Bye, buy Introducing letters and sounds In writing, words are made of letters. In speech, words are made of sounds. Letters are not always the same as sounds, For example, the words key and car begin with the same sound, but che leccers are different, We can see this clearly if we read the ewo words in phonemic symbols: Iki, Ika:/. In the examples below, word pairs have the same pronunciation but different spelling: buy bye sun son weak — week weigh way t00 two write right Note: There are some exercises to help you learn the phonemic symbols in Section D1. ‘There are two kinds of sounds: consonant sounds (C) and vowel sounds (V), For example, in duck, there are three sounds, consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC). The number of sounds in a word is not usually the same as the number of Jetrers. We can sce this if we write the word using phonemic symbols (sce Section D1). For example, duck is /dak/. Writers often play with the sounds in words, For example, if they are finding a name for a cartoon character, they might: + repeat the first sound, for example Donald Duck. + repeat the final sound or sounds (this is called rhyme), for example Ronald McDonald, Listen to these examples of names and expressions with sound-play. Notice that the writer is playing with he sound, nor the spelling. For example, in Dennis the Menace, the last chree sounds of the words are the same, bur the spelling is completely different. Mickey Mouse Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer Dennis the Menace Buys Banery news and views rock and roll wine and dine While the car's away, the mice will play. There are probably some sounds in English which do not exise in your language, and others which are similar bur not exactly the same. This can make it difficult to hear and make the distinction between two similar words in English. Listen to these pairs, Are any of them difficult for you? boat-vow —hithear sa~show — sung—sun —wine~vime wet —waie A Note: to find out which sounds are usualy cay or dificult for speakers of your language, see Section 03 Guide for speakers of specific languages. Englsh Pronunciation ip Use11 Section A Letters and sounds Exercises In this story, there are 12 incorrect words. The correct word is pronounced the same as the incorrect one, but the speling is different. Correct them using words from the box. How many sounds are there in each word? Write the order of consonant sounds (C) and vowel sounds (V). Exar night 1 dog 2 rabbit 8 Hog emcee 6 bee fe Listen to these possible names of cartoon animals. Do they have the same first sounds? (Write A) Da they rhyme? (Write B.) Exampte Sam the lamb 1 Phil the fox 5 Polly the parrot 2 Mary the canary 6 Deborah the zebra. 3 Ida the spider 7 Myrtle the turtle 4 Claire the bear 8 Kitty the car Listen to these sounds. Do you have a similar sound in your language? If you do, write a tick (¥). 1 Mf (shoe) 5 /d3/ (June) __. 2 fay (git!) — 6 foul (soap) 3 feet (bat) —. 7 Wi (thing). 4 Hf (x00) 8 AV (life) English Pronunciation in Use "2 D important Gor listening 12 » * Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. Plane, plan The vowel sounds /e1/ and /a/ When you say the letters of the alphabet, A has the long vowel sound /c1/. You hear this sound in the word plane. But the letter A is also pronounced as the short vowel sound Av/, as in the word plan, + Listen to the sound /e1/ on its own. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound. + Listen to the target sound /e1/in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. wide ‘auth ‘F [estos play played plate geey grade great am mee sight “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” + Listen to the sound fv/. Look at the mouth diagram to sc¢ how to make this short vowel sound. Listen to the target sound Av/ in the words and compare it with the words on each side. saTeet fay + Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. bank bag back can cash catch ham has ha “The fat cat sat on the man's black hat.* Spelling frequently [cil | A-E (mate) AY (say), EY (grey), El (eight), Al (wait) EA (great) fe] | A but note that if there is an R after the A (and the R does not have a vowel sound after it), Ahas a different pronunciation, for example arm: see Unit 14. English Procunciation in Use21 2.2 Exercises Write words for the things in the picture in the correct part of the table. eid Tel ae a Se Siwy FG O18 a These words all contain the vowel sound /z/. Make another word with the same consonant sounds, but changing the vowel sound to /er/. EXAMPLES pan — plan lane lat 4p 2 mad 5 ran Boman 6 hat Listen and circie the word with a different vowel sound. Examrie black (want) mad hand 1 sad bag salt tap S case lake name care 2 far fat map add 6 space change plate square 3 watch catch match land 7 break great heat weight 4 rain said fail train Then listen again and check. Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to section 04 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Manor men? Did you see the man / men? (sound pairs 1) 2 Cap or cup? Have you seen my cap / cup? (sound pairs 2) 3 Harr heart? She put her hand on her hat / heart. (=sound pairs 3) 4 Pain or pen? I've got a pain/ pen in my hand. (sound pairs 4) 5 Hay or ‘There are bugs in this hay / hair. (=sound pairs 5) Follow up: Record yourseif saying the sentences in 2.4, choosing one of ‘the two words. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said? English Pronunciation in Use 3‘Aioh A108 14 Back, pack The consonant sounds /b/ and /p/ When you say the alphabet, the letters B and P have the sounds /bi:/ and /pi:/. In words, they have the consonant sounds /b/ and /p/. + Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make these sounds: (— « Listen to the sounds /ly and /p lips closed ‘The mouth is in the same position for both sounds, sap air however in the sound /iy there is voice from the throat, In /p¥, there is no voice from the throat. Instead, there is a small explosion of air when the lips open. * Now listen to the sound /b/ on its own. « Listen to the target sound /ly in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. asBet /hy best vest Sey) ces S covered cupboard — covered «Listen and repeat these examples ofthe target sound. i hay bind bread = Seeoe rubber —sbour able satin! = job web lobe “Bernie brought a big breakfast back to bed.” + Listen to the sound /p/ on its own. ‘+ Listen to the target sound /pf in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. ABET py full pull full cubs ‘cups cubs coffee copy coffee « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. park please price pple spring rape help, jump "Pat put purple paint in the pool” Spelling frequently notes: Tol | BUjob) Bis sometimes silent (comb). BB (rubber) int | P lopen) PH pronounced /{/ (phone). PP (opple) P is sometimes silent (psychology). English Pronunciation io Use3.2 33 a? 34 q Section A Letters and sounds Exercises First read this conversation to the end, and then write the letter 'b’ or 'p' in cach gap. Listen and check your answers. ‘Sw: Where are the Pears? _ears?!!! Did you say ears? : No, ..ears, you know, fruit! E: Oh, I see, ears with a P! They’re in the ack. ‘What, in the —ack of the truck? : No, in the ack, you know, with a Pt ‘Sw: Oh, I see, ack with a P! Would you like one? Jor: No, I'll have a —each, please. Sw: A beach?! Follow up: Pay the recording again, pausing it after each of Sid's lines. You say Joe's lines before listening to him saying them. ‘The word ape contains the two sounds /ev/ and /p/. If you reverse the sounds, you get the word pay /peul. Reverse the sounds in these words and write the new word. EXAMPLE tops Spot 1 peach 4 step 2 cab 5 keeps CC —— Listen. In one word it each group, the ‘b' or ‘p’ is not pronounced. Circle the word. Examete double Goubt) Dublin 1 lamb label ab 5 recipe repeat receipt crab robbed climb 6 possibly psychology special 3 cup cupboard copy 7 Cambridge combine combing, 4 photo potaro paper Listen and tick (¥) the sentence you hear, A or B. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice A B [ 1 | There's a bear in that tree. There's a pear in that tree. (=sound pair 28) 2.| He had the beach to himself He had the peach to himself, (sound pair 28) 3 | They burned it They/ve earned it. (sound pair 29) 4| Say" Save oil. (=sound pair 29) 5 | This isa nicer pear. This is @ nice affair {sound pair 30) 6 | Would you like a copy? Would you tke a coffee? (sound pair 30) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 3.4, choosing sentence A or B. Make a note of which you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which sentences you said? o> English Pronunciation in Use 15,Ata ED <* Ane Area Aish Age na AA Rice, rise The consonant sounds /s/ and /z/ When you say the alphabet, the letters C and § are pronounced /si:/ and /ev/. Notice they both have the consonant sound /¥/. But $ is also often pronounced as the consonant sound /7/. * Listen to the sounds /¥/ and //. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make these consonant sounds. Notice that in the sound /¥, there is no voice from the throat. It sounds like the noise of a snake. In the sound ///, there is voice from the throat, It sounds like the noise of a bee. + Now listen to the sound /Y on its own, + Listen to the target sound /s/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. eareet yy rise rice shave save shave thing sing thing « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. sad city science scream glasses conecrt lost "Ws six or seven years since bus place class Sydney's sister sang that song.” * Listen to the sound /2/ on its own. * Listen to the target sound /7/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. aateet Zz Sue 200 Sue place plays place \ breathe breeze breathe WAS beige bays beige + Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. 