LoginThe Letter S
In this lesson, we will learn about all the sounds of the letter S. It is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. Wanna come in?
S is the nineteenth letter in the English alphabet. It is a consonant.
Consonants are the letters that are produced by stopping the letter from flowing easily.
| Uppercase Form | S |
|---|---|
| Lowercase | s |
| Name | ess (pronounced /ˈɛs/) |
| Common Sounds | /s/, /z/ |
The Letter S: Sounds
The letter S has two sounds:
Common Sounds
Sound 1: /s/
's' mainly sounds /s/:
mou
o
Sound 2: /z/
's' can also sound /z/:
i
mu
mo
Other Sounds
Sound 3: /ʒ/
's' after 'ure', 'ual' sounds /ʒ/:
ca
mea
trea
A
The 's' in Asia is also pronounced /ʒ/.
Sound 4: /ʃ/
The letter 's' also sounds /ʃ/:
expan
dimen
ten
Sound 5: /∅/
Sometimes, the letter 's' is silent /∅/, mostly in loanwords:
i
debri
bourgeoi
apropo
The Letter S: Multigraphs
Letter S can also appear in combinations with other letters (mainly consonants):
ss
'ss' sounds /s/:
dre
prince
compa
'ss' also sounds /z/:
sci
de
po
'ss' also sounds /ʃ/:
a
i
sh
'sh' sounds /ʃ/:
fi
sc
'sc' sounds /s/, it means 'c' is silent /∅/:
mu
sci
'sci' in the middle of words sound /ʃ/:
con
lu
con
si
'si' in 'sion' at the end of words sounds /ʃ/:
propul
pen
ssi
'ssi' in the middle of words sounds /ʃ/:
pa
expre
Ru
st
'st' in the middle of words sounds /s/ and 't' is silent /∅/:
ca
Chri
whi
Tip
'sth' sounds /s/ in the word
a
ps
'ps' at the beginning of words sound /s/:
es
–es (suffix) is the usual mark of plural nouns. It is also the regular ending of English third person present tense verbs. It is mainly pronounced /'ez/ if the word ends in 'sg', 'ch', 'z', 'y', etc.:
wish
witch
box
vari
The Letter S: Uses
S can be used as
The mark of plural nouns, like
The regular ending of English third person present tense verbs; like
The possession 's that shows 'belonging to', like
The abbreviation of the word Saint
The abbreviation of the size small
The abbreviation of south, southern
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