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Advanced decoding exercises: /s/ vs /z/
This page is an advanced version of Pronunciation and decoding exercises: /s/ vs /z/. It can also be used for self study.
Many words that are spelled with “s" are pronounced with /s/ while others are pronounced with /z/. Students who have never heard the words must memorize them. Heteronyms are particularly relevant here.
This article doesn’t explain other sounds, such as /ʃ/ or /ʒ/.
Initial[edit | edit source]
When looking at a written word there is never a doubt whether it is pronounced /s/ or /z/ at the beginning of the word. Besides, there are only two words with other alternatives: sugar and sure.
Spelling | /s/ | /z/ |
---|---|---|
c | ceiling - cent - center - certain - ceremony - cigarette - cinema - circle- city - civilian - cycle | |
s | Template:Initial “s" as /s/ | |
sc | scene - scent - science - scissors | |
ps | psalm - pseudonym - psoriasis - psychiatry - psychology | |
x | xenophobia - xylophone | |
z | Zach - Zambia - zapping - zebra - zero - zigzag - Zimbabwe - zinc - zip - zipper - zodiac - zone - zoo - zoology - zoom - zucchiniAmE |
- homophones /s/: C - sea - see; cell - sell; cent - scent - sent; cite - site - sight; scene - seen;
- minimal pairs: seal - zeal; sink - zinc; sue - zoo;
Final[edit | edit source]
Ending in “Vs"[edit | edit source]
V is any vowel sound.
Spelling | /s/ | /z/ |
---|---|---|
s (singular nouns) | alias - atlas - bias - canvas - chaos - Christmas - cosmos - gas - pelvis - tennis | diabetes - herpes - news - series - species |
s (plural nouns) | boys - changes - companies - days - dishes - families - houses - ideas - laws - pauses - places - potatoes - reviews - shows - spas - studies - taxis - turkeys - watches - ways | |
s (proper names) | Addis Ababa - Agnes - Adonis - Anubis - Boris - Buenos Aires - Caracas - Dallas - Dennis - Dolores - Doris - Douglas - Eros - Gladys - Honduras - Isis - Judas - Kansas - Lois - Los Angeles - Nicholas - Osiris - Paris - Phyllis - Pocahontas - St. Louis - Texas - Thomas - Tunis | Achilles - Archimedes - Buenos Aires - Ceres - Hades - Hercules - Hermes - Moses - Ramses /ˈræmsi:z/ - Santa Claus - Socrates - Sophocles |
s (other) | this - yes | always - as - his |
us (singular nouns) | asparagus - bogus - bonus - bus - cactus - campus - census - circus - fetus - focus - fungus - genius - humerus - minus - octopus - plus - radius - sinus - status - stylus - thus - uterus - us - versus - virus - walrus | |
us (plural nouns) | emus - gnus - gurus - haikus - Hindus - menus - tutus - Zulus | |
us (proper names) | Confucius - Cyprus - Damascus - Jesus - Uranus - Venus - Vilnius - Zeus /zuːs/ | Jesus |
ous | anxious - continuous - curious - dangerous - enormous - famous - hilarious - jealous - numerous - nervous - obvious - previous - religious - serious - various | caribous |
singular /sɪs/; plural /siːz/ | analysis - axis - crisis - diagnosis - dialysis - neurosis - oasis - osmosis - phimosis - psoriasis - thesis | analyses - axes - crises - diagnoses - dialyses - neuroses - oases - osmoses- phimoses - psoriases - theses |
regular plurals (*) | boys - buses - cherries - churches - cows - days - dishes - fees - judges - kisses - mazes - peas - potatoes - sandwiches - shoes - toys - views | |
plurals with no singular | Bahamas - pajamasAmE - pyjamasBrE | |
verbs | bias - bus - focus - gas | |
contractions | he’s - she’s - who’s | |
irregular 3rd person of verbs | does - has - is - says - was | |
regular 3rd person of verbs (*) | abuses - advises - amuses - approaches - browses - buys - catches - causes - ceases - challenges - changes - chooses - closes - confuses - dies - emerges - enjoys - excuses - finishes - fixes - goes - houses - increases - judges - leases - looses - manages - pays - plays - promises - pushes - reaches - relaxes - supposes - sues - uses - washes - watches |
(*) See -s
Cells in gray show short lists of words that must be memorized in order to know their pronunciation; note that nobody needs to learn the pronunciation of obscure proper nouns.
