The top ten mistakes that foreign speakers make #7: Z

The Z sound is confusing for many foreign speakers.  The main reason is because of how words are spelled.  In a lot of cases, the letter “S” is pronounced as a Z sound.  For instance, the word because is pronounced becauz, is sounds like iz, and was is said, waz.

In English, we add S to nouns to show generality or to make plurals, possessives, and contractions. An S is added to verbs to ensure subject-verb agreement with a singular subject.  Sometimes, the S is pronounced S but other times it is pronounced Z.

To correct this mistake, you have to do two things:

Determine which words use the Z sound when spelled with S (do this by listening or using a dictionary)
Learn when to use S or Z to end plurals and possessives, and contractions

Good luck…people will notice the difference.