In Spanish, one vowel may have several different pronunciations depending on its location in the word. The letter E can be pronounced differently when it appears at the beginning of a word than when it appears in the middle or at the end. This can sometimes lead to confusion among English speakers trying to learn Spanish because we usually only use one pronunciation of each vowel in English.
These phenomena don’t occur only in the Spanish language but in several other languages like German. Due to these differences in pronunciation, the natives of these countries find difficulty in learning to speak the English language.
This article aims to remove all such confusion and explain clearly the difference between Son and Es.
What Is Son?
Son is an affectionate form of the word son. In English, it means your male offspring
However, in Spanish, the word son has a completely different meaning. It’s the third person plural form of ser. The meaning of the word son in Spanish is “they are”.
The Difference Between Son & Es
In English, we don’t have articles like the or an in every word. Instead, we use rules to determine which words take an s or es in front of them when they start with a vowel sound. This is true even though it may seem like some words should be plural while others should be singular.
Phonetic Complementation is the rule to help you decide if you need an s or es at the beginning of a word. Here are some examples of G and S sounds: Add Ses: Gas – Gases; Gap – Gaps; Sag – Sags. With all other sounds (that aren’t S or Z), add Es: Sofa – Sofas; Apple – Apples; Doctor – Doctors.
For example, people will say son instead of es because son starts with a vowel sound that makes it require an s. Likewise, people will say data instead of datum because data starts with a consonant sound that makes it require an e.
Note that there are some exceptions to these rules—and these exceptions make learning English very hard! As always, you can look up more information on these grammar rules in your dictionary or on Google.
| Son | Es |
| Used for plural nouns | Used for singular nouns |
| It’s the third person plural form of ser, which means “to be,” | The third-person singular form of ser |
The History Behind the Spelling of Son
In Spanish, the son was initially spelled with an s because it’s pronounced like the English word sun, which has a consonantal ‘s’ sound. And for centuries, Spanish students have been taught to write that way. But some Latin Americans eventually changed their son’s pronunciation to match how it’s spelled.
This means that nowadays, Latin Americans sometimes spell words differently from one another, depending on their language or country of origin. In Mexico, for example, you’re more likely to see written Soy, while Argentinians will say they’re going to a play called a show. It doesn’t matter if they speak with accents or not. They pronounce each letter just as if no accent existed!
So, to be understood by everyone who speaks Spanish (or even understands it), you should use both versions of son in your writing. The same goes for es—it can be spelled as es or EZ but should always be pronounced as eh (as in the).
So remember: when you doubt whether to spell something with an ‘s’ or a ‘z,’ check out its meaning! If it starts with son, then stick with spelling it as such. For example, sin (without) and sino (but) would be spelled sin and Sinon, respectively.
Examples of Son and Es Used in Sentences
Examples of Son
- Los hijos son los más importantes en nuestra vida. = Children are the most important in our life.
- Porque son mis hijos, los quiero mucho. = Because they are my children, I love them very much.
- Son una opción para los que buscan una solución flexible. = They are an option for those looking for a flexible solution.
Examples of Es
- Han sido muchos los estudios que han demostrado que los niños aprenden español más rápidamente cuando sus padres hablan español en casa. = Many studies have shown that children learn Spanish more quickly when their parents speak Spanish at home
- Es una palabra de origen latino que significa “ser”. = It is a word of Latin origin that means “to be”.
- Es una palabra que significa “es” en español. = It is a word that means “is” in Spanish.
Tips To Learn Spanish
Learning a new language seems difficult at the start however as you learn, things start to become clearer. Spanish is no exception. If you want to learn Spanish fast the best approach you can take is using several different methods to train your brain to understand and speak this language.
Firstly you should start reading Spanish text. Books and magazines or even blogs like this one are a great way of learning a new language. By translating the text using google Translator you can easily understand it and in this way understand and learn new words.
Secondly, you can learn Spanish through music. Singing along to songs helps to inculcate the words in your memory and also teaches you how to pronounce difficult words Music is a large part of Spanish culture. And through it, people express their emotions and ideas. This is the reason music is a great source of learning Spanish and can greatly help you in your “viaje”.
Talking with other Spanish-speaking people in Spanish is also a great way to learn. In this way, you can improve your conversation skills and learn to speak the language fluently.
Best Websites To Learn Spanish From
- Rosetta Stone (top pick)
- Babbel.
- Rocket Languages.
- Pimsleur.
- Brainscape.
- Busuu.
- Duolingo.
- Fluent Forever.
Conclusion
- The word son means “there is” and it is the third person plural form of the word ser.
- Son and Es are two different words. The main difference between the two is that son is used for plural nouns whereas Es is used for singular nouns.
- The word son was initially written with s however as time passed the Latin Americans changed the way it was written.
- There are many examples of the use of son and es in Spanish movies and songs.
- Improving your Spanish language can be difficult for some people however if you use several methods to learn the language like singing songs reading stories and blogs you can greatly improve in a short time
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