Pronunciation - Plural nouns / 3rd person 's'

The -(e)s of the verb in 3º person in the present simple is pronounced as /s/ after:

• /k/ eg like /laɪk/ - likes /laɪks/
• /p/ eg stop /stɒp/ -  stops /stɒps/
• /f/ eg laugh /lɑːf/ - laughs /lɑːfs/
• /t/ eg write /raɪt/ - writes /raɪts/

and it is the same for regular plural nouns:

• /k/ eg a tick /tɪk/ - ticks /tɪks/
• /p/ eg a trip /trɪp/ - trips /trɪps/
• /f/ eg a cough /kɒf/ - coughs /kɒfs/
• /t/ eg a parent /ˈpeə.rənt/ - parents /ˈpeə.rənts/

NB. Nouns that end in -fe change to -ves in plural.
So the pronunciation of  the -es changes to /z/.

• a knife /naɪf/ - knives /naɪvz/
• a life /laɪf/ - lives /laɪvz/

The -(e)s of the verb in 3º person in the present simple and regular plural nouns are pronounced as /z/ after:

• /v/ eg love /lʌv/ - loves /lʌvz/
• /b/ eg rob /rɒb/ - robs /rɒbz/
• /g/ eg a dog /dɒg/ - dogs /dɒgz/
• /l/ eg call /kɔːl/ - calls /kɔːlz/
• /m/ eg time /taɪm/ - times /taɪmz/
• /n/ eg open /ˈəʊ.pən/ - opens /ˈəʊ.pənz/
• /r/ eg a car /kɑːr / - cars /kɑːr z/
• /ð/ eg sunbathe /ˈsʌn.beɪð/ - /ˈsʌn.beɪðz/
• /ŋ/ eg a ring /rɪŋ/ - rings /rɪŋz/

and also after all vowel sounds we find /z/:

• /eɪ/ eg play /pleɪ/ - plays /pleɪz/
• /aɪ/ eg die /daɪ/ - dies /daɪz/
• /əʊ/ eg go /gəʊ/ - goes /gəʊz/
• /dʌ/ eg do /duː/ - does /dʌz/
• /iː/ eg a tree /triː/ - trees /triːz/

When a word ends in /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /z/, /dʒ/ the -es is pronounced as a separate syllable: /ɪz/

• a horse /hɔːs/ (1 syll) - horses /hɔːs.ɪz/ (2 sylls)
• finish /ˈfɪn.ɪʃ/ (2 sylls) - finishes /ˈfɪn.ɪʃ.ɪz/ (3 sylls)
• watch /wɒtʃ/ (1 syll) - watches /wɒtʃ.ɪz/ (2 sylls)
• choose /tʃuːz/ (1 syll) - chooses /tʃuːz.ɪz/ (2 sylls)
• a language /ˈlæŋ.gwɪdʒ/ (2 sylls) - languages /ˈlæŋ.gwɪdʒ.ɪz/ (3 sylls)
• a box /bɒks/ (1 syll) - boxes /bɒks.ɪz/ (2 sylls)

Listen to the /s/ sounds and then compare to the /z/ sounds. Look around the BBC pronunciation page.

Try the /s/ /z/ /ɪz/ test.




What are the following words and in what group do they go 1. /s/, 2. /z/ or 3. /ɪz/ :

• /ˈstʌd.i/
• /sməʊk/
• /ˈstjuː.dənt/
• /ˈfraɪ.deɪ/
• /rɪˈlæks/
• /tʃɔɪs/
• /juːz/
• /ˈmɔː.nɪŋ/
• /miːt/
• /ˌjuː.nɪˈvɜː.sɪ.ti/
• /draɪv/
• /ʃɒp/
• /fəʊn/
• /tʃɜːtʃ/

Try spelling out the above words symbol by symbol in the phonemic chart and listen to a group of words (finish; finishes; watch; watches) in the talking dictionary.