Cells in green determine their sound according to the rules of -s. This is valid for contractions for phonological reasons.
- silent “s": Arkansas - debris - Illinois
Ending in “Cs"[edit | edit source]
C is any consonant sound (including "r").
Spelling | /s/ | /z/ |
---|---|---|
s (singular nouns) | draughts | Athens - Brussels - Charles - checkers - James - lens - Mars |
s (other) | its - perhaps | hers - ours - theirs - yours |
contractions | it’s - let’s - that’s - what’s | there’s |
regular plurals (*) | bets - bits - books - drops - effects - facts - groups - hats - laughs - lights - markets - nights - packs - parents - parts - points - rates - reports - results - shops - states - student - subjects - tests - types - weeks | balls - bugs - cars - churches - dens - examples - friends - hands - jobs - lambs - names - numbers - persons - phones - problems - products - questions - rooms - systems - teachers - things - times - words - years |
plurals ending in fs, fes, ves (*) | beliefs - briefs - chiefs - dwarfs - gulfs - proofs - roofs | dwarves - knives - leaves - lives /laɪvz/ - loaves - wives |
plurals ending in ths (*) | /θs/: deaths - fourths - labyrinths - months - moths - myths | /ðz/: baths - mouths - paths - youths |
plurals ending in ths, both possibilities (*) | /ðz/ or /θs/: oaths, truths, wreaths | |
plurals with no singular | clothes | |
regular 3rd person of verbs (*) | asks - costs - gets - helps - hopes - keeps - lets - likes - looks - makes - meets - puts - sets - starts - takes - talks - thinks - works - wants - writes | becomes - begins - believes - brings - builds - calls - finds - includes - leads - lives /lɪvz/ - loves - moves - needs - offers - opens - owns - provides - reads - runs - tells |
(*) See -s
Cells in green determine their sound according to the rules of -s. This is valid for contractions for phonological reasons.
Cells in yellow shows irregular plurals that must be memorized; however the final “s” is pronounced according to the rules of pronunciation of the plural.
- silent “s": corps - hors d'oeuvre
Not ending in a single “s"[edit | edit source]
Spelling | /s/ | /z/ |
---|---|---|
ce | advance - advice - bounce - chance - choice - coincidence - commerce - dance - defenceBrE - device - divorce - face - farce - force - glance - Greece - ice - ignorance - introduce - juice - nice - niece - offenceBrE - office - once - piece - place - practice - price - prince - produce - pronounce - race - reference - service - scarce - science - since - space - tolerance - twice - voice | |
Vse (n., etc.) | abuse (n.) - blouseAmE - case - close (adj.) - defenseAmE - excuse (n.) - goose - grandiose - house (n.) - loose - mouse - obese - obtuse - offenseAmE - profuse - refuse (n.) - recluse - use (n.) - verbose | applause - because - blouseBrE - cheese - Chinese - disease - Japanese - Louise - manganese - noise - these - those - whose - wise |
ise (n., etc.) | concise - paradise - precise - premise /ˈpremɪs/ | demise |
Vse (n. and v.) | base - chase - decrease - dose - increase - lease - purchase - purpose - release | cause - hose - nose - pause - phase - phrase - please - raise - rose (flower and past tense of rise) |
ise (n. and v.) | promise /ˈprɒmɪs/ | compromise - exercise - rise - surprise |
Vse (v.) | cease - diagnoseAmE - eraseAmE | abuse (v.) - accuse - amuse - arose - browse - choose - close (v.) - confuse - devise - diagnoseBrE - dispose - eraseBrE - excuse (v.) - expose - house (v.) - impose - lose - oppose - propose - refuse (v.) - suppose - transfuse - use (v.) |
ise (v.) | practiseBrE | advertise - advise - arise - comprise - revise |
