American English Sounds
  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors

/s/

LISTEN

listen_to_-s-.mp3
File Size: 185 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/s/…/s/…/s/…/s/…
​
sit…race…still…lesson


WHAT IS IT?

​Pronunciation: 
The consonant /s/ is a voiceless, alveolar, fricative consonant. 
  • Touch your alveolar ridge (the hard space behind your upper teeth) with the tip of your tongue.
  • Breathe out and let air escape your mouth. This should create a hissing sound.
  • Your vocal cords should not vibrate.
 
The sound /s/ can be part of these consonant clusters: 
  • Beginning of a Syllable
  • End of a Syllable
<
>
s_initial_clusters.mp3
File Size: 207 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

​/sp/ ("sp")- spin
/sl/ ("sl")- slip
/st/ ("st") - stare
/sk/ ("sk" / “sc”) - skate, scare
​/sw/  ("sw") - swim
​/sm/  ("sm") - smile
/sn/ ("sn") - snow

/spl/ ("spl") - split
/spr/ ("spr") - spring
/str/ ("str") - street
/skw/ (“squ”) - squid

s_final_clusters.mp3
File Size: 561 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

​/sp/ ("sp")- wasp
/sps/ ("sps") - lisps
/st/ ("st") - lost
/sts/ ("sts") - hosts
/sk/ ("sk")- task
​
​​/ks/ ("ks" / "cks" / “x”) - looks, tucks, fax
/sks/ ("sks") - masks
/ŋks/ ("nks") - thinks
/lks/ ("lks") - silks​
/ts/ ("ts" / "tts") - hits, watts
/lts/ ('lts") - melts​
/nts/ ("nts") - pants
/sts/ ("sts") - nests
​
 ("mps") - lumps
​
/fs/  ("fs" / "ffs") - proofs, sniffs
​​/ps/ ("ps" /"pes" / "pps" / "ppes") - lips, hopes, apps, steppes
/lps/ ("lps") - helps
/mps/

/lfs/ ("lfs") - gulfs
/θs/ ("ths") - breaths
/dθs/ (“dths”) - widths
/ndθs/ (“dths”) - thousandths
/fθs/ ("fths") - fifths
/lfθs/ ("lfths") - twelfths
/tθs/ (“ths”) - eighths
/ksθ/ ("xth") - sixth
/ksθs/ ("xths") - sixths

​Spelling: ​
  • “s” – son, post
  • ”se” - house, base
  • “ss” – miss, lesson
  • “c” (+ i/y/e) – cinnamon, ceremony
  • "ce" - once​​, place
  • “sc” (+ i/y/e) – scissors, scene
  • "st" (not common) - listen, hasten

Note: The spelling "x" (as in fix, boxes, Mexico) is pronounced /ks/.
 
Grammar Tip:
The “-s” ending is used to mark plural nouns, possessive nouns, and present tense 3rd person singular verbs. The “-s” ending is pronounced /s/ after most voiceless consonants (/p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/).
grammar_-s-.mp3
File Size: 223 kb
File Type: mp3
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  • Plural nouns: cats, books
  • Possessive nouns: Matt’s book, Denmark’s capital
  • 3rd person singular verbs: he laughs, she helps

COMPARE

Compare /s/ with /z/:
compare_s-z_1.mp3
File Size: 129 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/s/…/z/…/s/…/z/…/s/…/z/…

These sounds are both alveolar, fricative consonants. However, /s/ is a voiceless consonant and /z/ is a voiced consonant. If you are pronouncing /s/, your vocal cords should not vibrate. At the end of a word, the vowel before /s/ will be shorter than the vowel before /z/.

You can hear the difference between /s/ and /z/ in these words.
compare_s-z_words.mp3
File Size: 394 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. sip, B. zip
2. A. sue, B. zoo
3. A. bus, B. buzz
4. A. loose, B. lose
5. A. pierce, B. peers
6. A. doses, B. dozes
​​

​Practice recognizing words with /s/ and /z/ by taking this quiz.

​Now, compare /s/ and /ʃ/:
compare_s-sh_1.mp3
File Size: 127 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/s/…/ʃ/…/s/…/ʃ/…/s/…/ʃ/…

These are both voiceless, fricative consonants. However, /s/ is an alveolar fricative and /ʃ/ is an alveo-palatal fricative. When you pronounce /s/, your tongue is slightly farther forward than when you pronounce /ʃ/.

You can hear the difference between /s/ and /ʃ/ in these words.
compare_s-sh_words.mp3
File Size: 186 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

2. ​A. sowed, B. showed
1. A. sip, B. ship
3. A. mass, B. mash
4. A. rust, B. rushed
5. A. leases, B. leashes
6. A. parcel, B. partial

​Practice recognizing words with /s/ and /ʃ/ by taking this quiz.

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:
words_with_-s-.mp3
File Size: 756 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. south
2. scope
3. sleep
4. space
5. street
6. spring
7. smile
8. guess
9. desk
10. last
11. tops
12. lets
13. message
14. aspect
15. escape
16. interesting
17. especially
18. astronomy
19. mistaken
20. distrust

​Now, practice /s/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
sentences_with_-s-.mp3
File Size: 1343 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. sent – message – person
​I sent the message to the wrong person.

2. cross – street – intersection
You should cross the street at the intersection.

3. missed – last – asleep
I missed your call last night because I was asleep.

4. astronomers – study – space
Astronomers study outer space.

5. looks – outside – snowy
The weather outside looks snowy.

6. class – meets -  six (x = /ks/)
Our class meets at six​ o'clock.

To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:
  • Male 1 (US Midwest - St Louis) - words, sentences
  • Male 2 (US Midwest - Iowa) - words, sentences
  • Male 3 (US Midwest) - words, sentences
  • Female 1 (US Northeast) - words, sentences
  • Female 2 (US Southeast) - words, sentences

USE IT!

Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.

​Prepare:
What can you do to reduce stress? Look at the suggestions below and decide how they might help someone reduce stress.
  • Listen to music
  • Get a massage
  • Join a religious activity
  • Practice yoga
  • Go to a spa
  • Go to the cinema
  • ​Try a new recipe
  • Walk outside
  • Start a new project
  • Sleep
  • Get some exercise
  • Go swimming
  • Listen to music
  • Get a massage
  • Join a religious activity
  • Practice yoga
  • Go to a spa
  • Go to the cinema​
  • ​Try a new recipe
  • Walk outside
  • Start a new project
  • Sleep
  • Get some exercise
  • Go swimming

Record:
​Imagine you are giving a presentation to students about how they can reduce stress. In your recording, describe 4 of the suggestions above and explain how each one can help students reduce stress.


©2018-2021, Christine Wingate
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors