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Listening Practice: Do the exercises and practice listening to the different ways 's' is pronounced at the end of words.

Speaking Practice: When you are ready, do the pronunciation practice at the bottom of the web page.

听力练习 - 做练习，练习听不同词尾的's'发音方式。
口语练习 - 当您准备好时，在网页底部进行发音练习。

듣기 연습 - 연습을 하고 단어 끝 's'의 발음을 듣는 연습을 하세요.
말하기 연습 - 준비가 되면 웹 페이지 아래의 발음 연습을 하세요.

リスニング練習 - 演習を行い、単語の末尾における's'の発音の異なる方法を聞く練習をしてください。
スピーキング練習 - 準備ができたら、ウェブページの下部で発音練習を行ってください。

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Plural Nouns and Verbs in Third Person

The pronunciation of S at the end of plural nouns, verbs in third person and as a part of the possessive case sometimes causes problems for non-native speakers because it can be pronounced in three different ways: / ɪz /, / s / or / z /.

(Note: whenever you see letters or symbols between two slash marks (/ /), it refers to the pronunciation of that letter or sound)

The pronunciation depends on the last sound of the verb or noun which is usually a consonant. Before we learn the difference ways to pronounce the final S, we must first know what voiced and voiceless consonants are as well as sibilant sounds:

Voiced Consonants vs. Voiceless Consonants

A voiced consonant (or sound) means that it uses the vocal cords and they produce a vibration or humming sound in the throat when they are said. Put your finger on your throat and then pronounce the letter L. You will notice a slight vibration in your neck / throat. That is because it is a voiced sound.

A voiceless sound (sometimes called unvoiced sound) is when there is no vibration in your throat and the sound comes from the mouth area. Pronounce the letter P. You will notice how it comes from your mouth (in fact near your lips at the front of your mouth). The P sound doesn't come from your throat.

Try this with the other letters and you will "feel" the difference between a voiced and a voiceless consonant (or sound).

Sibilant Sounds

Another sound which is relevant to this is the sibilant sound which is produced by forcing air out toward your teeth. Is is characterized by a hissing sound (sssss), a buzzing sound (zzzzz) or the sound teachers make when they want you to be quiet (shhhh!).

Z like the sound a bee makes... zzzzzz

S like the sound a snake makes... sssssss

SH like the sound a teacher makes when they want you to be quiet... shhhhh

Now we know the difference between voiced, voiceless and sibilant sounds we can look at the following rules for the correct pronunciation of S at the end of words in English:

The pronunciation of the S at the end of words in English

The pronunciation of the final S in plural words and verbs in the third person depend on the final consonant sound before that S.

The ending is pronounced /s/ after a voiceless sound, it is pronounced /z/ after a voiced sound and is pronounced /ɪz / or /əz/ after a sibilant sound:

Voiceless: helps /ps/ -- sits /ts/ -- looks /ks/

Voiced: crabs /bz/ -- words /dz/ -- gloves /vz/,

Sibilant: buses /sɪz / or /səz /, bridges /dʒɪz / or /dʒəz /, wishes /shɪz / or /shəz /

1. The /ɪz/ sound (or /əz/ sound)

Sometimes this sound is written as /əz/ and uses the symbol "schwa" or "upside down e" before the z. For ease we will write this sound as /ɪz/ or /iz/

If the last consonant sound of the word is a sibilant sound (a hissing or buzzing sound), the final S is pronounced as /ɪz/. This /ɪz/ sound is pronounced like an extra syllable. (e.g. the word buses has two syllables)

If the sound has a J sound (/dʒ/ like the letter J at the beginning of the word jacket or /ʒ/ like the S in pleasure), then the final S is also pronounced as /ɪz/.
Examples of words ending in the /ɪz/ sound:

C: races (sounds like "race-iz")

S: pauses, nurses, buses, rises

X: fixes, boxes, hoaxes

Z: amazes, freezes, prizes, quizzes

SS: kisses, misses, passes, bosses

CH: churches, sandwiches, witches, teaches

SH: dishes, wishes, pushes, crashes

GE: garages, changes, ages, judges

Remember: after verbs ending in -sh, -ch, -ss and -x, we add the -es to the end of the verb (in third person) and the pronunciation is /iz/ as an extra syllable.

2. The /s/ sound

If the last consonant of the word is voiceless, then the S is pronounced as /s/. Be careful not to create an extra syllable.