iseBrE/ize | apologiseBrE/apologize - characteriseBrE/characterize - criticiseBrE/criticize - realiseBrE/realize - recogniseBrE/recognize - specialiseBrE/specialize - summariseBrE/summarize | |
yseBrE/yzeAmE | analyseBrE/analyzeAmE | |
Cse | adverse - collapse - condense - converse - corpse - course - curse - dense - eclipse - else - false - glimpse - horse - immense - immerse - impulse - intense - lapse - nurse - parseAmE - pulse - remorse - response - reverse - rinse - sense - sparse - tense - traverse - universe - verse - worse | cleanse - parseBrE |
ss | across - address - boss - class - discuss - excess - fitness - glass - gross - happiness - impress - kiss - less - mass - miss - pass - princess - stress - unless - witness | |
sse | impasse - lacrosse - largesse - mousse | |
tz | Antz (movie) - hertz - quartz - waltz | |
x | /ks/ box - complex - fix - fox - index - lynx - matrix - ox - relax - six - tax | |
z | quiz - topaz - whizAmE | |
zz | buzz - frizz - jazz - whizzBrE | |
ze | Charlize /ʃɑːrˈliːs/ (an Afrikaans name usually pronounced /ʃɑːrˈliːz/ in English) | amaze - breeze - bronze - craze - freeze - gaze - maze - maize - prize - size - sneeze |
Vse means a vowel followed by “se.” Cse means a consonant followed by “se.”
adj. adjective, n. noun, v. verb
n., etc any part of speech except verb
Cells in red show long lists of words that must be memorized in order to know their pronunciation. Cells in gray show short lists.
- homophones /s/: lapse - laps; lynx - links; peace - piece;
- homophones /z/: freeze - frees (v.); maze - maize - Mae’s; pause - paws; please - pleas; raise - rays; size - sighs
- minimal pairs
- advice - advise; bus - buzz; device - devise; face - phase; hiss - his; grace - graze; loose - lose; Miss - Ms.; price - prize; race - raise; rice - rise;
- second word is plural or third person: dense - dens; ice - eyes; lice - lies; niece - knees; once - ones; peace - peas; place - plays; race - rays; since - sins; tense - tens;
- heteronyms: abuse (n. - v.); close (adj. - v.); excuse (n. - v.); house (n. - v.)
Mid-position[edit | edit source]
Adjacent to vowels[edit | edit source]
Spelling | /s/ | /z/ |
---|---|---|
c | bicycle - December - decide - facility - innocent - necessary - officer - precision /prɪˈsɪʒən/ - principle - process - prophecy /ˈprɒfəsɪ/ - receive - recent - recipe - society - specific | |
sc | adolescent - ascend - crescent - descend - discipline - fascinate | |
s (n., etc.) | abusive - awesome - basic - beside - besides /bɪˈsaɪdz/ - carousel /kærəˈsel/ - casino - desolation - disabled - disagree - disappear - disappoint - dosage - emphasiseBrE/emphasizeAmE BrE - fantasy - gasoline - nuisance - oasis - parasite - research /rɪˈsɜːrtʃ, ˈriːsɜːrtʃ/
Jason - Minnesota |
abuser - adviser/advisor - browser - busy - closet - composer - composition - cousin - daisy - desert /ˈdezərt/ - disaster - disease - easy - feasible - lasagnaAmE/lasagneBrE - laser - limousine - loser - lousy - museum - music - noisy - physical - physics - plausible - pleasant - positive - presence - present /ˈprezənt/ - president - prison - represent - residence - resilience - resurrection - thousand - user - visible
Caesar - Isaac - Jesus - Rosanna - Rosanne - San Jose (California) - Susan |
s (plural, 3rd person) | aliases - biases - canvases - pelvises | advertises - advises - chooses - closes - diagnoses (v.) - houses - loses - opposes |
s (n. and v.) | research /rɪˈsɜːrtʃ/ | design - desire - poison - position - preserve - reason - reserve - result - season - visit |
s (v.) | desolate - disembark - fantasise/fantasize - jettison - prophesy /ˈprɒfəsaɪ/ - resent /riːˈsent/ (sent again) | deserve - desert /dɪˈzɜːrt/ - hesitate - present /prɪˈzent/ - resent /rɪˈzent/ (feel annoyed at) - resign - resist - resolve - resume |
