You probably remember that the letter s may have different pronunciations in the present simple.

In the song "Another Day", Paul McCartney sings "Every day she takes a morning bath..."  and "he comes, and he stays...". Listen to the song again: what is the sound of s in the verbs takes and stays? Which sounds like /s/ and which sounds like /z/? Check your answer (1) at the bottom of the page.

Decide which sound, /s/ or /z/, the s will have in the verbs selected in this activity. Use your mouse to drag each box to the correct column. You can listen by clicking on the speaker.

Now look at the verbs in the present simple in the song "Another Day": in which ones is the letter s pronounced /s/? Which are pronounced /z/? Check in ANSWERS 2

Think about the infinitive form of the verbs in the first group. Take, Wet, Wrap, Drink and Post all end with a voiceless sound (/k/, /t/, and /p/), so the letter s is pronounced /s/. Find, Feel, Come, Stay and Leave end in voiced sounds (/d/, /l/, /m/, /I/ and /v/); that's why the letter s is pronounced /z/