“cats” ends with S. “dogs” ends with… S? No — it ends with Z. Same spelling. Different sound. And this matters way more than you think.
Remember Week 7 (-ed endings)? We learned that -ed has three sounds: /t/, /d/, /ɪd/. The -s ending works exactly the same way — and the rule is identical.
The plural -s has three sounds:
/s/ after voiceless · /z/ after voiced · /ɪz/ after sibilants
/s/ — after voiceless consonants (no throat buzz):
cats /kæts/ · books /bʊks/ · stops /stɒps/
laughs /læfs/ · months /mʌnθs/
After: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/
/z/ — after voiced consonants AND all vowels:
dogs /dɒɡz/ · cars /kɑːrz/ · games /ɡeɪmz/
days /deɪz/ · shows /ʃoʊz/ · trees /triːz/
After: /b/, /d/, /ɡ/, /v/, /m/, /n/, /l/, /r/ + ALL vowels
This is the most common pronunciation! Most -s endings are actually /z/!
/ɪz/ — after sibilant sounds (adds a syllable):
boxes /ˈbɒks.ɪz/ · buses /ˈbʌs.ɪz/ · watches /ˈwɒtʃ.ɪz/
washes /ˈwɒʃ.ɪz/ · judges /ˈdʒʌdʒ.ɪz/
After: /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/
This is the ONLY group that adds an extra syllable — just like -ed’s /ɪd/ rule!
The same rule applies to third person verb endings:
Verbs follow the same pattern:
She walks /wɔːks/ (S after voiceless K)
He runs /rʌnz/ (Z after voiced N)
She teaches /ˈtiːtʃ.ɪz/ (ɪz after sibilant CH)
The throat test from Foundation still works: put your hand on your throat. Say the final sound of the base word. If it buzzes → the -s is /z/. If it doesn’t → the -s is /s/. If it’s a hissing/shushing sound → it’s /ɪz/.
✅ Quick Check
“She plays games and watches movies.”
→ playz /z/ · gamez /z/ · watchiz /ɪz/ · moviez /z/ ✅
Here’s the mind-blowing fact: the majority of -s endings in English are actually /z/.
If you’ve been saying /s/ for everything, you’ve been under-buzzing. Try adding more Z to your plurals today. 🐝🎯
📖 한국어 전체 번역 보기
cats의 -s는 /s/지만 dogs의 -s는 /z/예요! -s 엔딩도 -ed처럼 세 가지 소리가 있어요: 무성음 뒤 /s/, 유성음+모음 뒤 /z/, 치찰음 뒤 /ɪz/. 놀라운 사실: -s의 대다수는 사실 /z/ 발음이에요! dogs, cars, games, days, shows, runs, plays — 전부 Z 소리입니다. 동사 3인칭 -s도 같은 규칙이에요.