This consonant makes two sounds.

At the beginning of a word or after unvoiced consonants, it says: /s/, /s/, /s/, sun.

After a vowel or voiced consonant sound, it will typically say: /z/, /z/, /z/, hers.

Look at this image and decide how it can help you remember the two sounds of consonant S.

Consonant S can be voiced and unvoiced, depending on where it is in a word and the sounds after and before.

Unvoiced at the beginning of a word: Consonant S will typically be unvoiced at the beginning of a word or syllable, as in the beginning of “sun”.

Unvoiced at the end of a word: Consonant S will also typically be unvoiced at the end of a word, if the consonant right before is also unvoiced, as in “books”.

Voiced and unvoiced after a vowel: When Consonant S is after a vowel, it is sometimes unvoiced, as in “ask” and sometimes voiced as in “has”.

Voiced between two vowels: When Consonant S is between two vowels sounds, it may make a voiced sound, as in “busy”.

Voiced before a voiced consonant: When Consonant S is before a voiced consonant sound, it may also have a voiced sound, as in “husband”.

Depending on the speaker, Consonant S may sound unvoiced, even though many others would say it voiced.