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The Sound s In American English

letter sconsonant sletter cconsonant csound smultigraph sc
Pronunciation Exercises for the Sound s in English

The Sound of the Letter "s"

The letters "s" and "c", as well as the multigraph "sc" make the sound /s/. This pronunciation drill focuses on this sound and gives you practice with the sound in a variety of syllable structures. The drill includes the following patterns:

Vowel + Consonant (VC)

Consonant + Vowel (CV)

Vowel + Consonant Cluster (VCC)

Vowel + Consonant Cluster (VCCC)

Consonant Cluster + Vowel (CCV)

Three-Consonant Cluster + Vowel (CCCV)

Since the /s/ sound is very versatile and can form clusters with a variety of sounds, this drill is broken down into parts. The first part deals with the sound /s/ in simple CV and VC combinations, while separate lessons are organized for the clusters this sound can form with other sounds. Accordingly, this drill focuses on the different vowels that can come before and after the sound /s/ in English.

Step 1: Vowel + Consonant

Repeat each word at least 3 times.

i + s → /is/

Example

peace, geese, niece

Short i + s → /ɪs/

Example

miss, kiss, this

Short e + s → /ɛs/

Example

mess, less, chess

æ + s → /æs/

Example

mass, pass, gas

Short a + s → /ʌs/

Example

us, bus, fuss

a + s → /ɑs/

Example

boss, loss, toss

u + s → /us/

Example

noose, juice, loose

eɪ + s → /eɪs/

Example

face, case, place

aɪ + s → /aɪs/

Example

ice, rice, vice

aʊ + s → /aʊs/

Example

house, mouse, blouse

ɔɪ + s → /ɔɪs/

Example

choice, voice

Long o + s → /oʊs/

Example

dose, close, gross

Step 2: Consonant + Vowel

Repeat each word at least 3 times.

s + i → /si/

Example

see, seem, seek

s + Short i → /sɪ/

Example

sit, sick, sip

s + Short e → /sɛ/

Example

set, sell, said

s + æ → /sæ/

Example

sad, sat, sack

s + a → /sɑ/

Example

sock, salt, song

s + Short a → /sʌ/

Example

sum, sun, such

s + o → /sɔ/

Example

source, sore, sort

s + u → /su/

Example

sue, soon, soothe

s + eɪ → /seɪ/

Example

say, save, sane

s + aɪ → /saɪ/

Example

sigh, sign, side

s + aʊ → /saʊ/

Example

sour, south, sound

s + oʊ → /soʊ/

Example

sew, soul, sole

s + ɔɪ → /sɔɪ/

Example

soy, soil

Sentence Drills

Read each sentence aloud to practice the different patterns in which the sound "s" appears in words.

Example

I see a small city near the sea.

The sun moves across the sky while I sit and listen to soft music.

The sea looks soft and silent.

I say something simple when I see my friends

She sees a bus near the house.

I see a sign that shows the way to the city center.

He says he will visit the house soon.

The sea is calm, and I sit and watch it for some time.

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