One syllable: comes.
kuhmz
/kʌmz/
comes is pronounced kuhmz (/kʌmz/). It has one syllable (comes), with the stress on "comes". Comes is a verb meaning to move toward or arrive at a place or position, often used in everyday action and event contexts. It also serves as the third-person singular present tense form of come. In phonetics, the word has a short, unstressed final sound that blends quickly with surrounding words in fluent speech.
Comes is a verb meaning to move toward or arrive at a place or position, often used in everyday action and event contexts. It also serves as the third-person singular present tense form of come. In phonetics, the word has a short, unstressed final sound that blends quickly with surrounding words in fluent speech.
"- She comes to the party every year."
"- Overnight, a solution comes to mind."
"- The opportunity comes only once in a while."
In standard pronunciation, says /kʌmz/ for US/UK; in careful speech, you clearly articulate /k/ + /ʌ/ (the short ‘uh’) + /mz/ with the final /z/ voiced. In rapid connected speech, you’ll often hear the vowel shortened further and the /mz/ onset blended so the word almost sounds like /kəmz/ with a reduced vowel, especially before consonant clusters. Mouth position: start with the tip of the tongue at the alveolar ridge for /tʃ/? No—start with /k/ at the back of the mouth, then relax into /ʌ/, finish with a bright /m/ lip seal followed by /z/. IPA guide: US/UK /kʌmz/; practice with a brief pause before next word to feel the final /z/.
Two common errors: (1) pronouncing the final consonant as /s/ instead of /z/, which changes the voice quality; (2) using a diphthong like /oʊ/ in the vowel instead of the short /ʌ/. Correction: keep the vowel as a short stressed or unstressed /ʌ/ (ish like 'cut'), ensure the final is voiced /z/ by gently voicing and letting the vocal cords vibrate; avoid ending with a whispered or voiceless /s/ sound. Practice with minimal pairs like /kɪmz/ vs /kɒmz/? Not necessary. The key is maintaining a short, centralized vowel and a voiced final.
In US English, /kʌmz/ with a lax, centralized /ʌ/ and a clearly voiced /z/. UK English tends to maintain the same core, but some speakers may reduce the /ʌ/ slightly and produce a crisper /z/; intonation patterns may differ in sentence rhythm. Australian English often features a slightly more centralized /ʌ/ and may show a brisker, more clipped /z/ due to faster mouth movements. IPA references remain /kʌmz/ or /kɒmz/ in some dialects; emphasis is on the voicing and final consonant.
Because you must coordinate a short, lax vowel /ʌ/ with a voiced, final /z/ in rapid speech, which causes assimilation near surrounding words. The word is brief and often linked to neighboring morphemes, so you’ll often reduce or blend vowels, and the tongue must hit the alveolar ridge quickly for the /m/ and /z/ sequence. The challenge is maintaining voicing of the final /z/ while keeping the vowel distinct enough to be understood, especially in fast dialogue or in non-native speech.
No. The word ends with a pronounced voiced /z/ in standard usage. Some casual speech might reduce to a lightly whispered final, but this is not standard. The key is ensuring the /z/ remains voiced and not devoiced into /s/ in your pronunciation practice. Focus on sustaining voicing for the final consonant in connected speech and avoid trailing with a fricative when the next word starts with a vowel or consonant.
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Comes comes from Old English cuman, meaning to move toward or arrive. The root is the Proto-Germanic ku-man- (to come), related to Dutch komen, German kommen, and Old Norse koma. In Middle English, the verb evolved with the addition of third-person singular -es, yielding comes. The semantic core has long centered on movement toward the speaker or a point of reference, expanding to encompass figurative arrivals such as conclusions, opportunities, or events. Over time, the phonology simplified: unstressed final -es reduced in rapid speech, especially in American and British varieties, giving rise to the contemporary pronunciation /kʌmz/ or /kʌmz/ depending on the preceding vowel and connected speech. The first attestations appear in Old English texts from before 1000 CE, with later citations in Middle English as the language shifted toward Modern English pronunciations. The word’s strong, monosyllabic core consonant cluster (k- m-z) makes it highly susceptible to elision and assimilation in fluent speech, which has reinforced its commonly heard reduced vowel in casual use.
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Words that rhyme with "comes"
-mes sounds
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