Pronunciation of ‘s’ and ‘es’ plural endings

In English, we mostly form the plural of a noun by adding ‘s’. In some cases we add ‘es’:

• 1 dog, 2 dogs
• 1 class, 2 classes

At the end of a word, ’s’ has two possible pronunciations: /s/ or /z/.

1. After the following sounds we pronounce ‘s’ as /s/:

• after a /p/ sound:
  2 shops /s/
• after a /t/ sound:
  2 hats /s/
• after a /k/ sound:
  2 books /s/
• after a /θ/ sound:
  2 cloths /s/
• after a /f/sound:
  2 giraffes /s/.

2. In all other cases we pronounce ‘s’ as /z/:

• 3 trees /z/
• 2 dogs /z/
• flowers /z/.
• managers /z/.

When the plural form has the ‘es’ ending, the pronunciation is always /iz/:

• 2 foxes /iz/
• 2 boxes /iz/.

See also: Spelling rules section for Spelling of plurals: when to add ‘s’ or ‘es’