophes can often cause trouble for English language learners.

They are used with contractions and with possessives.

Don't EVER use an apostrophe to make nouns plural.

There are many students at school.

NOT

There are many student's at school.

And don't confuse the contraction of a noun and is with the possessive form of the noun.

They look the same, but they mean very different things.

"Mary's dog is ill," means the dog that belongs to Mary is ill.

"Mary's ill today," means Mary is ill. Here, Mary's is a contraction of Mary is.

OK, now let's listen to one last clip, then we'll see if you can add some apostrophes.

Some of the other pieces, we've got a lead rifle that would've been part of a child's

toy soldier set.

He says:

Some of the other pieces we've got are a lead rifle that would've been part of a child's

toy soldier set.

We've is a contraction of we have, so that needs an apostrophe.

Would've is a contraction of would have, so that needs one too.

And the last one?

A child's toy soldier set. The toy soldier set belongs to the child. It's a possessive

's', so that needs an apostrophe too.

And don't forget to practice your pronunciation and punctuation at home whenever you can.

You'll get the hang of it quickly, I'm sure.

And thanks for joining me for Study English, IELTS Preparation. Bye bye.