Endings & Suffixes

American Pronunciation with Valerie

About Lesson

S/ES endings

We use these endings for plural nouns, for posessions ‘s, for Present Simple.

Examples:

after voiced – sound Z

girls, kids, John’s, designs, feels, feelings

after unvoiced – sound S

Kate’s, takes, Rex’s, cops

after ch,s,sh – sound IZ

pieces, loses, kisses, relaxes

Sentences:

My kids love playing outside.
John’s idea was actually brilliant.
She feels nervous before meetings.
Kate takes her coffee black.
The cops arrived quickly.
He loses his keys all the time.
She kisses her dog goodnight.

ED ending

Examples:

after voiced – sound D

planned, played, offered, bored, annoyed, controlled, hugged, preferred, pulled, robbed

after unvoiced – sound T

stopped, liked, reached, shocked, developed, dressed, finished, liked, marched

after t/d – sound ID ( in some words can be flap T/fast D)

hated, loaded, needed, interested, delighted, excited, admitted, ended, exploded, pretended

Sentences:

We planned the trip last night.
He hugged his mom before leaving.
I liked that movie a lot.
She finished her homework early.
I was really excited about the concert.
He needed some help with his car.

RED suffix

Make sound schwa in this suffix.

Examples:

fired, tired, required, hired, wired, acquired, admired, expired, inspired

ING ending

Examples:

living /lɪv/, leaving /liːv/, meaning /ˈmiː.nɪŋ/, needing /niːd/, knitting /ˈnit̬.ɪŋ/, thinking, interesting

Add sound W: to these words

going, doing

Add sound J

seeing, being, trying

Sentences:

I’m leaving in five minutes.
He’s always doing something creative.
She’s seeing someone new.

Suffixes -ive, ism, ship, ic, ish, age

Examples:

creative, communism, artist, friendship, domestic, decisive, childish, baggage

Sentences:

He’s very creative when it comes to food.
Friendship is more important than money.
That’s a very childish response.
My baggage is too heavy for the flight.

Suffixes -us, ous, um

Make a schwa sound in these suffixes.

Examples:

generous, focus, circus, jealous, album, difficult, seriously, bonus, status, virus, previous

Sentences:

She’s a very generous person.
What’s your status at work?

Suffixes -ful, fully

This suffix also has a schwa and dark L (almost not pronounced).

Examples:

wonderful, awful, playful, careful, powerful, colorful, useful, cheerful, hopefully, painfully, thoughtful

Sentences:

That meal was wonderful.
I answered the question thoughtfully.

Suffixes -er, est, or, ar, ery

Add a schwa sound to these suffixes.

Examples:

better (flap t), closest, later, fastest, bigger, sooner, worker, actor, doctor, elevator, dollar, grammar /ˈɡræm.ɚ/ – smile, professor, director, older, bakery

Sentences:

Let’s go to the bakery tomorrow.
That was the closest shop I could find.

Suffixes -al, able, ness, less

Add a schwa sound to these suffixes.

Examples:

minimal, central, capable, happiness, useless, government, different, ability

Sentences:

She’s very capable and confident.
It’s the most useless piece of advice.

Endings et and e in French words have EI sound

Examples:

bouquet, cafe, cliche, ballet, chalet, saute, attache, Cabaret, ricochet, fiance, souffle

One-syllable words with longer/shorter vowel sounds

Vowel sounds are longer with voiced consonants – b, d, g, z etc.

Examples:

B vs P

tab – tap

cab – cap

rip – rib

dib – dip

D vs T

bad – bat

heart – hard

car – cart – card

bill – built – build

her – hurt – heard

tie – tight – tide

stay – state – stayed

why – white – wide

G vs K

buck – bug

back – bag

lack – lag

sag – sack

has, is, was, does, goes, as, these, those, whose, always, because

Z vs S

as – ass

his – hiss

eyes – ice

price – prize

buzz – bus

S sound for SS

kiss, less, essay

BUT can be Z sound for SS

possession, scissors, dessert

V vs F

of – off

live (adj) – life

safe – save

give – gift

Ths ending

Examples:

months, breaths, strengths, myths, clothes, baths, bathes /beɪðs/

LY suffix shouldn’t be softened in Amercian English

Examples:

finally, usually /ˈjuː.ʒu.ə.li/, suddenly, fortunately, quickly, actually, clearly, utterly, completely, lovely, friendly, fully, trully

Sentences:

Finally, the rain stopped and we could go for a walk.
I usually drink tea in the morning instead of coffee.
Suddenly, the lights went out and everyone screamed.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the accident.
She answered all the questions quickly and confidently.
I actually enjoyed the meeting more than I expected.
That was a lovely gesture — thank you so much!