uses (plural, 3rd person) | abuses (n.) - bonuses - buses - excuses (n.) - focuses - geniuses - statuses - uteruses - viruses | abuses (v.) - confuses - excuses (v.) |
unwritten schwa | alcoholism - altruism - communism - heroism - humanism - mechanism - narcissism - prism - racism - sarcasm - socialism - spasm - tourism - urbanism
doesn’t - hasn’t - isn’t - wasn’t | |
sis | analysis/analyses - basis/bases - crisis/crises - diagnosis/diagnoses - thesis/theses | |
ss | asset - assign - assist - associate - assume - essential - classic - lesson - massive - message - missing - necessary - passage - passenger - possible - professor Jesse - Jessica - Massachusetts - Melissa - Mississippi - Tennessee |
Aussie - brassiere - dessert - dissolve - possess - possession - scissors Missouri |
isation/ization | characterisation/characterization - organisation/organization - prioritisation/prioritization - realisation/realization | |
with a silent consonant | castle - fasten - listen - muscle - mustn’t | |
z | bazaar - bizarre - Brazil - citizen - crazy - dozen - lazy - lizard - magazine - razor - wizard - Venezuela | |
zz | blizzard - dizzy |
Cells in red show long lists of words that must be memorized in order to know their pronunciation.
Cells in gray show short lists.
Cell in yellow indicates a rule that must be memorized: plurals of nouns ending in "us" have a plural ending in /sɪz/. The same rule applies to third person of verbs.
n., etc any part of speech except verb
v. verb
- minimal pairs: advices - advises; buses - buzzes; faces - phases; precedent - president; prices - prizes; racer - razor; races - raises;
- heteronyms:
Adjacent to at least one consonant[edit | edit source]
Note 1: In this section a silent "r" (as in “conversation") is considered a consonant.
Note 2: Words that have “sm" sounding /zəm/ are listed in section Adjacent to vowels.
Spelling | /s/ | /z/ |
---|---|---|
c | accept, accident, cancel, conceive | |
ss | assessment, passport, successful
addressed, discussed, guessed, missed, pressed, processed |
|
s | also - asphixia - busgirl - disgrace - disgusting - outside - satisfy - useful | business |
sb | asbestos - busboy - disband - misbehave - smorgasbord | husband - lesbian - Lisbon - Presbyterian - raspberry |
bs | absolute - absence - absurd - obsolete - substantial | absolve - observe - observation |
sd | disdain - jurisdiction - misdeed | Desdemona - eavesdropper - Thursday - Tuesday - Wednesday - wisdom accused - caused - closed - compromised - paused - raised - supposed |
sm | Christmas - dismantle - dismay - dismiss | abysmal - cosmetic - cosmos - Desmond - jasmine - mesmerisingBrE - mesmerizing - osmosis - plasma - salesman - spasmodic - Tasmania |
ms | circumstance - hamster - himself | clumsy - damsel |
ns | against - answer - consecutive - consequence - conservative - consider - consonant - consume - consumer - demonstrate - expensive - inside - insider - institution - insurrection - responsibility - sense - tonsil - transfer - transport | cleansed - cleansing - Kansas - Swansea |
rs | adversary - conversation - herself - parsedAmE - parsingAmE - parsley - person - perspective - persuade - pursue - supersede - understand - university - versus - yourself | jersey - Jersey - parsedBrE - parsingBrE |
sl | asleep - dislike - dyslexia - legislation - mislead - obviously | Muslim |
sp | despite - display - especially - gospel - grasp - hospital - inspect - response - respect - suspend - transport - wasp - whisper | |
newspaper /ˈn(j)uːzpeɪpər, ˈn(j)uːspeɪpər/ | ||
