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Saying the ends of words
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Hear the end of the word
- English word endings can help a listener distinguish see from seed or lie from like. Start by listening for that difference.
- Mandarin allows some consonant endings, but its ending patterns differ from English. Use this practice if a particular contrast is difficult for you; your first language does not predict every difficulty.
Listen to clip 1. In its second pair, which word comes second?
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lie ends in a vowel; like ends with a /k/.
Different endings use different movements
- Practise car – card, bee – beef, ray – rain. The word car may itself end in an /r/ sound, depending on the speaker's accent.
- For rain, the tongue contacts the ridge behind the upper teeth while air passes through the nose. For beef, air continues between the lower lip and upper teeth. An ending does not always mean stopping the air.
Listen to clip 2. Which pair do you hear last?
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The last pair is ray – rain.
Match each word to its ending sound.
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Hear the last sound, not just the word.
Plural -s has three common sounds
- /s/ after voiceless sounds such as /t/ and /k/: cats, books.
- /z/ after voiced sounds such as /g/ and /n/: dogs, pens.
- /ɪz/ after sibilant sounds such as /s/ and /tʃ/: buses, watches. This adds a syllable.
- Listen to the final sound, rather than choosing from the last letter alone. These patterns also occur in present-simple endings: he works / he plays / he watches.
/s/, /z/ or /ɪz/? Sort the plurals
Classify the example plural endings from their final sounds: /s/ after voiceless non-sibilants, /z/ after voiced non-sibilants, and /ɪz/ after sibilants.
Complete with the plural ending: I have two ___ (card).
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Two cards uses the plural form. In this regular example, /z/ follows /d/, giving the final cluster /dz/; a written answer does not demonstrate its pronunciation.
Keep meaning clear inside a sentence
- Transcript: I like red cards and old books.
- Notice the endings in like, red, cards, old, books. Practise slowly, then join the words. You do not need a separate extra vowel after each consonant.
- Natural connected speech can link, weaken or omit sounds. A stop consonant need not have a loud release to be present; do not turn this exercise into a rule that every sound needs its own explosion.
Listen to clip 4. True or false? The speaker likes blue cards.
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The sentence is “I like RED cards and old books.”
Translate into English: 我喜欢旧书。
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books — plural -s is part of the meaning.
Listen to an existing ordering clip
- Transcript: — What would you like? — I'd like a beef noodle, please. — Anything to drink? — Milk, thanks.
- The clip's phrase a beef noodle is an awkward model for an ordinary bowl order. In your own request, use I'd like a bowl of beef noodles, please. Keep the recorded wording separate from that more natural request.
- Listen for the endings in beef, drink, milk. This written correction does not constitute a review of the recording's pronunciation.
Listen to clip 5. What does the customer drink?
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“Milk, thanks.” — the ending /k/ is part of the word.
Repair a missing contrast
- If you mean like, check that your listener does not hear lie. Practise the /k/ closure without adding another syllable.
- Two cards needs the plural form in this sentence; two card loses the required ending. He works every day needs the present-simple ending.
- In good morning, the /d/ may have no strong audible release before /m/. Aim for intelligible connected words rather than a large gap after good.
Write two sentences about things you like, using plurals (for example: I like old books and red cards).
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Example: “I like new pens and old books.”
Try, listen back, choose one repair
- Read the six pairs aloud: see/seed, lie/like, no/nose, car/card, bee/beef, ray/rain.
- Use your own recorder or a partner. Which pair was hard to distinguish? Practise that pair, then use one word in a sentence. Compare again; a second take is not automatically clearer.
- For the ordering exchange, use a bowl of beef noodles. A partner can ask you to repeat an unclear word; that is useful feedback, not failure.
Return to the contrast later
- Tomorrow, say one pair and a new sentence before rereading. Ask a listener which word they heard if possible.
- Next: introductions with local recording, word stress and rhythm, or names and numbers listening.
- Usage reference checked 20 October 2026: British Council: connected speech. Independent pronunciation, recording and learner reviews remain pending.