200 zero lazy casy scissors exact size wise times “Zebras in 2008 are like dolphins in pools.” Spelling frequently sometimes | notes 151] S (sad), $5 (class) | SC (science) [ X can spell /ks/ (min. C (place) S's not always pronounced /'/ (sugar, rise, plays). TA | Zlzerd), S(nose) | 22 (buza) — | X spelis fal (exact. SS (scissors) _| -SE at the end of a word is usually pronounced /1/ (rise, Pronunciation may be connected to grammar: use /il:V¥=nown use /ju: verb close /klous/ = adjective close /klouz/ = verb house /havv = noun —_ house /hau7/ = verb English Pronunciation in UseAt 42 TJ 43 an 44 a Section A Letters and sounds Exercises Find a way from Start to Finish. You may not pass a square if the word contains the sound /z/. You can move horizontally (+=) or vertically ($) only. sTagr Complete this conversation using words from a : the box. Then listen and check. SSS ea Pee Sin: Alice's niece. is nice, Jor: Are nice, Sid. Plural, Her —. Sw: I'm not talking about her »P'm talking about her 1 Jor: Oh, Ise, with a C. Z ‘Sw: That's right. She has nice —_____. Jor: How can —_ be nice? It’s too cold. Sw: are nice, Follow up: Play the recording again, pausing it after each of Sid's lines. You say Joe's lines before listening to hhim saying them. Listen to the sentences. Look at the words in italics. Underline the words in itafics which contain the sound s/ and circle the ones which contain the sound /z/. Then listen again and repeat. EXamete You can have my tent. It’s no use to me. I neverGsd)it. 1 I’m not going to advise you. You never take my advice, 2 Your tooth is loose. You'll lose ir if you're not careful, 3 The shop's very close to home, and it doesn’t close till late. 4 Ican't excuse people who drop litter. There’s no excuse for it. Listen and circle the word you hear, If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Price or prize? I got a good price / prize for that painting. (=sound pair 31) 2 He sat or he’s at? Idon't know where he sat /he's at. (sound pair 31) 3 Suit or shoot? They didn’t suit / shoot him. (sound pair 32) 4 Saved or shaved? I've saved / shaved 2 loc in the past few days. (sound pair 32) 5 Sink or think? We didn't sink / think. (sound pair 33) 6 Closed or clothed? They were closed / clothed for the cold weather. (sound ys 33) Engish Pronunciation in Use "73 Down town The consonant sounds /d/ and /t/ Listen to the sounds /i and /t/, Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make these consonant sounds. Notice that in the sound /d/ there is voice from the throat. In /t/, there is no voice from the throat. Instead, there is a small explosion of air out of the mouth when the tongue moves away from the ridge behind the reeth. pe (0% «Now listen to the sound /d/ on its own, ANS « Listen to the target sound /cV/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. water Ly town’ down town’ they day they page Paid page { wrote road wrote 9» Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. dog dead dream address advice sudden a third food mind “David's daughter didn't dance but David's dad di.” IGS) 0% ~ Listen to the sound A/ on its own, H (204 « Listen to the target sound /¢/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. | catBet fy die tie hard heart three tree each eat (G8) + Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. talk Thomas train twelve butter until hated night worked west “Betty bought a tub of butter” ((imoertant 7 for istening) BED Spelling frequently sometimes rarely motes | fal__| D (dog), DD (address) id__| V(tie) Tr (butter | (ED past tense ending | TH (Thomas) T can be silent (listen). 18 English Pronunciation in Use5.1 @ a wR ® 2 Exercises Complete these rhymes with words from the box. Then listen and check. The second time you listen to the rhymes pause after each line and repeat it. sid tote eae ae Listen to and repeat these pairs of words. Then put them into the sentences below and listen and repeat the sentences. build /built wide / white weighedweight heard / hurt down/town dry/try send /sent EXAMPLE, Last year, Tom ...atighed!__ more than Sam, but now they both have the same weight 1 Iewasn’t______ ima day; it takes ages to _______ a cathedral like that. 2 When you're out in the mountains, you have to __ _—.. it to the wrong address, so he had to ____.