HOW TO PRONOUNCE FINAL ‘S’

We can pronounce final ‘s’ in three different ways:

NOUNS VERBS NOUNS

Plural in -s 3rd pers. sing. present s. Saxon genitive

We pronounce -s / ’s as /s/ when the last sound of the word is /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/ or
/s/ /θ/. There are no English verbs that end in sound /θ/.

cups /kʌps/ he stops /stɒps/ Philip’s /ˈfɪlɪps/

cats /kæts/ he waits /weɪts/ Eliot’s /ˈelɪəts/
books /bʊks/ she walks /wɔːks/ Jack’s /dʒæks/
roofs /ruːfs/ she laughs /lɑːfs/ Joseph’s /ˈdʒəʊzɪfs/
breaths /breθs/ — Keith’s /kiːθs/

We pronounce -s / ’s as /z/ when the last sound of the word is /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /ð/,
/z/ /l/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /r/ or vowel.

beds /bedz/ he decides /dɪˈsaɪdz/ Edward’s /ˈedwədz/

jobs /dʒɒbz/ he describes /dɪsˈkraɪbz/ Jacob’s /ˈdʒeɪkəbz/
dogs /dɒɡz/ she drags /dræɡz/ Greg’s /gregz/
doves /dʌvz/ she arrives /əˈraɪvz/ Dave’s /deɪvz/
clothes /kləʊðz/ he breathes /briːðz/ —
tables /ˈteɪbəlz/ she calls /kɔːlz/ Paul’s /pɔːlz/
dreams /driːmz/ he dreams /driːmz/ William’s /ˈwɪljəmz/
planes /pleɪnz/ he opens /ˈəʊpənz/ Stephen’s /ˈstiːvənz/
songs /sɒŋz/ he belongs /bɪˈlɒŋz/ Mr Irving’s /ˈɜːvɪŋz/
doors she prefers Oliver’s
BE /dɔːz/ BE /prɪˈfɜːz/ BE /ˈɒlɪvəz/
AmE /dɔːrz/ AmE /prɪˈfɜːrz/ AmE /ˈɒlɪvərz/
cows /kaʊz/ it snows /snəʊz/ Matthew’s /ˈmæθjuːz/
bays /beɪz/ she plays /pleɪz/ Norway’s /ˈnɔːweɪz/
trees /triːz/ she agrees /əˈɡriːz/ Mary’s /ˈmeərɪz/
potatoes /pəˈteɪtəʊz/ he goes /gəʊz/ Agatha’s /ˈægəθəz/
enemies /ˈenɪmiz/ he carries /kæriz/ Theo’s /ˈθiːəʊz/

We pronounce -es / -s / ’s as /ɪz/ when the last sound of the word is /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /z/,
/ɪz/ /ʒ/ or /dʒ/. There are no English verbs that end in sound /ʒ/.

buses /ˈbʌsɪz/ he kisses /ˈkɪsɪz/ Bruce’s /ˈbruːsɪz/

quizzes /ˈkwɪzɪz/ she uses /ˈjuːzɪz/ Charles’s /ˈtʃɑːlzɪz/
brushes /ˈbrʌʃɪz/ he washes /ˈwɒʃɪz/ Josh’s /ˈdʒɒʃɪz/
branches /ˈbrɑːntʃɪz/ she watches /ˈwɒtʃɪz/ Ms Finch’s /ˈfɪntʃɪz/
bridges /ˈbrɪdʒɪz/ he changes /ˈtʃeɪndʒɪz/ George’s /ˈdʒɔːdʒɪz/
garages — —
BE/ˈgærɪdʒɪz/
AmE/gəˈrɑːʒɪz/
Particular cases: These words just add an apostrophe (’), without letter (s).

Plural nouns in -s parents’ /ˈpeərənts/

teachers’ /tiːtʃəz/

In this case, we pronounce the Saxon genitive as the plural noun.

Proper names in -s James’ OR James’s /ˈdʒeɪmzɪz/

Charles’ OR Charles’s /ˈtʃɑːlzɪz/

In this case, we can add (’s) or just (’) and we pronounce the Saxon genitive as /ɪz/.

Biblical and classical Jesus’ /ˈdʒiːzəs/

Greek names in -s Moses’ /ˈməʊzɪz/
Achilles’ /əˈkɪliːz/
Hercules’ /ˈhɜːkjʊliːz/

In this case, we only add an apostrophe (’) and the Saxon genitive is not pronounced.