oxford_guide_to_english_grammar

PAGE 377
292 Leaving out e
2 A few nouns ending in o add es.
potatoes tomatoes heroes echoes
But most add s.
radios stereos pianos photos studios discos kilos zoos
3 The ending is pronounced /s/ after a voiceless sound, /z/ after a voiced sound and
or after a sibilant.
Voiceless: hopes , fits , clocks
Voiced: cabs , rides , days , throws
Sibilant: loses or , bridges or , washes or
4 The possessive form of a noun is pronounced in the same way.
Mick's the teacher's Mrs Price's or
But we do not write es for the possessive, even after a sibilant.
Mr Jones's the boss's
291 The ed ending
1 The ed-form of most regular verbs is simply verb + ed.
played walked seemed offered filled
If the word ends in e, we add d.
moved continued pleased smiled
NOTE
For the doubling of consonants before ed, • 293.
For y before ed, • 294.
2 The ending is pronounced /t/ after a voiceless sound, /d/ after a voiced sound and
after /t/ or /d/.
Voiceless: jumped /pt/, baked /kt/, wished
Voiced:
robbed /bd/, closed /zd/, enjoyed , allowed
or
waited , expected , handed , guided
292 Leaving out e
1
2
We normally leave out e when it comes before an ing-form.
make making shine shining use using
But we keep a double e before ing.
see seeing agree agreeing
When e comes before ed, er or est, we do not write a double e.
type typed late later fine finest
3
We usually leave out e before other endings that start with a vowel, e.g. able, ize, al.
love lovable private privatize culture cultural
NOTE
But when a word ends in ce /s/ or ge , we keep the e before a or o.
enforce enforceable courage courageous
We can also keep the e in some other words: saleable/salable, likeable/likable, mileage/milage.