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Clothes
Clothes (/ˈkləʊðz/) is an English word.
Meaning[edit | edit source]
The noun meaning of clothes is “items of clothing.”[1]
Form[edit | edit source]
Clothes is the most common uncountable plural found in English. Because of this, it seems to confuse learners and is best learnt as a special case.
Clothes words form a thematic set that can be learnt as part of a lesson theme.
Some words within this category are also uncountable plurals, particularly coveralls, dungarees, overalls and pyjamas.
Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
Clothes is carefully pronounced /ˈkləʊðz/, a monosyllable with the plural -s pronounced /z/ because it comes after a non-sibilant voiced consonant, specifically a voiced dental fricative /ð/. However, this /ð/ is often elided in rapid speech, so it becomes /ˈkləʊz/ which is a homophone with the verb “close.”
EFL learners who struggle with the /ð/ phoneme may attempt to substitute /ð/ with /z/ (th-alveolarisation) and may then assume that the plural -s marker is pronounced /ɪz/, as it would be after /z/, and say */ˈkləʊzɪz/ (disyllabic and a homophone with closes or clozes). It’s probably best to not worry about the optional /ð/ and recommend learners pronounce it monosyllabically /ˈkləʊz/.
Pedagogy[edit | edit source]
Basic clothes words are generally learnt at elementary level. It’s possible to use clothes as realia.