__ another copy. that noise. to go through that door the hill and into the Sa eT, Circle the word which does not have the sound /t/. You can use a dictionary. EXAMPLE asked (castle) letter first Jeight Thames whistle walked 4 ended wished left hoped 2 Thomas needed time liked S whiter greater soften written 3 listen winter eaten after Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Wider or whiter? Choose Dentocream for a wider | whiter smile! (=:sound pair 34) 2 Dry or try? You have to dry / try it out. (-2sound pair 34) 3 Breeding or breathing? These animals aren't breeding / breathing! (sound pair 35) 4 Thought or taught? She thought / taught for a long time. (sound pair 35) 5 Aid or age? For us, aid / age is not important, (=sound pair 36) 6 What or watch? What / Watch a game! (sound pair 36) Engish Pronunciation in Use 19Meet, met The vowel sounds /i:/ and /e/ A When you say the letters of the alphabet, E has the long vowel sound /i:/. You hear this sound in the word meet. But the letter E can also be pronounced as the short vowel sound /e/, as in the word met, | BRI © 8 - Liscen to the sound /i:/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound. 24 « Listen to the target sound fi:/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. 2% « Listen and repeat these examples of the targer sound. key keys keeps pea peas piece A scene seas sear “Steve keeps the cheese in the freezer.” (important — I for tstenma) PERE) © ~ Listen to the sound /e/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this stiort vowel sound. #235 « Listen to the target sound /e/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. I, xatBet fey wide |e wide, ‘mouth’ ABE « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. | tet deah red friend said many check shelf leg, “Its best to rest, said the vet to the pet* HEED Spelling ( frequently sometimes notes I fist | EE (feet), EA (eat) E (me) ‘Many ather vowel sounds are spelt EA, EE (scene) IE (piece) though fi:/is the most common. Jel | E(men) EA (death), IE (friend) | If E is followed by R, the vowel is not /e/, A (many), Al (said) but /5:(r)/ for example in serve. (See Unit 19), 20 English Pronunciation in Use6.2 63 Section A Letters and sounds Exercises Listen to the letters of the alphabet. If the letter has the sound /ix/, write ee under it. if it has the sound /e/, write ¢ under it. If the letter does not have /it/ or /e/, don't write anything. Change the vowel sound from /e/ to /iz/ in these words. Write the new words. EXAMPLE met meat té@edk y= GCawest 2 red 7 well 3 bet Sect a aes 4 men 9 fed —___ 5 tell 10 led Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound /it). You can move horizontally («») or vertically ($) only. siagr Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Men or man? Did you see the mer / man? (=sound pair 1) 2 Pen or pain? I've got a pen / pain in my hand. (->sound pair 4) 3 Bear or beer? That's a strong bear / beer. (=sound pair 8) 4 Live or leave? _I want to live / leave. (sound pair 10) $ Bed or bird? Did you see the bed / bird? (sound pair 12) 6 Left or lift? You should take the left / lift. (sound pair 13) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sent i not English Pronunciation in Use 2Carrot, cabbage Unstressed vowels /a/ and /1/ In words with two or more syllables, at least one syllable is weak (does not have stress). 4%) « Listen to these words which have two syllables, and the second syllable is weak. carrot. cabbage | In weak syllables, native speakers of English very often use the weak vowel sounds /af and /:/. + Listen again to the two words above: the © in carrot is pronounced /-/ and the A in cabbage is pronounced /l. | + Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make the sound /:¥. (2% « Listen to these examples and repeat them. The weak vowels in the unscressed syllables in bold are pronounced /2/, a. banana © woman sugar paper under weak O: police doctor correct telaxed tongue ——- weak U: support figure colour and ips “Late an apple and a banana in a cinema in Canada.” important J er tstening IS __ - Look ar the mouth diagram to see how to make the sound //. ‘39. « Listen co these examples and repeat them, The weak vowels in the unstressed syllables in black are pronounced /\/. weak A: orange cabbage dances wanted begin women music walking minute front of eae “Alex's lettuces tasted like cabbages." HED spalling Notice in the examples above that nearly any vowel spelling may be pronounced as a weak vowel. Note: Often, whole words are pronounced as weak syllables, with a weak vowel. For example: half an hour, noing to work, Jim was late. See Unit 33, 2 English Pronunciation in Use‘Section A Letters and sounds Exercises Listen to the poem. Circle the words which thyme. Listen. In each sentence or phrase there are two vowels which are not /aj. Circle them, EXAMPLE an@pple and a bangna 1 from Canada to China 2 The parrot was asleep. 3. The cinema was open. 4 the phorographer’s assistant 5 a question and an answer 6 a woman and her husband 7 a pasta salad Write the words in the correct part of the table. Then listen and check. vowel in weak syllable = /af vowel in weak syllable = /1/ woman orange Listen and circle the word you hear. 1 Woman or women? What rime did the woman / women arrive? 