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Suffixation: Forms of Roots and Suffixes: -es/-s, -'s, -s'

This website uses symbols to transcribe phonemes (sounds). For an explanation of what these symbols represent, click here: vowels, consonants. The following special symbols are used:
ə Λ ā ē ī ō ū ű œ θ δ š ž č ĵ ŋ
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Note: an apostrophe ' is placed before the accented vowel.

Pronunciation of -es/-s

Whatever its use, the pronunciation of this suffix is goverend by one rule. Its pronunciation depends on what comes before it. The really important thing to remember is that it depends on the sound, not the spelling.

-es/-s has a syllabic in which the e is pronounced as a vowel, and a non-syllabic in which the e is silent. The syllabic form is always spelt -es; the non-syllabic form may be spelt -es or -s depending on spelling rules.

Syllabic -es is pronounced /iz/ or /əz/ (see vowel reduction). Syllabic -es occurs after the following phonemes: /z/, /s/, /ž/, /š/, /ĵ/, /č/:
Root-final consonant /z/ /s/ /ž/ /š/ /ĵ/ /č/
Root spelt without silent e whizz
/w'iz/		 moss
/m'oss/		 none smash
/sm'aš/		 none catch
/k'ač/
Root + -es whizzes
/w'iziz/		 mosses
/m'ossiz/		 none smashes
/sm'ašiz/		 none catches
/k'ačiz/
Root spelt with silent e freeze
/fr'īz/		 fence
/f'ens/		 massage
/mas'āž/		 cache
/c'aš/		 hedge
/h'eĵ/		 none
Root + -es (remove silent e from root) freezes
/fr'īziz/		 fences
/f'ensiz/		 massages
/mas'āžiz/		 caches
/c'ašiz/		 hedges
/h'eĵiz/		 none

Non-syllabic -es/-s occurs after any other sound. Click here for spelling rules. It is pronounced /z/ after voiced phonemes and /s/ after voiceless phonemes:

Roots ending with vowels (voiced): -es/-s is /z/

/ē/ /ī/ /ō/ /ū/ /ű/ /ai/ /ar/ /or/ /ēr/ /īr/
Root play
/pl'ē/		 free
/fr'ī/		 flow
/fl'ō/		 moo
/m'ū/		 spew
/sp'ű/		 try
/tr'ai/		 mar
/m'ar/		 bore
/b'or/		 care
/k'ēr/		 cheer
/čīr/
Root + -es/-s plays
/pl'ēz/		 frees
/fr'īz/		 flows
/fl'ōz/		 moos
/m'ūz/		 spews
/sp'űz/		 tries
/tr'aiz/		 mars
/m'arz/		 bores
/b'orz/		 cares
/k'ērz/		 cheers
/čīrz/

Most speakers reduce the pronunciation of unstressed -ies from /īz/ to /iz/ or /əz/, so that it sounds identical to syllabic -es.

Roots ending with voiced consonants: -es/-s is /z/

/m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /b/ /d/ /g/ /v/ /δ/
Root skim
/sk'im/		 plan
/pl'an/		 bang
/b'aŋ/		 rob
/r'ob/		 head
/h'ed/		 beg
/b'eg/		 live
/l'iv/		 bathe
/b'ēδ/
Root + -es/-s skims
/sk'imz/		 plans
/pl'anz/		 bangs
/b'aŋz/		 robs
/r'obz/		 heads
/h'edz/		 begs
/b'egz/		 lives
/l'ivz/		 bathes
/b'ēδz/

Roots ending with voiceless consonants: -es/-s is /s/

/p/ /t/ /k/ /f/ /θ/
Root trip
/tr'ip/		 let
/l'et/		 smack
/sm'ak/		 sniff
/sn'if/		 Goth
/g'oθ/
Root + -es/-s trips
/tr'ips/		 lets
/l'ets/		 smacks
/sm'aks/		 sniffs
/sn'ifs/		 Goths
/g'oθs/

Verbs

Most verbs form their third person singular simple non-past by adding -es/-s to their root. See the following pages:

Verb Descriptions: how regular verbs form their parts.
Verb Formations: how the parts of verbs are used.
Spelling rules.

Contraction of is

The word is is often shortened to 's and attached to the preceding word (no space is written). It is pronounced like the suffix -s, syllabic or non-syllabic depending on the final consonant of the word to which it is attached:
My boss is away. > My boss's away. /m'ai b'osiz əw'ē/ ('s follows /s/: syllabic form /iz/)
The tea is ready. > The tea's ready. /δ'ə t'īz r'edī/ ('s follows vowel: non-syllabic voiced form /z/)
Bob is here. > Bob's here. /b'obz h'īr/ ('s follows voiced consonant: non-syllabic voiced form /z/)
The cat is outside. > The cat's outside. /δ'ə k'ats auts'aid/ ('s follows voiceless consonant: non-syllabic voiceless form /s/)

Nouns

Nouns include substantives and adjectives. Most substantives form a plural by adding -es/-s: girl + -es/-s > girls, cat + -es/-s > cats, line + -es/-s > lines.

