S endings pronunciation

Question

how to pronounce s or es at the end of a word ?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Anonymoushow to pronounce s or es at the end of a word ?

I assume you are not interested in the names of ancient Greeks, where, for example, Socrates ends in the EEZ sound, nor in singular nouns like analysis, which ends in the ISS sound.

I assume you are talking about plural nouns, the possessive ending, and third person singular present verbs. So here are the rules.

There are three possible pronunciations of the plural ending. (The third person present tense verb forms and the possessive forms follow the same pattern.)

Note that the six sibilants are /s/, /z/, /S/, /Z/, /tS/ ("ch"), and /dZ/ ("j"). An "x" is pronounced /ks/, so it, too, ends in a sibilant sound.

1. /iz/ after a sibilant. This ending creates an extra syllable. The following two do not.

a) where the sibilant is /s/: misses, places, buses, bonuses, boxes

b) where it is /z/: phases, roses, fuses, fizzes, lenses

c) where it is /S/: wishes, dashes, marshes

d) where it is /Z/: beiges (rare)

e) where it is /tS/: latches, itches, arches, benches

f) where it is /dZ/: ledges, ages, barges, ranges

2. /s/ after an unvoiced consonant other than a sibilant.

(Only five possibilities exist in this category. /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, and /th/)

a) caps, capes, hops, hopes

b) kits, kites, nights, waits, tastes, facts

c) bakes, looks, aches, oaks

d) staffs, safes, laughs (few)

e) Beth's (rare)

3. /z/ after any other sound not classifiable within the previous two headings.

cabs, Abe's, raids, lads, dogs, wives, waves, moths, truths, games, Ken's, cars, falls, bays, trees, tries

CJ

S endings pronunciation

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