Pronouncing Plurals

Why is the letter "s" pronounced differently in different plural words?

English speakers like to say the most they can in the shortest amount of time. As a result, when a letter's sound changes, it is often caused by the sound of the letter that is just in front of it in that word.

A noun is made plural when an "s" or "es" is added to the end of it, and the way you say the "s" depends on the way you say the last sound of the word.

There are three 3 kinds of sounds in the English language: voiced sounds, unvoiced sounds, and the unvoiced sound of two sounds said at the same time.

A voiced sound is a sound that causes your vocal cords to vibrate--including all vowels and the consonants b, v, th (as in "they"), d, z, j, g, m, l, o, r.

An unvoiced sound is made without using your vocal cords--including p, f, th (as in "thirty"), t, s, sh, ch, k. These sounds are made using your lips, tongue, teeth, jaw and breath.

There are also three ways to pronounce the letter, "S" at the ends of plural words: "s", "z" and "uhz".

Present tense plural words end with "s" and "es." Sometimes the "e" is spoken and sometimes it is silent. So how do you know when to say it?

It all depends on the ending of the word. In most cases, you will not say the "e"--especially if the "e" is part of the singular word (for example, "like" or "give.")

If the last sound of the singular word is voiced, the added "s" is pronounced like "z":

apple -> apples (A puhlz)

time -> times (taimz)

dog -> dogs (dahgz)

call --> calls (kahlz)

destroy --> destroys (duh STROYZ)

give --> gives (gɪhvz)

moan --> moans (mohnz)

sob --> sobs (sɑhbz)

try --> tries (traɪz)

If the last sound is not voiced, the added "s" sounds like an "s":

ship --> ships (shihps)

cat --> cats (kats)

lot --> lots (lɑhts)

back --> backs (baks)

cup --> cups (cuhps)

sleep --> sleeps (sleeps)

student --> students (STOO duhnts)

write --> writes (raits)

cook --> cooks (cuks)

drink --> drinks (dreenks)

cliff --> cliffs (clihfs)

laugh --> laughs (lafs)

cloth --> cloths (klahths)

month --> months (muhnths)

When a word ends in "s", "sh", "ch", "z", "j" (or a syllable sounding like these letters) it would be impossible to pronounce if the plural was made by adding "s" to the end of a word. For that reason, the plural is made by adding "es", and that "es" will become a separate syllable, that is pronounced: "uhz":

wish -> wishes (WIHSH uhz)

watch -> watches (WAH chuhz)

age -> ages (AY juhz)

box -> boxes (BAHK suhz)

fix --> fixes (FIHK suhz)

kiss --> kisses (KIH suhz)

wash --> washes (WAH shuhz)

watch --> watches (WAH chuhz)

memorize --> memorizes (MEH muh rai zuhz)

exercise --> exercises (EHK sur sai zuhz)

damage --> damages (DA muh juhz)

Note: All these words sound like singular words that end with the schwa sound (uh):