SPELLING 'S' I 'SS'

1. The consonant <s> sounds /s/ in the following cases:

- at the very beginning

seu, sac, sol. etc.

- after a consonant

corsa, absolut, amics, etc.

- at the very end

portuguès, dos, etc.

2. The consonant <s> sounds /z/

- between vowels

casa, portuguesos, pageses, , etc.

- before a voiced consonant:

esmorzar,

3. The final consonant <s> sounds /z/ when it remains intervocalic or comes before a voiced consonant

les altres, els dos amics etc.

4. The digraph <ss> is used only between vowels and is always pronounced /s/

passar, terrassa, assumir, etc. (see SPELLING 'C' and PHONEME /s/)

5. The consonant <z> reproduces the sound /z/ in any position, though it is not usual at the end of a word:

zero, esmorzar, etc.