Pronouncing the ds Cluster

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Pronouncing the ds Cluster

Make sure you pronounce both the /d/ and /z/ sounds in the following words. The /s/ is pronounced like a /z/ sound because it’s followed by /d/, which is a voiced consonant. The /d/ will need to be pronounced softly in order to ensure a smooth transition to the /z/.

Words for Practice

needs
decades
sends
friends
kids
sounds

Word Contrasts

Make sure that you that you pronounce the following word pairs differently. The first word contains just a /z/ sound and the second word contains a /d/ and a /z/ sound.

	/z/	/dz/
1.	fines	finds
2.	cars	cards
3.	fees	feeds
4.	rise	rides
5.	lens	lends
6.	bills	builds

Practice Sentences

David’s and Ed’s kids are friends.
She feeds the cats and cleans the yards.
The brides got diamonds from their husbands.
He accepts rides from friends.
He needs the facts about the debts.

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