3 Sounds of the Plural “s” in English: [s], [z] or [ɪz]

| English Pronunciation Lesson

Just like the -ed ending, there are three ways of saying the plural “s” ending in English:
 [s]
 [z]
 [ɪz]
Example
When we say the plural of two basic words in English:
 “cats” [kæts]
 “dogs” [dawgz]
the plural “s” is said in two different ways:
 “cats” [kæts] with an [s].

o “cats” [kæts]
 “dogs” [dawgz] with a [z].
o “dogs” [dawgz]
 
Why does the sound of the plural “s” change?
The goal for English speakers is to speak efficiently, to say the most they can in the shortest amount of
time. When there is a change in sound, the change is often caused by the sound right before it. This
allows the vocal chords in particular to be more efficient; to continue what they are doing.
Practice and Understand
[t]
Put your hand on the front of your neck and say the sound [t]. What do you feel? 
 You should feel nothing at all, meaning, there is no vibrationin the vocal chords when you
say [t].
[d]
Now, put your hand on the front of your neck and say the sound[d]. What do you feel?
 You should feel a vibration now. That’s because the vocal chords vibrate when you say the
sound [d].
*This vibration or lack of vibration is what causes the plural “s” to sound like a [s] or  [z].
[s]
Now, put your hand in front of your neck and say the [s] sound. What do you feel? You should feel no
vibration.
[z]
Put your fingers on the front of your neck and say the [z] sound. What do you feel? You should feel
the vibration of the vocal chords.
Rule
Any time a word has a sound just before the plural “s” that has NO vibration in the vocal chords, the
plural “s” will continue the lack of vibration and sound like a [s].
Any time you have a sound before the plural “s” that has the vibration, the vibration will carry forward
and transform the letter “s” into the [z] sound.
There are also some sounds that require an extra syllable in order to be articulated.
Example
 I can’t even say the plural of “bridge” without adding an extra [ɪ] sound before the plural “s”. So we add
the extra syllable to say:
“bridges” [brɪdʒ ɪz]
[s]
Voiceless sounds that cause the plural “s” to be pronounced as [s] include:
[p], [t], [k], [f]
 
Example
 weeks [wiyks]
 bits [bɪts]
 backs [bæks]
 briefs [briyfs]
 
[z]
Voiced sounds that cause the plural “s” to be pronounced as [z] include:
[b], [d], [g], [l], [r], [w], [m], [n], [v], [y]
 
Example
 webs [wɛbz]
 beds [bɛdz]
 bags [bægz]
 bells [bɛlz]
 jars [jɑrz]
 canoes [kəNUWZ]  | (note the [uw] vowel sound ends in a [w])
 straws [stʃrɑwz]
 limbs [lɪmz]
 fans [fænz]
 doves [dʌvz]
 delays [dəLeYZ]
 
[ɪz]
The sounds that cause the plural “s” to be pronounced with an
additional syllable [ɪz] include:
[tʃ] [dʒ] [s] [z]
 
Example
 watches  [WA tʃɪz]
 bridges  [BRɪ dʒɪz]
 judges  [dʒʌ dʒɪz]
 slices [SlAiY sɪz]
 blazes [BLeY zɪz]
 
Note
The sound of the plural [s] can be important to pronounce accurately if it affects your
being clearly understood. This is especially important when you connect speech—linking sounds in
words together.