Unit 1: PRONUNCIATION OF THE

SUFFIX -s/-es

3rd Person Singular Simple Present,

Saxon Genitive and the Plural

In the section, you are going to learn how to

pronounce the suffix –s/-es that you can find in

these occasions:

• Third person singular verbs (he/she/it)

He wakes up at 7am everyday.

• Plural nouns

We usually buy oranges at the market.

• Saxon genitive (possesive)

John’s house is close to the lake.

• The pronunciation of this suffix shares the same

rules for all of them in spite of their spelling, and it

depends on the sound that precedes them.

The suffix is pronounced as /ɪz/ when the word ends

in one of the following consonants:

/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/./s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/.

Susan always passes her exams with a good grade.

They have two horses in their country house.

/s/

They have two horses in their country house.

Jess’s friend is so funny!

He usually dresses as he pleases.

I took three quizzes last week.

/z/

I took three quizzes last week.

James’s parents live an hour away from here.

Peter never washes his clothes.

I wash the dishes sometimes.

/ ʃ /

I wash the dishes sometimes.

Have you met Josh’s cousin?

He massages ten clients per day.

We chose two yellows and three beiges for the house.

/ ʒ /

We chose two yellows and three beiges for the house.

Blanche’s mother is from France.

She usually watches TV after dinner.

Do you have some matches to light the fire?

/ tʃ /

Do you have some matches to light the fire?

I think I know Mitch’s new friend.

She often judges other people.

The officer wears a lot of badges on his uniform.

/ dʒ /

The officer wears a lot of badges on his uniform.

Marge’s children are very polite.

The suffix is pronounced as /s/ when the word ends

in one of the following consonants: in one of the following consonants:

/p/, /t/, /k/, /θ/, /f/

He keeps a diary as therapy.

Laura always leaves tips to the waiters.

/ p /

Laura always leaves tips to the waiters.

Kipp’s products are the freshest in the market.

She usually cuts ham into small pieces for her children.

He’s wearing blue shorts this morning.

/ t /

He’s wearing blue shorts this morning.

Pete’s dogs are so lovely.

My grandmother cooks great meals.

She made some cakes this morning.

/ k /

She made some cakes this morning.

Are you coming to Mark’s party tonight?

There are two paths we can take.

Keith’s classmates adore him.

/ θ /

Keith’s classmates adore him.

She always laughs at his jokes.

These pants lack cuffs and pockets.

/ f /

These pants lack cuffs and pockets.

We are studying the wolf's anatomy.

The suffix is pronounced as /z/ with the rest of the

endings:

/b/, /d/, /g/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /v/, /δ/, /l/, /r/ and

vowels .

She sobs when she watches drama movies.

They bought some fresh crabs for dinner.

/ b /

They bought some fresh crabs for dinner.

Bob’s job is very interesting.

He always proceeds with caution.

There are many rose buds in our garden.

/ d /

There are many rose buds in our garden.

Chad’s sister is in my class.

I don’t know how he always clogs the toilet.

Put the bags in the kitchen, please.

/ g /

Put the bags in the kitchen, please.

Doug’s hair is getting thinner.

I like the way she hums when she does house chores.

Does this soup have clams in it?

/ m /

Does this soup have clams in it?

Mom’s birthday is coming up soon!

She runs eight miles every day.

There are tons of people waiting outside.

/ n /

There are tons of people waiting outside.

John’s barbecue is this weekend.

He sings in the shower.

How many songs can you play?

/ ŋ /

How many songs can you play?

Ming’s vases are spectacular.

Helen leaves for Turkey on Monday.

Be careful with the knives on the table.

/ v /

Be careful with the knives on the table.

Viv’s husband travels every month.

She bathes her baby very carefully.

/ δ /

Elliot travels frequently.

Do you know how many malls we have in this city?

/ l /

Do you know how many malls we have in this city?

Jill’s representative works very efficiently.

She transfers money early in the morning.

They have some scars from their accident.

/ r /

They have some scars from their accident.

The director’s assistants work more than anyone else.

I don’t know where he goes every afternoon.

They opened two more cafés at the mall.

vowels

They opened two more cafés at the mall.

Carla’s car is better that yours.

WATCH OUT for these 2 spelling

rules:• Plural nouns + Saxon genitive

In this case, the possessive form of the plural noun (girls’) is

formed by adding an apostrophe only and it is pronounced

the same way as the possessive form of the singular noun

(girl’s). Therefore,(girl’s). Therefore,

The girls’ mother was a wonderful cook.

The girl’s mother was a wonderful cook.

girls’ and girl’s are then pronounced the same way. They only

differ is spelling and meaning.

• Nouns ending in -s + Saxon genitive

James’s mother is a wonderful cook.

The fact that a word ends with the sound /s/ or /z/ does not The fact that a word ends with the sound /s/ or /z/ does not

necessarily entail that the word is plural. There are many

English words that are singular but end with these 2 sounds,

and many of them are written with the letter “s” or “ss”: bus

/s/, less /s/, James /z/, size /z/, rice /s/, etc.

• If we want to add the Genitive Saxon to these words, we add -

‘s-, because they are singular. For the pronunciation of the

suffix, we follow rule A) as explained in the section above:

/ɪz/.

Bus = /bʌs/ + /ɪz/ -> bus’s = /'bʌsɪz/

James = /dʒeɪmz/ + / ɪz / -> James’s =/'dʒeɪmzɪz/

Rice = /raɪs/ +/ ɪz / -> rice’s =/'raɪsɪz/

etc.