Learn the basic rules of final "s" sounds: /s/ /z/ and /iz/ with easy explanation and plenty of examples and illustrations

1. Mrs. F B
Kh
Pronunciation
Final « s » Sounds

3. z z z z z z
z z
s s s s s s s
s s
iz
iz
iz
iz
iz
iz
iz
iz

4. Using the -s, -es ending
There are four purposes for adding -s, -es, or 's
to a word:
1-To create a plural noun (cats)
2-To conjugate a verb (snows)
3-To show possession (coach's, coaches')
4-To create a contraction (boy's meaning boy is
or boy has)

5. Cats
The coach’s
ball
It snows heavily.
The boy’ s
ball.The boy’ s
playing. has

6. Pronunciation of -s, -es, 's ending
No matter the purpose or spelling of the -s,
-es, 's ending, the pronunciation guidelines
are the same. In English, the -s, -es, 's ending
has three possible pronunciations:
/s/ sound (hats)
/z/ sound (loves)
/iz/ short i+z sound (misses)

7. The pronunciation of
written -s, -es, 's
is based on the final sound
of a word, before adding -s.

8. iz
z
iz
s
s
z iz
s
z
/s/
/z/
/iz/

9. s, -es, 's ending
pronounced as /s / sound
book – take – like – sit – meet - write
dwarf – laugh – jump - cup – cloth- bath
/k/
/f/ /f/ /p/ /p/ /θ/ /θ/
/k/ /k/ /t/ /t/ /t/

10. The /k/, /t/, /f/, /p/ and /θ/
sounds are all unvoiced,
which means that your
vocal chords must be silent
when you make the sound.

11. books –takes –likes –sits –meets -writes
dwarfs,laughs-jumps-cups–cloths-earth’s
/s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/
/
s/

12. .
When the final sound of the
word is an unvoiced:”/k, t, p, f, θ/
sound, the -s, -es, 's ending is
pronounced as a /s/ sound. An
unvoiced sound does not use the
vocal chords during its
production.

13. In this type, the final 's' should
be pronounced with air pushed
out between the top of your
tongue and your top teeth,
without using the vocal chords
(the sound made by a snake or
gas escaping from a pipe).

14. Alice and Bruce were a nice couple who wanted to move to a place closer to their jobs. The
long drive made them tense and moving would also help them spend less on gas. They
decided they would try to lease a house because it cost less than buying one.
One day the couple began their race to find a house. They wanted to have all their facts
straight so they bought a lot of books on what to avoid when you lease a house. The first
place they saw looked like it was in a dangerous area. The house was infested with mice and
the grass looked like it hadn't been moved in weeks. Bruce and Alice were at a loss for
words and left quickly.
The next place they found was the essence of the ideal house. It was in a nice neighborhood
with tennis courts and two Olympic-sized pools. Plus, there was plenty of closet space and
beautiful glass windows with lace curtains. Bruce asked the owner how much the place
costs, and the couple decided it was too much of an expense. They said, “We'll pass.”
The last house they saw looks like the perfect home for Bruce and Alice. They were in a state
of complete bliss as they paced around the house. The place was very close to their jobs, and
it had a gas stove and a study room, which was the perfect place for some peace and quiet. At
first glance, the couple knew that this was the house for them and it put a stop to their
search. The look on their faces said, “That's it, we found our house!”

15. s, -es, 's ending
pronounced as /z / sound
describe – job – duild – word – beg - dog
/b/
call – fail – come – dream – decline - win
/n/
/d/ /g/ /g//b/ /d/
/n//m//m//l//l/

16. live – love – breath – lathe – sing - belong
/v/ /ð/ /ŋ/ /ŋ//v/ /ð/

17. cure - fur - flower -
/r/ /r/ Schwa + r
play – study – employee – go – fly - boy
/ei/
/
u/ə
/ai/
/
i/ᴐ/i/ /i:/
All vowel sounds: short or
long
Single or diphtongs or
triphtongs

18. These sounds are all
voiced, which means that
your vocal chords must
make a sound when you
pronounce them.

19. describes – jobs – duilds – words – begs - dogs
/z/ /z/ /z/ /z/ /z//z/
calls – fails – comes – dreams – declines - wins
/z/ /z//z//z//z//z/

20. lives – loves – breaths – lathes – sings - belongs
/z/ /z/ /z/ /z//z/ /z/
cures - furs - flowers
/z/ /z//z/

21. plays – studies – employees –
goes – flies - boys
/z/ /z/
/z/ /z/ /z/
/z/

22. When the final sound of the word is a
voiced sound, the -s, -es, 's ending is
pronounced as a /z/ sound. A voiced sound
uses the vocal chords during its production.
Since all vowel sounds are voiced, there are
far more voiced sounds in English than
unvoiced sounds. English has 14 other
voiced sounds that occur at the end of a
word:

23. /z/ sound is formed in the
same way as /s/ sound, but
you must make a sound with
your vocal chords (the sound
made by a bee, or high-
voltage electricity)

24. The kids at school liked to tease Liz because she was tall for her age. Whenever she walked in the
classroom, Liz would lower her eyes to the floor until she reached her desk. Mr. Fuzz, the teacher, was
always disappointed with the behavior of his students because they treated Liz badly for no reason.
He liked Liz because she was very wise. However, Liz would never raise her hand because she did not
want her classmates to tease her further.
One day, Mr. Fuzz decided to surprise both Liz and the class with an activity. Mr. Fuzz handed out
scissors to the kids along with several pieces of colored paper. He then handed out a paper with
instructions about how to make a paper rose, and he announced that the first student to make it
would win a prize. Mr. Fuzz watched as Liz followed the instructions with ease and created the paper
rose in no time. Before Liz began to realize that she was the only student done with the project, Mr.
Fuzz cleared his throat and announced the winner. Liz froze when she heard her name, and she felt
that her knees were too weak to stand up and receive her prize.
Mr. Fuzz pulled a large vase full of candy from behind his desk. When he announced that it was up to
Liz to share her prize, the kids in his classroom lowered their eyes to the floor. However, Liz stood up
and began to pass out candy to everyone, even Mr. Fuzz. Afterwards, she helped the other students
finish their roses, and soon the vase was filled with paper roses instead of candy. Mr. Fuzz kept the
vase on his desk as a reminder, and Liz was never teased again.

25. s, -es, 's ending pronounced
as /iz / sound
/iz/
bus – miss – entrence - price
/s/ /s/ /s/ /s/
Written « ce » and
pronounced /s/

26. freeze – cause – fix - tax
/z/ /z/ /ks/ /ks/
wash – watch - encourage
[written -se = /s/ or /z/]
/∫/ /dƷ//t∫/

27. buses – misses – entrences - prices
freezes – causes – fixes - taxes
/iz/ /iz/ /iz/ /iz/
/iz/ /iz//iz//iz/

28. washes – watches - encourages
/iz/ /iz/ /iz/
dishes – catches - bridges
/iz/ /iz//iz/

29. This sound is the same as the verb 'to be'
in its third person form (is). Type three
sounds are the only ones which add an
additional syllable to the word, for
example 'miss' /MIS/ is one syllable, but
'misses' /MIS IZ/ is two syllables. The
final /IZ/ syllable isn't usually stressed.

30. when the “s”, “es” or “’s”
comes after the /s/, /z/, and the
following combinations, /sh/,
/ch/, /ss/, /ge/, and /dge/, the
pronunciation of the last
syllable is /iz/.