Ending -ate

[eit] – verbs

celebrate, imitate, communicate, irritate, generate, negotiate, translate /trænsˈleɪt/ /trænzˈleɪt/

[et] – nouns & adjectives

chocolate, passionate, corporate, climate, ultimate, fortunate, immediate, private

eit vs et sound

graduate (verb) – graduate (noun) /ˈɡrædʒ.u.eɪt/ vs /ˈɡrædʒ.u.ət/

separate (verb) – separate (adjective) /ˈsep.ə.reɪt/ vs /ˈsep.ɚ.ət/

estimate (verb) – estimate (noun) /ˈes.tə.meɪt/ vs /ˈes.tə.mət/

duplicate (verb) – duplicate (noun, adjective) – UK /ˈdʒuː.plɪ.keɪt/ US /ˈduː.plə.keɪt/ vs UK /ˈdʒuː.plɪ.kət/ US /ˈduː.plə.kət/

elaborate (verb) – elaborate (adj) /iˈlæb.ə.reɪt/ vs /iˈlæb.ɚ.ət/

associate (verb) – associate (noun) – UK /əˈsəʊ.si.eɪt/ US /əˈsoʊ.ʃi.eɪt/ noun vs UK /əˈsəʊ.ʃi.ət/ US /əˈsoʊ.ʃi.ət/

approximate (verb) – approximate (adj) /əˈprɑːk.sə.meɪt/ vs /əˈprɑːk.sə.mət/

moderate (verbs) – moderate (adj, noun) /ˈmɑː.də.reɪt/ vs /ˈmɑː.dɚ.ət/

Sentences:

We’re going to celebrate her promotion tonight with dinner and music.
He tries to imitate his favorite actor, but it always ends up funny.
It’s important to communicate clearly during team meetings.
The loud noise started to irritate everyone in the office.
This program will generate monthly reports automatically.
They had to negotiate for hours before reaching an agreement.
Can you translate this document into English?
I bought her some chocolate to cheer her up.
He’s a very passionate speaker who always inspires the audience.
She just got a job at a large corporate law firm.
The climate in this region is perfect for growing grapes.
She’s the first person in her family to graduate from college.
My graduate thesis was about early childhood education.
We need to separate these files before uploading them.
This separate folder contains all the confidential documents.

S/Z Challenge – Extra Practice

S, Z practice for plural and he/she/it

After unvoiced sounds → /s/ – cat – cats

After voiced sounds → /z/ – car – cars

After sibilant sounds (s, z, sh, ch, etc.) → /ɪz/ – catch – catches

Task 1 Sort the words by pronunciation

contract, strategy, report, business, analyze, project, process, deal, policy, organize, invoice, analysis, product, finalize, client, change, audit, manage, budget, service, inspect, decision, market, merge, draft, revenue, message, optimize, file, competitor, purchase, target, agreement, review, increase, director, crisis, update, brand, assess, employee, exchange, forecast, collaborate, scope, negotiate, task, implement, growth, notice, calculate, audience, ticket, summarize, value, charge, brief, communicate, trend, database, asset, specialize, reduce, package, result, authority, practice

Sound S	Sound Z	Sound IZ

Task 2 Add as many examples to each category as you can

Storytelling practice

Now we’re going to put our pronunciation skills into action — and have some fun doing it. You’ve already learned how to pronounce different suffixes like -tion, -able, -ly, -ous, and more. Now it’s time to use them in real conversation. We’ll be building crazy, creative, and completely original stories together!

Here’s how it works:

🔹 I’ll split you into small teams.
🔹 Each group will create a short story, one sentence at a time.
🔹 Every sentence must include at least one word with a suffix we’ve practiced — and you’ll need to pronounce it clearly and correctly.
🔹 You’ll take turns adding to the story — like a relay race, but with your voices.
🔹 The last person in your group will bring the story to an exciting or funny ending.

This is your chance to get a little silly, be creative, and show off your pronunciation at the same time. The more unexpected your story is — the better!

🎯 Your mission: Make it fun, clear, and full of suffixes!

Listening Practice

Have you heard about Murphy’s Law?
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Do you agree with this phrase? Give examples from your life if you can relate to this.

Lead-in

Listening 1

Murphy’s Law

Listening 2

Murphy’s law commercial

The origin of Murphy’s Law

Murphy’s Law is named after Captain Edward A. Murphy Jr., a US Air Force aerospace engineer. He is credited with coining the original statement, “If there are two or more ways to do something and one of those results in a catastrophe, then someone will do it that way.”. Later, this evolved into the more widely known phrase, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

Murphy’s Law gained prominence during the 1940s and 1950s, particularly within the context of aerospace engineering and safety-critical systems. The concept emerged from a series of mishaps during rocket sled tests, where Murphy and his team observed that seemingly minor mistakes or oversights could lead to major problems.

While the exact wording of the original statement is debated, the core idea of Murphy’s Law emphasizes the potential for unforeseen and negative outcomes when errors or deviations from intended procedures occur. The law is now widely recognized as a humorous observation about the inherent tendency for things to go wrong when they can.

Let’s challenge our creativity!

Here are a few situations to practice applying Murphy’s Law. Each scenario sets up a common situation, and your task is to imagine the worst possible, yet plausible, outcome, demonstrating Murphy’s Law in action.

Scenario 1: The Important Presentation

You’ve spent weeks preparing for a crucial presentation at work. It’s for a major client, and your boss is also attending. You’ve double-checked every slide, rehearsed your speech countless times, and even picked out your best professional outfit. You arrive early to the meeting room, set up your laptop, and connect it to the projector. Everything seems perfect.