s+/k/ | Alaska - ask - biscuit - describe - desk - discover - discuss - disk - Madagascar - Nebraska - obscure - Oscar - risk - task | |
s+/t/ | abstain - abstract - against - almost - Australia - bastard - best - construct - cost - customer - establish - exist - fast - first - history - industry - instance - instant - instead - interest - invest - just - last - least - list - lobster - locust - most - must - nest - nostril - obstacle - past - postulateBrE - request - rest - restaurant - sister - substance - system - test - understand - worst - yesterday based - decreased - promised - released |
|
s+/tʃ/ | Christian - congestion - digestion - gesture - moisture - pasture - postulateAmE - question - suggestion | |
tz | pretzel - Pulitzer - Switzerland | |
xC | /ks/ context - excavation - exclusive - excuse - expand - expect - explain - explore - export - extinguisher - mixture - Oxford - text | |
xV and stress is before the "x" | /ks/ approximate - boxer - galaxy - exercise - maximum - Mexico - pixel - saxophone - taxi - toxic
mixed - mixes - mixing - relaxed - relaxes - relaxing - sexes |
|
xV and stress is after the "x" | /ks/ exhibition, tuxedo | /gz/ auxiliary - Alexander - exact - exaggerate - exam - examination - examine - example - executive - exhaust - exhibit - exist - existence - exotic - exuberant /ŋz/ anxiety |
exit /ˈeksɪt, ˈegzɪt/ | ||
xc | exceed - excel - excellent - except - exception - excess - exciting | |
z | schizophrenia /skɪtsəˈfriːnɪə/ | chimpanzee - enzyme |
zz | /ts/ paparazzi - pizza | puzzle |
xC means "x" followed by a consonant. xV means "x" followed by a vowel.
Cells in red show long lists of words that must be memorized in order to know their pronunciation. Cells in gray show short lists.
- silent “s": aisle - island
Summary[edit | edit source]
The following pairs of words summarize the /s/-/z/ problems students may have:
- goose - cheese (nouns)
- increase - cause (verbs)
- basic - music (nouns)
- desolate - desire (verbs)
- answer - damsel
- exercise - example
Variant pronunciations[edit | edit source]
Some words may be pronounced either with /s/ or with /z/. In some cases there is a regional variation.
- absorb, explosive, nausea, opposite, resource, spouse, transit, transition, translate, transmission, transplant, treatise, usage
- /ks/ or /gz/: exile, exit
- /s/ in BrE, /z/ in AmE: asthma /ˈæsmə, ˈæzmə/
- /z/ in BrE, /s/ in AmE: blouse, diagnose, erase
Several proper names spelled with “s" are pronounced with either /s/ or /z/.
- Denise - Glasgow - Jesus /ˈdʒiːzəs, ˈdʒiːzəz, heˈsuːs/ - Joseph - Josephine - Lisa - Teresa - Theresa
Greek plurals ending in sis[edit | edit source]
Many Greek-derived words ending in sis have an irregular plural involving /s/ and /z/.
- crisis /ˈkraɪsɪs/ - crises /ˈkraɪsiːz/
- diagnosis /daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ - diagnoses /daɪəɡˈnəʊsiːz/
- synthesis /ˈsɪnθəsɪs/ - syntheses /ˈsɪnθəsiːz/
- thesis /ˈθiːsɪs/ - theses /ˈθiːsiːz/
Heteronyms[edit | edit source]
- There are many heteronyms differing only in /s/ or /z/. Some of them are in the form of a noun with an /s/ pronunciation, and a verb with a /z/ pronunciation.
- abuse - excuse - house - use
- Some heteronyms involving /z/ change the stress pattern.
- desert n. /ˈdezərt/ v. /dɪˈzɜːrt/ - present n. /ˈprezənt/ v. /prɪˈzent/.
- merchandise n. /ˈmɜːrtʃəndaɪs, ˈmɜːrtʃəndaɪz/ v. /ˈmɜːrtʃəndaɪz/
Used and used to[edit | edit source]
Care should be taken to distinguish between “used to” and the past tense of the verb "to use.”
Used is pronounced /juːst/ when it is a modal verb (I used to swim all summers) and /juːzd/ when it is the past tense of use (I used her telephone).
References[edit | edit source]