Grammatical Endings

Grammatical endings
Grammatical endings are suffixes that add grammatical information such as

tense or number to nouns or verbs. In this section, we look at the pronunciation
of grammatical endings in English, using some of the concepts
introduced in the section on individual sounds.
The regular past tense

Read the following words aloud:
A B
roped robbed
liked lagged
laughed lived
missed realized
wished judged
watched hummed
fanned
winged
feared
rolled
These words are all examples of the regular past tense, which is spelled -ed
Notice, however, that the past tense ending is pronounced differently in
columns A and B. Furthermore, in neither case is it pronounced as two
sounds but rather it is pronounced as a single consonant sound.
The past tense ending of the words in column A is pronounced as /t/; in

column B, it is pronounced as /d/. Is the choice of /t/ or /d/ just random or
is there some regularity that will allow us to predict the pronunciation of the
past tense? As these are all examples of the regular past tense ending, we
would expect that the choice of /t/ or /d/ would be predictable. By examining
the phonetic characteristics of the sounds surrounding these past tense
endings, we will show the way in which the choice is predictable.
Recall that the difference between /t/ and /d/ is a difference in voicing. Both
are pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the tooth ridge, but the
/t/ is voiceless and the /d/ is voiced. If the final sound of the verb to which
the past tense is attached is voiceless, the past tense is pronounced as /t/. This
is the case with the verbs in column A. For example, ‘rope’, which ends with
the voiceless sound /p/, has the past tense pronounced as /t/. If the final
sound of the verb to which the past tense is attached is voiced, the past tense
is pronounced as /d/. This is the case with the verbs in column B. For example,
‘rob’, which ends in the voiced sound /b/, has the past tense
pronounced as /d/.
Now pronounce the following verbs:

wanted
deleted
handed
surrounded
With these verbs the past tense ending is not pronounced as a /t/ or a /d/,
but as a vowel plus the /d/ sound. Again, these are perfectly regular verbs and
the pronunciation of the past tense ending is entirely predictable. If the verb
to which the past tense is attached ends with a /t/ or a /d/, the past tense is
pronounced as /ɪd/.
Notice that the past tense ending of a verb that ends with a vowel is pronounced
as /d/. This is because all vowels are voiced. To confirm this for
yourself, pronounce the words below:
flowed
glued
prayed
The following rule is applicable to all verbs that have the regular past tense
ending:
Past tense rule
A If a verb ends with /t/ or /d/, the past tense is pronounced / ɪd/.
Otherwise,
B If a verb ends with a voiced sound, the past tense is pronounced /d/.
C If a verb ends with a voiceless sound, the past tense is pronounced /t/.
The plural, possessive, and thirdperson singular
The plural
Read the following lists of plural noun forms aloud:
A B
ropes robes
cats cads
docks dogs
reefs reeves
cloths clothes
gems
pawns
kings
cars
halls
We have a single spelling, s, for the plural form, but two different pronunciations.
The plural is pronounced as / s / in column A and as / z / in column B.
As with the past tense ending, these two sounds are made at the same place in
the mouth. The only difference is that the / s / is voiceless and the / z / is
voiced. Also, like the past tense ending, the choice of / s / or / z / is predictable
on the basis of the phonetic characteristics of the sounds surrounding the
plural ending. If the final sound to which the plural is attached is voiceless,
the plural is pronounced as / s /. This is the case in column A where all the
nouns end in voiceless sounds. If the final sound of the noun to which the
plural is attached is voiced, the plural is pronounced as / z /. This is the case in
column B where all of the nouns end with voiced sounds.
Now consider the following plural forms:
mazes
marshes
houses
churches
judges
With these forms the plural is not pronounced / s / or / z /, but / ɪz /. If you
have trouble hearing the final sound as a. / z /, try pronouncing the words
with / s / at the end, making the / s / very strong. This should sound strange.
Now try pronouncing them with / z /, making the / z / very strong. This
should not sound strange at all.
There are six different sounds after which the plural is pronounced /ɪz/: / s /,
/ z /, / ∫ / , / ʒ / , / ʧ / and / ʤ /. All of these sounds are rather high-pitched
sounds and are referred to as sibilants because of this characteristic.
You should be able to predict that the plural is pronounced / z / after nouns
that end with vowels since all vowels are voiced and the plural suffix is voiced
after voiced sounds. Pronounce the following nouns that end with a vowel.
spas
plays
dues
bows
The following rule is applicable to all nouns that have the regular plural
ending:
Plural rule
A If a noun ends with / s /, / z /, / ∫ / , / ʒ / , / ʧ / or / ʤ / (a sibilant sound), the
plural is pronounced / ɪz/. Otherwise,
B If a noun ends with a voiced sound, the plural is pronounced / z /.
C If the noun ends with a voiceless sound, the plural is pronounced / s /.
Third person singular and possessive

The Plural Rule is also applicable to the third person singular present tense
ending and the possessive ending. Pronounce the following words to
confirm this.
Table 3.3: Pronunciation of third person singular and possessive
third person singular possessive

/s/ /z/ / ɪz / /s/ /z/ / ɪz /
voiceless voiced sibilant voiceless voiced sibilant
hopes lobs misses Jack’s Dough’s Thomas’s
laughs believes realizes Ralph’s Dave’s Liz’s
Photocopiable © Oxford University Press
As we can see, the third person singular present tense and the possessive are
pronounced in exactly the same way as the plural.
Contractions
There are two other situations in which the Plural Rule is applicable. Consider
the sentences below where ‘is’ and ‘has’ occur in their contracted forms:
Contraction of ‘is’ Contraction of ‘has’
Pat’s leaving early. Pat’s already left.
This book’s quite interesting. This book’s been selling
well.
The dog’s a bit thirsty. The dog’s been acting
strangely.
Ilsa’s not here yet. Ilsa’s been late three
times.
In saying these sentences note how the contracted form of is or has is
pronounced. Note the parallel between the pronunciations of the contracted
forms and the plural, possessive, and third person singular endings.

Grammatical Endings

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Grammatical endings

Grammatical endings are suffixes that add grammatical information such as

The regular past tense

The past tense ending of the words in column A is pronounced as /t/; in

Now pronounce the following verbs:

The plural, possessive, and thirdperson singular

Third person singular and possessive

third person singular possessive

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