Instructions on how to pronounce s, es correctly and easily 

“s” and “es” are 2 suffixes that appear frequently and commonly in English. Many learners make a common mistake, which is often how to pronounce s, es for both of the above suffixes. Therefore, in this article, ETEST English for Study Abroad will guide you through the pronunciation rules so you can pronounce “e” and “es” correctly easily and effectively!

Rules for pronouncing s es in English

These rules help learners remember and apply the correct pronunciation for the suffixes “s” and “es” in English effectively.

• Rule 1: When the pronunciation of a word ends with the sounds: /p/, /k/, /t/, /f/,/θ/, the suffixes "s" and "es" are pronounced as /s/

     For example: cats (/kæts/), cliffs (/klɪf/s), books (/bʊks/),…

• Rule 2: When the pronunciation of a word ends with the sounds /s/, /z/, /∫/, /t∫/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/, the suffixes “s” and “es” are pronounced as /iz/

      For example: watches (/ˈwɒtʃɪz/), boxes(/bɒks/), dances (/ˈdænsɪz/),…

•  Rule 3: When the pronunciation of a word ends with the remaining sounds, the suffixes “s” and “es” are pronounced as /z/. 

      For example: plays (/ˈpleiz/), learns (/lɜːrnz/),dogs(/dɒɡz/),…

Pronounced as /s/ when the word ends with the phonemes /p/, /k/, /t/, /f/, /θ/

For words ending in: -p, -k, -t, -f, -th with corresponding pronunciations of voiceless sounds /p/, /k/, /t/, /f/, /θ/, the suffixes "s'', "es" will be pronounced as /s/. 

Here are some examples:

Pronounced as “/iz/” when the word ends with the phonemes: /s/, /z/, /∫/, /t∫/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/

For words ending with the phonemes /s/, /z/, /∫/, /t∫/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/ (words with the final letters -sh, -ce, -s, -ss, -z, -ge, -ch, -x,...) the suffixes "s'', "es" will be pronounced as /iz/. 

To distinguish and pronounce correctly words ending in -sh, -ce, -s, -ss, -z, -ge, -ch, -x, apply the following rule:

• The pronunciation is /s/, /z/: When the word ends in -s, -ss, -z:
• The pronunciation is /∫/, /t∫/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/: When the word ends in -ch, -sh, -x, -ge, -ce, -o

Here are some examples:

Pronounced /z/ with words remaining

When a word ends in a vowel or other voiced consonants (other than /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/), the suffixes “s” and “es” are pronounced as /z/.

Here are some examples:

Special case of the pronunciation rule s, es

– Case 1: In English, when adding the suffix s or es to words, pronunciation of “s” and “es” will depend entirely on the transcription of the last syllable in the word, not on the last letter of the word (the letter before the 2 suffixes "s" and "es"). 

Therefore, you need to remember this rule carefully, otherwise you will pronounce it wrong. ETEST English for Study Abroad will give some examples for this special case to help you understand better: 

– The verb “use” ends in the vowel e, but the pronunciation is /juːz/

=> When conjugated in the 3rd person singular, adding the suffix “s” will become “uses” and pronounced as /juːziz/.

– The noun “house” ends in the vowel e, but the pronunciation is /haʊs/

=> In the plural form, adding the suffix “s” will make it “houses” and pronounced as /ˈhaʊzɪz/.

– Case 2:  In the possessive form ('s), the contraction of is ('s) and has('s), the suffix “s” is pronounced /s/. 

Reference: How to pronounce ed standard, easiest to remember

Some tips to remember how to pronounce s, es

For beginners, it is not easy to remember how to pronounce the suffixes “s” and “es”. ETEST Study Abroad English will reveal some tips to help you conquer the pronunciation of “s” and “es” easily and effectively.

Tip 1: For words with the suffix “s” and “es” pronounced /iz/, most of the words will end with the letters: s, sh, ce, ss, z, ge, ch, x. (Sunday morning, riding a sh, met a pretty girl wearing 3ce lipstick)

Tip 2: For words with the suffixes “s” and “es” pronounced /s/, the words will end with the letters: th, p, k, f, t (French feudal period)

Practice exercises on pronunciation of s, es

Exercise 1: Choose the sentence with the s/es pronunciation different from the rest.

Sentence 1

1. Fruits
2. Tons
3. Stops
4. Kicks

Sentence 2

1. Beaches
2. Watches
3. Washes
4. Hurts

Sentence 3

1. Runs
2. Walks
3. Monks
4. Picks

Sentence 4

1. Likes
2. Assumes
3. Lots
4. See

Sentence 5

1. Losses
2. Snoozes
3. Teaches
4. Lies

Sentence 6

1. Calls
2. Tells
3. Illnesses
4. Questions

Sentence 7

1. Pisses
2. Convinces
3. Comes
4. Closes

Sentence 8

1. Asks
2. Nets
3. Hates
4. Opens

Sentence 9

1. Invites
2. Visits
3. Gifts
4. Shows

Question 10

1. Graduates
2. Degrees
3. Clothes
4. Receives

Question 11

1. Cares
2. Tears
3. Turns
4. Gets

Question 12

1. Lines
2. Goes
3. Peaches
4. Memories

Question 13

1. Speaks
2. Calls
3. Hangs
4. Falls

Question 14

1. Continues
2. Heats
3. Nails
4. Toes

Question 15

1. Gains
2. Tricks
3. Treats
4. Jokes

Question 16

1. Puts
2. Pieces
3. Poses
4. Roses

Question 17

1. Demons
2. Holds
3. Buses
4. Feels

Question 18

1. Vomits
2. Congratulations
3. Comments
4. Pray

Question 19

1. Joins
2. Religions
3. Jumps
4. Means

Question 20

1. Posts
2. Limes
3. Limbs
4. Things

Answer:

Exercise 2: Conjugate the verbs in brackets and read the passage, pronouncing s/es correctly: 

Her daily routine 1. (start) at 6 am every day. After waking up, she 2. (brush) her teeth and 3. (wash) her face and then 4. (have) a slap up breakfast. She 5. (attend) the local university and 6. (major) in science. However peaceful her life 7. (go), she never 8. (seem) to be grateful for it. She is forever complaining about everything, from her clothes, to her lectures, and her hair. That is what I do not like about Linda personally.

Linda 9. (possess) an enormous property that she inherited from her wealthy parents: a big mansion with expensive cars. Everyone 10. (assume) that she 11. (lead) an ideal life. But little does people know that she is 12. (feel) empty inside, with no goals and no real friends. Most of her friends are here for benefits and since she herself already 13. (have) everything she ever wanted, why would she have to work hard anymore?

Answer:

1. starts 2. brushes 3. washes
2. has 5. attended 6. majors
3. goes 8. seems 9. possesses
4. assumes 11. leads 12. feels 13. has

Exercise 3: Divide the following words into the correct s/es pronunciation column.

goes/ pisses/ kicks/ frogs/ leaps/ judges/ toasts/ upgrades/ obsesses/ treasures/ treats/ lies/ bees/ mines/ faces/ tricks/ excuses/ boils/ tops/ dates/ returns/ lacks/ grudges/ mates/ tastes/ heels/ misses

Answer:

Hope with the knowledge gained ETEST English for Study Abroad The updates and sharing in the article will help you confidently grasp and conquer the grammar part about how to pronounce the suffixes "s" and "es". This is also an extremely important factor to help you pronounce correctly and get high scores in the test. IELTS English Test Speaking. To improve and raise your band score. IELTS Speaking, you can also register for the IELTS course in ETEST English for Study Abroad.

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