Confusing /s/ and /z/

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Confusing /s/ and /z/

The "s" in many English words is frequently pronounce as a /z/ sound such as husband, design, observe, always, and chose. Also, note that in Spanish, a "z" is pronounced as an /s/ sound. This is not the case in English.

/s/		/z/
1. piece		peas
2. face		phase
3. bus		buzz
4. price		prize

When "s" follows a consonant, there are rules for pronounciation, but it follows a vowel there are no rules, so it's best to just memorize the exceptions. Studying the four basic rules below will also be helpful to you.

Rule 1

When an "s" follows a voiceless consonant, it is pronounce as /s/.

books		stops		makes		likes
eats		cats		helps		surfs

Rule 2

When an "s" follows a voiced consonant or a vowel, it is pronounce as /z/.

eggs		beds		lives		cars
comes		boys		loans		feels

Rule 3

Double "s" is pronounced as /s/.

boss		less		success
massive		lesson		essay

Rule 4

An extra syllable is added to words that ends with certain consonant sounds followed by "s". These include:

sound:		consonant:		examples:
/ʤ/		g		manages, changes
/ʃ/		sh		washes, dishes
/tʃ/		ch		churches, matches
/s/		s, ss, c		bosses, faces
/ks/		x		boxes, faxes

Exceptions

Memorize the following common words that have a final "s". The "s" is pronounce as /z/ and not as /s/:

was		his		these		goes		because
is		hers		those		does
as		has		whose		always

Prefix "dis-"

Note that the "s" in the prefix "dis-" is pronounced as /s/ and not as /z/:

disagree		disobey		disappear
disorder		disapprove		disability

Verbs and Nouns, and the Letter "s"

The following words spelled with an "s" have a /z/ sound when they are verbs but have a /s/ sound when they are nouns:

noun:	verb:		noun:	verb:
/s/	/z/		/s/	/z/
1. use	to use		4. house	to house
2. abuse	to abuse		5. excuse	to excuse
3. close	to close		6. advice	to advise

This and These

Make sure you are not pronouncing the words this and these the same way:

	"s" sound is:		vowel sound is:		examples:
this	/s/		/ɪ/ (as in sit)		I like this book.
these	/z/		/i/ (as in meet)		I like these books.

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