2/27/2014 American English Pronunciation Lesson: The -s, -es, -' s ending

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English
Pronunciation
The -s, -es, -'s
ending Pronunciation
Using the -s, -es ending
There are four purposes for
adding -s, -es, or 's to a word:
To create a plural noun
(cats)
To conjugate a verb (snows)
To show possession
(coach's, coaches')
To create a contraction
(coach's meaning coach is or
coach has)
Note that 's can signal noun
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2/27/2014 American English Pronunciation Lesson: The -s, -es, -' s ending
http://www.pronuncian.com/Lessons/default.aspx?Lesson=129 2/6
possession and the contracted
form of the words is and has
in spoken English. Sentence
context must be used to discern
whether coach's means that the
coach owns something or that it
is a contraction of coach is or
coach has. The pronunciation is
the same whether the
apostrophe is signaling a single
owner (coach's) or many owners
(coaches').
To simplify this pronunciation
lesson, only the apostrophe s ('s)
spelling is being used.
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)
short i+z sound (misses)
1: -s, -es, 's ending
pronounced as short i+z
sound
Pronounce the -s, -es, 's ending
as as short i+z sound when the
final sound before the addition
of the -s, -es, 's ending is any of
the following: s sound, z sound,
ch sound, j sound, sh sound, or
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Letter x Pronunciation: k+s or g+z
voiced and unv th /,/

Pro
+1
2/27/2014 American English Pronunciation Lesson: The -s, -es, -' s ending
http://www.pronuncian.com/Lessons/default.aspx?Lesson=129 3/6
zh sound.
A syllable is always added to
the word when the -s, -es, 's
ending is pronounced as the
short i + z sound combination.
Sound Example
1.
s
sound
misses Play
2.
z
sound
causes Play
3.
ch
sound
watches Play
4.
j
sound
changes Play
5.
sh
sound
wishes Play
6.
zh
sound
garages Play
2: -s, -es, 's ending
pronounced as s sound
When the final sound of the
word is an unvoiced sound
(except the sounds listed for
pattern #1), the -s, -es, 's
ending is pronounced as an s
sound. An unvoiced sound does
not use the vocal cords during
its production. Besides the
sounds listed for #1, English has
only five other unvoiced sounds
that occur at the end of a word:
Sound Example
1. p sound stops Play
2/27/2014 American English Pronunciation Lesson: The -s, -es, -' s ending
http://www.pronuncian.com/Lessons/default.aspx?Lesson=129 4/6
2. k sound looks Play
3. t sound cats Play
4.
unvoiced
th
sound*
Earth's Play
5. f sound laughs Play
3: -s, -es, 's ending
pronounced as z sound
When the final sound of the
word is a voiced sound (except
the sounds listed for pattern
#1), the -s, -es, 's ending is
pronounced as a z sound. A
voiced sound uses the vocal
cords during its production.
Since all vowel sounds are
voiced, there are far more
voiced sounds in English than
unvoiced sounds. Besides the
sounds listed for pattern #1,
English has 14 other voiced
sounds that occur at the end of
a word:
Sound Example
1. b sound describes Play
2. g sound begs Play
3. d sound words Play
4.
voiced
th
sound
bathes Play
5. v sound loves Play
6. l sound calls Play
7. r sound cures Play
2/27/2014 American English Pronunciation Lesson: The -s, -es, -' s ending
http://www.pronuncian.com/Lessons/default.aspx?Lesson=129 5/6
8. schwa+r answers Play
9.
ar
sound
stars Play
10.
or
sound
pours Play
11.
air
sound
scares Play
12.
m
sound
dreams Play
13. n sound rains Play
14.
ng
sound
belongs Play
Example -s, -es, 's use in
context
The -s, 's, and s' in the word
dogs is pronounced identically in
all four sentences below. The
context of the sentence is
necessary to comprehend the
meaning of the -s, 's, and s'.
's pronunciation
dogs/dog's/dogs' Play
The dogs were
barking all night
long. (plural)
Play
The dogs' collars
should be
replaced. (plural
possessive)
Play
The dog's
sleeping in the
bed again. (dog
is)
Play
2/27/2014 American English Pronunciation Lesson: The -s, -es, -' s ending
http://www.pronuncian.com/Lessons/default.aspx?Lesson=129 6/6
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