Words and sounds
The rules for pronouncing the ending are the same in all functions:
- Plural: dogs – cats – houses…….
 - Genitive: Peter’s – John’s……
 - Third person of singular (present simple): speaks – tells – misses…
 
The /s/ is pronounced:
- /s/: after /th/ / h/ /p/ /f/ /k/
 
Example: baths, boots, helps, roofs, works, laughs…
- /z/: after /r/ /l/ /g/ /y/ /n/ /i:/ /v/ /m/ /th/ /d/
 
Example: bears, bottles, dogs, eyes, trains, seas, lives, clothes…
- /iz/: sh/ /s/ /g/ /dg/ /z/
 
Example: watches, houses, garages, bridges, quizzes.
Some consonant are not pronounced: We call them "silent letters"
| silent letters | examples | 
| 
			 b (b after m)  | 
			
			 climb - lamb - bomb…  | 
		
| 
			 b (before t)  | 
			debt - doubt… | 
| /c/ | 
			 muscle - science - yacht…  | 
		
| 
			 /d/  | 
			
			 handsome - sandwich - Wednesday -grandfather… 
  | 
		
| 
			 g (initial /g/ followed by “n” Final /g/ in the "ing" form In the middle words followed by /h/ or /ht/  | 
			
			 Gnaw - gnome… Listening - writing… bought- might- though…  | 
		
| /h/ initial “h” | 
			 honour - hour- honest…  | 
		
| 
			 /i/  | 
			
			 fruit - juice…  | 
		
| 
			 /k/ initial /k/ followed by ”n”  | 
			Know - knowledge - knife… | 
| 
			 /l/ before /k/ /f/ /d/  | 
			
			 walk - should - half…  | 
		
| 
			 /n/ finale /n/ after “m”  | 
			
			 column - autumn…  | 
		
| /p/ initial” before ”s” or “n” | 
			 Psychology- pneumonia… “p” is also silent in these words: recept- cupboard… 
  | 
		
| 
			 /r/ silent “r” before all consonants and Final “r"  | 
			
			 farm - bored - bark - horse - dark… Teacher - doctor - humour… 
  | 
		
| /t/ words ending in “sten” or “stle” | 
			 Listen - castle…  | 
		
| 
			 /w/ initial /w/ before “r”  | 
			
			 Write - wrong… 
  | 
		
| /w/ is followed by “ho” | 
			 whose - whom - whole… /w/ is also silent in these words: sword-answer-two…  | 
		


            
			
				


        