NOTE: The consonants c, s, sh, ch and x are voiceless though they use the sibilants ending seen above.
Examples of words ending in the /s/ sound:

P: cups stops, sleeps

T: hats, students, hits, writes

K: cooks, books, drinks, walks

F: cliffs, sniffs, beliefs, laughs, graphs (the -gh and -ph here are pronounced like a F)

TH: myths, tablecloths, months (voiceless th)

3. The /z/ sound

If the last letter of the words ends in a voiced consonant (or sound), then the S is pronounced like a Z /z/(without creating another syllable). This Z sound is similar to the sound a bee makes zzzz.

We also use this ending when the word ends in a vowel sound (e.g. bees, flies etc.)
Examples of words ending in the /z/ sound:

B: crabs, rubs

D: cards, words, rides, ends

G: rugs, bags, begs

L: deals calls, falls, hills

M: plums, dreams

N: fans, drains, runs, pens

NG: kings, belongs, sings

R: wears, cures

V: gloves, wives, shelves, drives

Y: plays, boys, says,

THE: clothes, bathes, breathes

VOWEL SOUNDS: sees, fleas

Pronunciation of S cheat sheet

Pronunciation Practice

Next activities

Pronunciation Rules:
You might be interested in the Pronunciation of -ED at the end of words in English.

Grammar Rules:
How to make plural nouns in English and Verbs in Third Person

If you found this guide about the Pronunciation of S in English useful, let others know about it:

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The pronunciation of S at the end of plural nouns, verbs in third person and as a part of the possessive case sometimes causes problems for non-native speakers because it can be pronounced in three different ways: / ɪz /, / s / or / z /.

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Step 2: Listening and Speaking (Word Practice)

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Step 2: Listening and Speaking (Word Practice)

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Speaking Practice - Practice saying the plural forms of the words.

练习说出单词的复数形式。

단어의 복수형 발음 연습하세요.

単語の複数形の発音を練習してください。

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English Pronunciation Practice - How do you pronounce words ending in S?

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Practice - Complete the exercises at this link. Check your answers at the end of the exercise.

If you get any wrong, re-take the quiz until you get them all correct.

Quiz - Take a screenshot of your final quiz results. Send the screenshot to your teacher.

练习 - 完成此链接中的练习。在练习结束后检查您的答案。如果有任何错误，重新参加测验直到全部正确为止。测验 - 拍摄您最终的测验结果的截图。将截图发送给您的老师。

연습 - 이 링크의 연습을 완료하세요. 연습 끝에서 답을 확인하세요. 오답이 있으면 모두 정확하게 맞을 때까지 퀴즈를 다시 풀어보세요. 퀴즈 - 최종 퀴즈 결과의 스크린샷을 찍어 선생님에게 보내주세요.

練習 - このリンクの演習を完了してください。演習の最後で回答を確認してください。誤答があれば、すべて正解するまでクイズを再受験してください。クイズ - 最終的なクイズ結果のスクリーンショットを撮り、それを先生に送ってください。

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Linking is a basic element of American English Pronunciation.
In a dictionary, words are given in isolation.
In natural speech, however, you don't say words separately.
You connect words together. You link them.

In this lesson, we're going to practice consonant sound plus vowel sound.

And now it's your turn.
Here's your audio pronunciation quiz.
Which phrase do you hear?

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Linking: word final /s, z, Iz/ + vowel sound

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Linking is a basic element of American English Pronunciation.In a dictionary, words are given in isolation.In natural speech, however, you don't say words separately.You connect words together. You link them. In this lesson, we're going to practice consonant sound plus vowel sound. And now it's your turn.Here's your audio pronunciation quiz.

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Complete the exercises at the link. Make corrections until you are able to answer all of the exercises correctly.

Take a screenshot of your final results Send the screenshot to your teacher.

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Final -S (audio): Listening for final -s | Grammar Quizzes

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Contrast and recognize final sounds for 's' [s, z] after voiced and voiceless consonants.

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Step 5: Speaking and Reading (Formative Assessment)

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Step 5: Speaking and Reading (Formative Assessment)

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Week 1 - Read aloud for 5 minutes at home every day. Focus on saying the "s" sounds at the end of words.

Week 2 -  Take 5 minutes to read aloud during Independent Reading time every day. Focus on saying the "s" sounds at the end of words.

Week 2  - At the end of the week, record yourself reading during Independent Reading. Focus on saying the "s" sounds at the end of words. Send the recording to your teacher.

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Meet with your teacher and read aloud from your Independent Reading book.