Boxi Learn › English › Stage 1 · Observe and Say
Three sounds of -s
EN-1 Letters stand for soundsX-1 Guess, then check
What many people think
The ending -s is always pronounced /s/.
The idea
The ending -s is said three ways, chosen by the word's last sound, not its last letter: /s/ after a quiet sound (cats), /z/ after a buzzing sound (dogs), /ɪz/ after a hissing sound (buses) — and the same rule works for he runs and Tom's.
Explain it
A friend says “bed-s” with a hissing /s/. Using your throat test, explain why beds ends in /z/ — and why cakes still ends in /s/ even though cake ends in a buzzing-looking letter e.
Try at home
Hand on throat, say ten plural things in your room (socks, pens, boxes…). Sort them into three piles of paper slips: quiet /s/, buzz /z/, extra syllable /ɪz/. Which pile is biggest?