2 Dress or address? Where's Kate's dress / address? 3 Manager’s or manages? The team manager's ! manages well. 4 Teacher's or teaches? The German teacher's | teaches English. 5 Weight’s or waiter’s? The weight’s / waiter’s heavy. 6 Dancer's or dances? The woman dancer's | dances fast. 7 Officer's or office's? The officer’s/ office’s here, 8 Away or way? Take that away / way. 9 Driver or drive? What a nice driver / drive! 10 Racer's or races? The racer’s / races finished. Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in the two words. Make a note of which words your say. Then Teating bsboretd eel 1 Sea ee eT English Pronunciation in Use 23Few, view The consonant sounds /f/ and /v/ 405% « Listen to the two sounds /f/ and /v/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make these consonant sounds. Notice that in the sound //, there is no voice from the throat, and when you say this sound, you can feel the air on your hand when you pur it in front of your mouth. In /v/, there is voice from the throat. 358» Now listen to the sound /{/ on its own, 4358 « Listen to the target sound /I/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. cater iy Top teeth on bottom {push aie through gap) ‘854 + Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. “Frank found four frogs photo fly freeze Jaughing on the floon” selfish gift stuff laugh #96 Listen to the sound /\ on its own. 496 « Listen to the carget sound /v/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. aset /i ferry very ferry best vest best wet vet wet than van than 49% » Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. visa vote voice river wives layed wave twelve of “Vera drove to Venice in a van." MED spelling frequently sometimes notes, Ai | F (fel The vowel is shorter before /f] than /¥/, for example in FF (offer) leaf and leave. If you have difficulty making the PH (photo) difference, exaggerate the length of the vowel in leave. GH (iaugh) Wi | V never Flof, 24 English Pronunciation in Use8.1 8.2 A) ar 8.3 Section A Letters ond sounds Exercises How many /f} and /v/ sounds are there when you say these numbers? Write the number. Exampe 55 4. 1.52) 2745. 2 ace 41175 57,474 Complete this conversation using words from the box. Then listen and check. fan van wife's wives Jor: Your —.... left you? How many -.. did you have, Sid? ‘Sw: One wife. And naw she has left me. Jor: Oh, Isee, with an F not... with a V! ‘Sw: That's right! Yes, she took the .... and drove off. ‘Jor: What did she want the . _- for? Sw: Isaid ____., you know, a kind of vehicle. Jor: Oh, Ise: with a V, not —___.__. with an F! Follow up: Play the recording again, pausing after ezch of Sid's lines. You say Joe's lines before listening to him saying them. Find 12 words beginning or ending with /f/ or /vI. The words are written horizontally (—) or SO -Cxite AU Go oH Tf vertically ({). Note that the last letter is not always ROWS AVEF F or V, Use all the letters. Ap ottod. Feed Vik No Gee U Hea’ Vv" E E HE v6 0 UF OF FES AEFE Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Thief's or thieves’? These are the thief’s / thieves’ fingerprints. (sound pair 37) 2 Few or view? She's painted a few / view. (sound pair 37) 3 Copy or coffee? Do you want a copy / coffee? (sound pair 30) 4 Boat or vote? What are you going to do with your boat / vote? sound pair 29) 5 Worse or verse? I don’t know which is worse / verse, (sound pair 38) 6 Free or three? We got free / three tickets! (sound pair 39) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 8.4, choosing one of the two words. Make 2 note of which words you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said? English Pronunciation in Use 25Gate, Kate The consonant sounds /g/ and /k/ « Listen to the two sounds /o/ and /i/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make these sounds. Notice that in the sound /g/, there is voice from the throat. In /k/, there is no voice from the throat. When you say this sound, you can feel the air on your hand when you put it in front of your mouth. ‘back of tongue touches ] top of mouth (stop ai) move Back af tongue away + Now listen to the sound /y/ on its own. Sere 27 #99 « Listen to the target sound /o/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. eareet far Kate gate Kate back bag ‘back wood good wood | * Thisis the Scottish word for fake: é Teen | final consonant sound does jock a loch | pot exist in English. (9% « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. ghost guess green bigger ago angry dog gg ‘league “Grandia gave the guests eggs and frog's legs” 449% « Listen to the sound /k/ on its own. (94 + Listen to the target sound /k/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. cateet /ky ‘gap cap gap dogs docks dogs missed mixed missed water quarter__water 440 « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. keep club quick school. soccer /text “The king cooked the carrots milk comic ache ‘and the queen cut the cake.” Spelling ‘] frequently sometimes notes lat | 6 (ga) GH (ghost) G can be silent (sign, foreign). GG (bigger) GU (guest) The vowel sound is a bit longer before /y/ than before 1k] in pairs like bag and back aI beginning | middle end notes BL | C (can) €C (soccer) | K (milk) QY spells the sound /kw), eg. quick Jiwik/. K (king) CK (locker) | CK (block) | X spells the sound /ks/, e.g. (six) /stks/, C(comid | In some words beginning with K, the K is silent, CH (ache) __| 9. know, knife. 