LISTEN
/z/.../z/.../z/.../z/...
​
zip...these...pens...lazy

WHAT IS IT?
Pronunciation: 
The consonant /z/ is a voiced, alveolar fricative. 
  • 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 buzzing sound.
  • Your vocal cords should vibrate.
The sound /z/ can be in these clusters:
​
Beginning of a Word
(none)
​End of a Word
​/zd/ (“sed”) - teased
/gz/ (“gs”) - begs
/bz/ (“bs” / “bes” ) - rubs, robes
/dz/ (“ds” / “des” ) - lids, rides
​​/vz/ (“ves”) - loves
/ðz/ (“ths” / “thes”) - cloths, breathes
​/rz/ (“rs” / “res”) - bars, tires
/mz/ (“ms” / "mbs") - seems, climbs 
/nz/ (“ns”) - means
[ŋz] (“ngs”) - rings
/vz/ (“ves”) - loves
​

​Spelling: ​
  • "z"- zip, zoo
  • "zz" - fizzle, buzzer
  • "ze" - maze, realize
  • "s" - bags, losing
  • "se" - these, rise
  •  "es" - loves, clothes

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 /z/ after a vowel or voiced consonant.
  • Plural nouns: bags, days,
  • Possessive nouns: John’s book, Chicago’s river
  • 3rd person singular verbs: moves, tries
grammar_-z-.mp3
File Size: 207 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

COMPARE
Compare /z/ with /s/:
compare_z-s_1.mp3
File Size: 123 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File
/z/.../s/.../z/.../s/.../z/.../s/...

These sounds are both alveolar, fricative consonants. However, /z/ is a voiced consonant and /s/ is a voiceless consonant. If you are pronouncing /z/, your vocal cords should vibrate. At the end of a word, the vowel before /z/ will be longer than the vowel before /s/

​Listen to words with /s/ and /z/, and identify which word you hear. Choose A or B. You will hear the word twice, followed by the answer.
  1. A. zeal, B. seal
  2. A. lies, B. lice
  3. A. falls, B. false
  4. A. raising, B. racing
  5. A. disease, B. decease
compare_z-s_2.mp3
File Size: 533 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

​Now, compare /z/ with /dʒ/:
compare_z-j_1.mp3
File Size: 113 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File
/z/.../dʒ/.../z/.../dʒ/.../z/.../dʒ/...

These are both voiced alveolar consonants. However, /z/ is a fricative and /dʒ/ is an ​affricate. If you are pronouncing /dʒ/, the air in your mouth should stop before it is released (creating a “harder” sound).
​
​​Listen to words with /z/ and /dʒ/ and identify which word you hear. Choose A or B. You will hear the word twice, followed by the answer.
  1. A. zest, B. jest
  2. A. buzz, B. budge
  3. A. raise, B. rage
  4. A. ways, B. wage
  5. A. zoos, B. juice​​
compare_z-j_2.mp3
File Size: 547 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

PRACTICE
Listen and repeat these words:
1. zone
2. zoom
3. zipper
3. zombie
4. please
5. as
6. tries
8. jobs
9. begs
10. bores
11. bronze
12. crazy
13. easy
14. resume
15. reason
16. music
17. because
18. criticize
19. amazing
20. hazardous
words_with_-z-.mp3
File Size: 786 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

Click the buttons below to hear the same list pronounced by other speakers.

​Now, practice /z/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
sentences_with_-z-.mp3
File Size: 1280 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File
  1. size - shoes - does - What size of shoes does he wear?
  2. kids - visit - zoo  - The kids want to visit the zoo.
  3. composer - pieces - music - That composer wrote many famous pieces of music.
  4. friend's - pleasant - surprise - My friend's arrival was a pleasant surprise.
  5. ​checkers - always - lose - If I play checkers with my sister, I always lose.
  6. viruses - cause - diseases - Viruses can cause different diseases.

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:​
When you choose to listen to music, you can choose from many types:. Think about how you choose the music you listen to.
  • Classical music
  • Jazz music
  • Blues music
  • Country music
  • Rock music
  • Hip-hop music
  • Rap music

​Record:
Imagine you are giving advice on how to choose music to enjoy. In your recording, describe 3 different types of music and how they influence a person's mood.

​© 2018, Christine Wingate
​