The General “Rule” of English Pronunciation
You know that it is difficult to know when to pronounce the written letter s in English like s, the sound of air escaping from your bicycle tire, and when to pronounce it as the letter z, the sound of an angry bee. This problem shows up in the plural of nouns.
In the same way, the written letter t sometimes sounds like the letter d. This problem comes up in the past tense of verbs.
There is a logic that is at work in both cases, that of the plural of the noun and that of the past tense of the verb. The two cases have a lot in common even though one has to do with the “s” sound” and other has to do with the “d” sound.
There is so much in common that some language teachers say that there is one general “rule” for the two cases. This “rule” works in most of the cases that you will have to learn.
In both situations, the ending of the word depends on the sound that it follows.
1. If the noun or verb ends in a voiceless consonant (one that doesn’t vibrate the vocal cords), like the “p” of soap or the “k”...
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