26 English Pronunciation in Use3.1 9.2 aa 9.4 as 7 Section A Letters and sounds Exercises ‘Add the sound // or /k/ to the beginning of these words and write the new words. Remember: think of sounds, not spelling. For example, if you add /k/ to the beginning of water /wozta/, you get quarter /kwo:ta/. The sound is similar but the spelling is completely different! Exampie eight —.gate.. Lup 5 old Qaim ____. 6 lime Fate ear 7 air 4 round Complete the second line to rhyme with the first line, using a word from the box. Then listen and repeat. rocks cake ache ecker key bigger queue kitchen six ask EXAMPLE He dressed for soccer, And closed his % 1 Kelly Collins couldn't figure, 4 Isaw a fox, How to make the plants grow Behind those 2 Id like five bricks, 5 Clara saw a friend she knew, No, make it Standing quietly in the. 3 Mr Quinn ate so much steak, He came home with a stomach — ‘Complete this conversation using words fram the box. Then listen and check. lock log Loch Sip: Hey, there’s the monster! Jor: That's just a... Sip: Yes, it’s _ Ness. Jor: No, not. /mean : you know, from a tree! Sw; Pve never seen a tree with a. Jor: No, not a. that you open with a key; a. with a Gt Follow up: Play the recording again, pausing it after each of Sid's lines. You say Joe's lines before listening to him saying them. Listen and circle the word you heat If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Ghost or coast? Did you see the ghost / coust? (sound pair 40) 2 Glasses or classes? I don’t need glasses / classes. sound pair 40) 3 Bag or back? My bag's / back’s wet. (sound pair 40) 4 Goat or coat? She's lost her goat / coat. (sound pair 40) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 9.4, choosing one of the two wards, Make 3 note of which words you say. Then listen to your Coe recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said? English Pronunciation in Use oryHear, we're, year The sounds /h/, /w/ and /j/ ‘The sounds flv, /w/ and /j/ only happen before a vowel sound. FY 448 « Listen to the sound /ly. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound. ‘4 «+ Listen to the target sound /iv in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. 4 « Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. | x2BEt Hy Examples “ OM) nair head who oY heart art| ahead perhaps behave Lane sag ence force horse force ; eee st back of mouth ' en eae sheet | “HHAY hada habit of helping hitchhikers: “weortant ~ for tiskening) HERBIE (6% ~ Listen to the sound /w/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound. * Listen to the target sound /\w/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. S88 + Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. ee velox is eva = Se Vest] Examples a "| wage = what one 7 S ea waite of air} janguage quick square SE | good would good "Wendy went away twice a week” (Pes, i Gwyn in Gwyn BIG 65 - Listen t0 the sound /i/. Look at the mouth diagram ro see how to make this sound. ‘468 + Listen to the target sound // in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. ‘A662 « Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. ¥ xateet fir be = yore] Examples pe jm Hoke | year used euro jaw your Jaw! few cure view fool fuel foo! move tongue 7 move We didn't use euros in Europe 3 to open gap bean (a ithe) pleasure player pleasure | few years ago.” HEED Spelling frequently rarely notes iw _| thin WH (who) _| His often silent (hour, honest). [77 |_W (will, WH (wher) Oone, once) | The letters QU usually spell Jew] (quite. | 1il__| ¥ (you), | (view, € (few), U (cute) 28 English Pronunciation in Use10.1 10.2 10.3 Section A Letters and sounds Exercises ‘Add one of these sounds to the start of these wards to make other words: /h, if, /w/. Think of sounds, not spelling! EXAMPLE air —-hait, where. 