When adjectives are used with plural meanings, they generally do not take a plural suffix: The rich oppress the poor. Only the good die young. Here the rich, the poor and the good all have plural meaning ('rich people', 'poor people' and 'good people'), but this does not change the form of the words. A few adjectives have come to be used as substantives, and take -es/-s in the plural: blacks 'black people', whites 'white people'.

When a phrase is built from several substantives together, usually only the last one takes the plural marker:
Singular peasant farmer > plural peasant farmers
Singular mortuary temple > plural mortuary temples
Singular millionaire businessman > plural millionaire businessmen

But if an earlier word is man, woman or a compound ending in one of these, this is also converted to a plural:
Singular gentleman amateur > plural gentlemen amateurs

Thus we see this contrast:
Singular lady driver > plural lady drivers
Singular woman driver > plural women drivers

Root-final voicing: A few substantives with final /f/ or /θ/ convert these to the voiced equivalent (/f/ > /v/, /θ/ > /δ/) when they take plural -es/-s:
life /l'aif/ + -es/-s > lives /l'aivz/
loaf /l'ōf/ + -es/-s > loaves /l'ōvz/
half /h'āf/ + -es/-s > halves /h'āvz/
path /p'aθ/ or /p'āθ/ + -es/-s > paths /p'aδz/ or /p'āδz/
wreath /r'īθ/ + -es/-s > wreathes /r'īδz/

An unusual irregular plural is die /d'ai/ > dice /d'ais/. This derives from a regular plural in -s (Middle English dee > dees, from Old French dé > dés), but it has changed its pronunciation and spelling. Less educated speakers now use dice for singular and plural. There is also a verb to dice 'to gamble or take risks' derived from this.

Some words for animals are the same in the singular and plural: sheep > sheep, deer > deer. This is very common with words for animals that live in water: fish > fish or fishes, salmon > salmon, squid > squid and many more.

A few words form their plural by changing their vowels: foot /f'ut/ > feet /f'īt/, tooth /t'ūθ/ > teeth /t'īθ/, man /m'an/ > men /m'en/, woman /w'uman/ > women /w'imin/, goose /g'ūs/ > geese /g'īs/. This group includes mouse /m'aus/ > mice /m'ais/, which changes its spelling se > ce, but does not change its pronunciation (Old English had mús > mýs with no change in consonant spelling).

The possessive: -'s, -s'

The suffix -'s usually has the same meaning as the preposition of. We add -'s to the end of a phrase, while of is added to the start of a phrase:
Phrase Phrase with -'s Example of use Phrase with of Example of use
the King of Spain the King of Spain's the King of Spain's daughter of the King of Spain the daughter of the King of Spain
the Lord above the Lord above's the Lord above's son of the Lord above the son of the Lord above
the Campaign for Real Ale the Campaign for Real Ale's the Campaign for Real Ale's success of the Campaign for Real Ale the success of the Campaign for Real Ale
some people some people's some people's cars of some people the cars of some people
women women's women's rights of women the rights of women
a friend of mine a friend of mine's a friend of mine's brother of a friend of mine the brother of a friend of mine
me and John me and John's me and John's house of me and John the house of me and John
someone I know someone I know's someone I know's phone number of someone I know the phone number of someone I know

Contrast this with these Latin and German constructions, in which the change occurs in the head noun of the phrase, not at its end:
Latin: Rex Hispaniae 'the King of Spain' > Regis Hispaniae 'of the King of Spain'
German: der König von Spanien 'the King of Spain' > des Königs von Spanien 'of the King of Spain'

The uses of -'s do not exactly correspond to the uses of of. To indicate several things of the same type together (collection) we use of, not -'s:
a collection of paintings 'several paintings together', not **a painting's collection
a group of women 'several women together', not **a women's group
a flock of sheep 'several sheep together', not **a sheep's flock

-'s can mean for instead of of: thus a women's group means a group for women. Note the contrast in these uses:

I saw a group of women in the street. (several women physically close together)
There is a women's group which could help you. (a group which provides services for women)

This contrast is not perfectly clear, because a women's group will usually mean a group that has only women as members.

The possessive of plurals

When this possessive marker -'s is attached to a word ending in the suffix -es/-s, the two suffixes become -s', pronounced as the original -es/-s. That is, the original -es/-s is kept and no further sounds are added; in spelling ' is added:
Phrase Phrase with -'s Example of use Phrase with of Example of use
the customers the customers' the customers' complaints of the customers the complaints of the customers
some doctors some doctors' some doctors' workload of some doctors the workload of some doctors

But after plurals without -es/-s, the possessive is -'s as normal: see women's and people's above.

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