Just like the -ed ending, there are three ways of saying the plural “s” ending in English:
The goal for English speakers is to speak efficiently, to say the most they can in the shortest amount of time. When there is a change in sound, the change is often caused by the sound right before it. This allows the vocal chords in particular to be more efficient; to continue what they are doing.
Practice and Understand
[t] Put your hand on the front of your neck and say the sound [t]. What do you feel?
[s] Now, put your hand in front of your neck and say the [s] sound. What do you feel? You should feel no vibration.
[z] Put your fingers on the front of your neck and say the [z] sound. What do you feel? You should feel thevibration of the vocal chords.
Rule : Any time a word has a sound just before the plural “s” that has NO vibration in the vocal chords, the plural “s” will continue the lack of vibration and sound like a [s].
Any time you have a sound before the plural “s” that has the vibration, the vibration will carry forward andtransform the letter “s” into the [z] sound.
There are also some sounds that require an extra syllable in order to be articulated.
Example I can’t even say the plural of “bridge” without adding an extra [ɪ] sound before the plural “s”. So we add the extra syllable to say:
“bridges” [brɪdʒ ɪz]
[s] Voiceless sounds that cause the plural “s” to be pronounced as [s] include: [p], [t], [k], [f]
Example
Example
Example
Listen and Repeat : Notice how I connect the plural “s” to the word that follows, and how I de-stress the function words, such as transforming the “of” into [ə], to create linking and music in my speech.
- [s]
- [z]
- [ɪz]
- “cats” [kæts]
- “dogs” [dawgz]
- “cats” [kæts] with an [s].
- “cats” [kæts]
- “dogs” [dawgz] with a [z].
- “dogs” [dawgz]
The goal for English speakers is to speak efficiently, to say the most they can in the shortest amount of time. When there is a change in sound, the change is often caused by the sound right before it. This allows the vocal chords in particular to be more efficient; to continue what they are doing.
Practice and Understand
[t] Put your hand on the front of your neck and say the sound [t]. What do you feel?
- You should feel nothing at all, meaning, there is no vibration in the vocal chords when you say [t].
- You should feel a vibration now. That’s because the vocal chords vibrate when you say the sound [d].
[s] Now, put your hand in front of your neck and say the [s] sound. What do you feel? You should feel no vibration.
[z] Put your fingers on the front of your neck and say the [z] sound. What do you feel? You should feel thevibration of the vocal chords.
Rule : Any time a word has a sound just before the plural “s” that has NO vibration in the vocal chords, the plural “s” will continue the lack of vibration and sound like a [s].
Any time you have a sound before the plural “s” that has the vibration, the vibration will carry forward andtransform the letter “s” into the [z] sound.
There are also some sounds that require an extra syllable in order to be articulated.
Example I can’t even say the plural of “bridge” without adding an extra [ɪ] sound before the plural “s”. So we add the extra syllable to say:
“bridges” [brɪdʒ ɪz]
[s] Voiceless sounds that cause the plural “s” to be pronounced as [s] include: [p], [t], [k], [f]
Example
- weeks [wiyks]
- bits [bɪts]
- backs [bæks]
- briefs [briyfs]
Example
- webs [wɛbz]
- beds [bɛdz]
- bags [bægz]
- bells [bɛlz]
- jars [jɑrz]
- canoes [kəNUWZ] | (note the [uw] vowel sound ends in a [w])
- straws [stʃrɑwz]
- limbs [lɪmz]
- fans [fænz]
- doves [dʌvz]
- delays [dəLeYZ]
Example
- watches [WA tʃɪz]
- bridges [BRɪ dʒɪz]
- judges [dʒʌ dʒɪz]
- slices [SlAiY sɪz]
- blazes [BLeY zɪz]
Listen and Repeat : Notice how I connect the plural “s” to the word that follows, and how I de-stress the function words, such as transforming the “of” into [ə], to create linking and music in my speech.
- “The dogs are eating at twelve.”
- “There are bits of cake on the floor.”
- “Judges always wear black in court.”
- “The slices of pizza got cold.”
- “Please put the three bags in the hallway.”
- “The delays at the airport weren’t so bad.”
- “We are big fans of that type of music.”
- “How many weeks until your trip?”