Verbs and Nouns and the Letter s

Mastering the American Accent » Verbs and Nouns and the Letter s

Verbs and Nouns and the Letter s

The following words spelled with an s have a /z/ sound when they are verbs but have a /s/ sound when they are nouns.

	noun: /s/	verb: /z/
1.	use	to use
2.	abuse	to abuse
3.	close	to close
4.	house	to house
5.	excuse	to excuse
6.	advice	to advise

Dialogues for Practice

a. Do you still use^/z/ this?
b. No, I have no use^/s/ for it any more.
a. Where will they house^/z/ their guests?
b. They have a guest house^/s/.
a. Does he abuse^/z/ drugs?
b. Yes, he’s getting help for his drug abuse^/s/.
a. Please excuse^/z/ me.
b. I don’t accept your excuse^/s/.
a. Would you close^/z/ the door?
b. You do it. You’re close^/s/ to it.
a. Can you advise^/z/ me on this?
b. Sure, I can give you some advice^/s/.

Practice Sentences

Remember to pronounce all of the final /s/ sounds of plural nouns. Also pronounce the final /s/ of verbs in the third person singular form (he, she, it). Say the following sentences quickly, making sure that you are not forgetting the s endings.

A dishwasher washes dishes.
A bus driver drives buses.
A mechanic fixes cars.
A teacher teaches students.
A watchmaker makes watches.
A real estate agent sells houses.

Warning: Common Mistake

Make sure you are not pronouncing the words this and these the same way.

	s sound is:	vowel sound is:
this	/s/	/I/ (as in sit)
these	/z/	/i/ (as in meet)

examples:
I like this book.
I like these books.

Story for Practice

Mark’s Day

Every morning he gets^/s/ up early, brushes^/iz/ his teeth, washes^/iz/ his face, and eats^/s/ breakfast. He kisses^/iz/ his wife and kids^/z/ goodbye. He takes^/s/ two buses^/iz/ to work. He usually manages^/iz/ to get to work before his coworkers^/z/. He reads^/z/ his email, checks^/s/ messages^/iz/ and returns^/z/ phone calls^/z/. He speaks^/s/ with his colleagues^/z/ and clients^/s/ and conducts^/s/ meetings^/z/. He focuses^/iz/ on his daily tasks^/s/ and likes^/s/ to take only 30 minutes^/s/ for lunch.

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