1 earth = 6 eyes ra 119i ear — Pall = ee a Zo 8 aid = eis rachis jot 4in Sd ile . Wee —___. Seight —— 10 art: = eS old In these groups of words, three of the words begin with the same consonant sound and one of the words begins with a different sound, Circle the one with the different sound. You can use a dictionary. Examrte (hour) half home high Junion used under university 4 year euro uniform untie 2water whale whole window Show honest healthy happy 3 when who where which 6 one write world waste Each sentence contains four or five examples of one of these sounds: /h, /w/, [j/- Write the phonemic letter under the sounds in the sentences, EXAMPLE A fusion of Cuban and European music. /j/ Jj J J d 1 Your uniform used to be yellow. /i/ 2. Haley's horse hurried ahead. /hy/ 3 This is a quiz with twenty quick questions. /w/ 4 We went to work at quarter to twelve. /w/ 5 New York University student's union. /j/ 6 The hen hid behind the hen house. /h/ 7 Which language would you like to work in? /w/ Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Artor heart? This is the art / heart of the country. (sound pair 41) 2 Hearing or earring? She's lost her hearing / earring. (sound pair 41) 3 West or vest? The west / vest is very warm, {sound pair 38) 4 Aware or of air? They weren't made aware / of air. (sound pair 38) 5 Use or juice? What's the use / juice? (2sound pair 42) 6 Heat or sheet? Ican’t sleep in this heat / sheet, (=sound pair 43) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 10.4 ‘one of the two words. Make a note of which wards you sy. Then listen to _ Your recording in about two weeks, (sit clear which words you said?Wine, win The vowel sounds /at/ and /1/ | When you say the letters of the alphabet, I has the long vowel Sound /ai/. You hear this sound in the word wine. Brut the letter Lis also pronounced as the short vowel sound /i/, as in the word win ‘A#84 © Listen to the sound /ai/, Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound. 478 © Listen to the target sound /ai/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. | | wide soy ‘mouth areet ayy 48> = Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. why wide wile buy buys bike = fly flight “Nile crocodiles have the widest smiles.” PIII °° - Listen to the sound /i/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how ro make this short rowel sound. 4% © Listen ro the target sound /:/ in the words below and compare it with the words on cach side. catBet Ay peak pick | | wheel will | set sit { feet fit A#% « Listen and repeat these examples of the rarget sound. kid kic pick fish fit “Tim bit a bit of Kitty's biscuit.” a frequently sometimes | notes Fail | \-€ (smite), 1€ (die) | IGH (high), | These spellings are not always pronounced /ai/ Yom UY (buy) | (fridge, city, friend). a 1 (win) Y (gym) ‘The sound /if is also a weak vowel (see Unit 7), and can ‘have various spellings in an unstressed syllable (needed, cities, village). If there is an R after the letter | (and the R does not have a vewel after it), | has a different pronunciation. (See Unit 19.) 30 English Pronunciation in UseSection A Letters ond sounds Exercises 11.1 Make words with these beginnings and endings and write them in the correct part of the table. beginnings: wi fi mi ni fi csi qui endings: ght fe t ce me me le de il sh ten words with the vowel /ai/ words with the vowel /i/ ike. wit 11.2 Read the dialogue. Circle the sound /ar/ and underline /1/. Count them and write the number at the end of the line. A: Wh) did Jim hie Bill? im’s a guy who likes a fight. But Bill's twice his size. B: Yeah, that’s why fim got a black eye and a thick lip. A: And Bill’s gor a big smile. B: That's right! In the recarding you will hear A's lines. You say B's lines. 30, Follow uy 11.3 The word knife contains the three sounds /n/, far} and /f/. If you reverse the sounds, you get the word fine [fain/. Reverse the sounds in these words. EXAMPLE sign alee 1 might wie 5 pitch 2lick 6 tick Gilip: uaerens 7 dive. 4 kiss ae 8 lights 11.4 _Listen-and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs 4st) for further practice. 1 Live or leave? I don’t want to live / leave here. (sound pair 10) 2 Fill or feel? Can you fill / feel it? (~sound pair 10) 3 Litter or letter? Who dropped the litter / letter? (sound pair 13) 4 Lift or left? You should take che lift / left. (sound pair 13) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 11.4, choosing one of the two words. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said? Now go to Unit 31 Engish Pronunciation in Use 3112 Sheep, jeep, cheap The consonant sounds /f/, /d3/ and /tf/ =e 495 6 Listen to the sound /(/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this consonant sound. 1 Notice that there is no voice from the throat, and you can feel the air on your hand when you | put it in front of your mouth. If you add voice from the throat, you get the sound /s/, as in television, but this sound is not common in English. | A52b « Listen to che target sound /{/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. A526 Then listen and repeat the examples. } orEet fy | sort short sort Examples | "| should shires bale shoot suit | fashion nation ocean cod of tongue ct i 7 a | ack tein tooth i catch cash catch | ish push English (eee, Bem - J, [choose SBE ‘choose | sharon shouldn't wash her shoes in the shower!” | =p 45% «Listen to che sounds fis/ and /t//. Look at the mouth diagram in C below to see how to make these consonant sounds. With /// there is no voice from the throat, with Ai3/ there is. Notice that you can make the sound /|/ into a continuous sound, but you cannot do this with /i{/ and /d/. 