A notoriously tough aspect for new cuers is assigning the correct handshape for /s/ and /z/. This decision occurs frequently in English because it affects plurals (e.g., cats, dogs, horses), posessives (e.g., Matt's, Pam's, and Rich's), as well as inflections for subject-verb agreement (hits, spills, washes).
1) If the root word ends in a voiceless sound (e.g., rat), the -s ending is pronounced (cued) /t/. Exceptions to this will be noted below for voiceless sounds that need a vowel before adding the plural marker.
| Final Phoneme of Root Word | Examples |
| /ppppppppp/ | chips, sleeps, cramps, drops, thanks |
| /kkkkkkkkk/ | bakes, works, drinks, bunks, books |
| /ttttttttt/ | its, rights, fists, gnats, hints |
| /fffffffff/ | laughs, paragraphs, goofs, whiffs, giraffes |
| /θththθththθthth/ | strengths, myths |
2) If the root word ends in a voiced sound (e.g., phone), the -s ending is pronounced (cued) /z/. This inclueds root words that end with vowels as all vowels are voiced. Exceptions to this will be noted below for voiced sounds that need a vowel before adding the plural marker.
| Final Phoneme of Root Word | Examples |
| /ddddddddd/ | yards, worlds, leads |
| /ðt͟htHðt͟htHðt͟htH// | paths, soothes |
| /vvvvvvvvv/ | serves, saves, loves, drives, thieves |
| /rrrrrrrrr/ | scars, stairs, fears, cigars |
| /bbbbbbbbb/ | herbs, knobs |
| /nnnnnnnnn/ | clowns, [[mines|mɑɪˈnz|mines}}, brains, lines, strains, acorns |
| /mmmmmmmmm/ | Mom's, terms, crumbs, plums, items |
| /lllllllll/ | balls, sells, files, wheels, patrols, Unknown dictionary link {{towles|tɑʊˈlz|towels}} |
| /ggggggggg/ | {[wigs|wɪˈgz|wigs}}, legs, mugs, eggs |
| /ŋngngŋngngŋngng/ | meetings, fillings |
| [vowels] | pies, sees, chews, plays, knows, cowboys, canoes, annoys |
3) Exceptions to the rules above are found in words that end in a type of sound called sibilants. It isn't necessary to know the term for these sounds, but it is worth knowing which phonemes are included: /ʃshshʃshshʃshsh/ (wish), /ʧchchʧchchʧchch/ (church), /sssssssss/ (bus), /zzzzzzzzz/ (buzz), /ʒzhzhʒzhzhʒzhzh/ (garage), and /ʤjjʤjjʤjj/ (judge). These words take a vowel, /ɪĭiɪĭiɪĭi/ or /əəəəəəəəə/, before /zzzzzzzzz/**. Selection of /ɪĭiɪĭiɪĭi/ or /əəəəəəəəə/ in the examples below is not meant to suggest a preference for either vowel for that particular word. Note that, inspite of spelling, these final syllables do not take the vowel /ɛěehɛěehɛěeh/.
| Final Phoneme of Root Word | Examples |
| /ʒzhzhʒzhzhʒzhzh/ | garages, massages |
| /zzzzzzzzz/ | Unknown dictionary link {{abusies|əbjuˈzɪz|abuses}} |
| /sssssssss/ | faces, horses, nieces, bosses, sentences, services, slices |
| /ʃshshʃshshʃshsh/ | bushes, dishes, washes |
| /ʧchchʧchchʧchch/ | churches, teaches, glitches, inches |
| /ʤjjʤjjʤjj/ | lodges, languages, hinges, gauges, ((edges|ɛˈʤɪz|edges}} |
** You do not need to commit to either /ɪĭiɪĭiɪĭi/ or /əəəəəəəəə/ for these plural endings. In reality, you are likely to alternate between the vowels depending on whether the word is cued alone or in a sentence and whether the word is stressed or not. For example, one may say the single word bushes as /bbbbbbbbbʊo͝oooʊo͝oooʊo͝oooʃshshʃshshʃshshɪĭiɪĭiɪĭizzzzzzzzz/, but they same cuer may pronounce the word with a schwa when it occurs in a sentence, The bushes need a good watering.
Abuses