Pronunciation of -s and -ed endings
How to say books, bags and buses, and worked, played and wanted: three sounds for -s and three for -ed.
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The endings -s and -ed each have three sounds. The sound depends on the last sound of the word, not on its last letter. Only one of the three sounds adds a syllable.
The -s ending: where you hear it
The same rule works for every -s ending in English:
- plural nouns: books, bags, buses
- the present simple after he, she, it: works, plays, watches
- possessive 's: Mark's, Anna's, George's
- 's for is or has: it's, he's, she's
-s: /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/
Last sound of the word | -s sounds like | Examples |
|---|---|---|
p, t, k, f, th (month) | /s/ | stops, gets, books, laughs |
a vowel, or b, d, g, l, m, n, ng, v | /z/ | plays, needs, bags, calls, lives |
s, z, sh, ch, x, the "j" sound in page | /ɪz/ | buses, washes, watches, pages |
Only /ɪz/ is an extra syllable: bus has one syllable, buses has two. Books and bags still have one.
- My sister watches the news every evening.
(Watches has two syllables: /ˈwɒtʃɪz/.)
- He works in a bank.
(Works has one syllable: /wɜːks/.)
- Incorrect: works said as two syllables, "work-iz"
- Correct: works said as one syllable, /wɜːks/Work ends in a k sound, so -s is only an /s/ sound.
The letter at the end can be misleading. Page ends in the letter e, but in a "j" sound, so pages has two syllables. Laugh ends in the letters gh, but in an f sound, so laughs ends in /s/.
Two verbs that change their vowel
Say and do add -s in the normal way, but the vowel changes too.
Verb | He, she, it | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
say | says | /sez/ |
do | does | /dʌz/ |
- She says she's busy.
- What does he do?
The -ed ending: /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/
The past simple, the past participle and most adjectives like tired and interested follow this table.
Last sound of the verb | -ed sounds like | Examples |
|---|---|---|
t or d | /ɪd/ | wanted, needed, waited, decided |
p, k, f, s, sh, ch, x | /t/ | stopped, liked, laughed, fixed, washed |
any other sound, and all vowel sounds | /d/ | played, lived, called, opened, tired |
Only /ɪd/ is an extra syllable: wait has one syllable, waited has two. Stopped and played still have one.
- We waited for an hour.
(Two syllables: /ˈweɪtɪd/.)
- The bus stopped outside the bank.
(One syllable: /stɒpt/.)
- Incorrect: stopped said as two syllables, "stop-id"
- Correct: stopped said as one syllable, /stɒpt/Stop ends in a p sound, so -ed is only a /t/ sound.
- Incorrect: asked said as two syllables, "ask-id"
- Correct: asked said as one syllable, /ɑːskt/The letter e in -ed is not a sound here.
Again, think about the sound, not the letter: like ends in the letter e but in a k sound, so liked ends in /t/.
Keep /z/ and /d/ voiced
At the end of a word, /z/ and /d/ are "voiced": you can feel your throat buzz when you say them. Keep that sound at the end, because it can change the word. The vowel before /z/ or /d/ is also a little longer.
/s/ or /t/ | /z/ or /d/ |
|---|---|
place /s/ | plays /z/ |
price /s/ | prize /z/ |
bet /t/ | bed /d/ |
- She plays the piano in a small band.
- First prize is a weekend in Edinburgh.
- We stayed in bed all morning.