4535 «Now listen to the sound /i;/ on its own. | AS% « Listen to the target sound {3/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. ly S34 « Then listen and repeat the examples. sa0BEt Aly | cheap jeep cheap | Examples job general June tune Jone tune | danger agenda abject use juice use| edge age village | soy Ee G2 | Ginger spilt orange juice on George's jacket” (DD 65 « Listen to the sound // on its own. AS#h «Listen to the target sound /i/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. AS « Then listen and repeat the examples. areet ify 5 5 Examples | Jet pene ee chair cheese chicken share shatr share {kitchen furure question | trips chips trips rich which March Seats) gE whats “Which child put chalk on the teacher's chair?" HEED Spelling beginning middle end 1i1 | SH (shoe, S (sugap SH (fashion), 55 (Russia) SH (finish) | Ti (nation), € (ocean) 4d3/_| 3 Gow), G (general G (pagel, J (major GE (rage), DGE (ledge) Aji | CH (chair) CH (teacher) T (future) TCH (watch) 32 English Pronunciation in Use12.1 12.2 ss 12.3 Section A Lewers and sounds Exercises Write these nationality words in the correct column. Belgian. Welsh Dutch Russian Chinese German Japanese Polish French Chilean Turkish contains /d3/ contains /f/ contains /t{/ Belgian Complete this conversation using words from the box. Then listen and check. hing hips Sto: It's fish and - for lunch, Joe! Jeep cheap Jor 12 Lean’t eat ....-, they're too big! Sip: I said — , you knows fried potatoes! Jor: Oh, Tse, with a CH, not —_. Sip: That's right. You're a genius, Joc! Joe: Was the fish expensive, Sid? : No, it was —_____.. You bought a — , the opposite of expensive. with a CH, not _-... with a J! lines. with an SH. Oh, I see, Follow up: Play the recording again, pausing it after each of You say Joe's lines before listening to him saying them. If a word ends with a {ds/ or a /t{], and the next word begins with the same sound, you say the sound twice. If you say Dutch cheese with only one /tf/, it sounds like Dutch ease. The speaker made this mistake in these sentences. Write what they meant to say. EXAMPLE Does she tea Chinese in the school? __t#ach Chinese 1 Idon’t know which air to sit on. ___ 2 Everyone at the match ears when their team scores. 3 Inever what chat shows on the TV... 4 The actor on stay joked with the audience. ss 5 Foxes sometimes come to the farm and cat chickens. 6 Do you want to chain jackets before we go out? -—___ Follow up: You will hear both the incorrect and correct pairs of words from the exercise. Repeat, making the difference clear. Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Watch or wash? You'll have to watch / wash the baby. (-esound pair 44) 2 Riches or ridges? You'll find riches / ridges like you've never seen! (=sound pair 45) 3 Save or shave? He didn’t save / shave at all last year. (sound pair 32) 4 Use or juice? What's the use / juice? (sound pair 42) 5 What's or watch? What’s/ Watch the time! / ? (-sound pair 46) 6 Trees or cheese? I saw something in the trees / cheese! (=sound pair 47) English Pronunciation in Use 331) Flies, fries The consonant sounds /I/ and /r/ aay 45%. Listen to the sound /V/. Look at the mouth diagram to sce how to male this sound. Notice that you can make ic into a long continuous sound, and there is voice from the chroat. 4% « Listen to the target sound /V/ in the words below and compare ic with the words on each side. a sanget 17 fries flies fries rent ent rent correct collect correct. code cold code #S% « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. Keave litre life - slow caller help "Claras really clever but | fill” final whistle Lilly’ 3 litte silly” ASS Listen to the sound /i/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound. Notice that you can make it into a long continuous sound, and there is voice from the throat. But when __ you finish the sound, the jaw opens a litde and the tongue goes straight again. 45% «+ Listen to the target sound /i/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. | = sasasiie Ly late rate late play pray, play, \sesobsant ‘move jor chain train chain relaxed position down alittle jaw draw jaw AS% « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. Fight wrote thyme carrot sorry dress “The rabbits raced right faraway _warand pe ‘around the ring.” (morta for listening) A Niote: The sound i affects the vowel sound before it: see Units 14 and 19, EES Spelling frequently sometimes, notes M__| Llleg), LL eall) Lcan be silent (half, calm, talk, could). fel R (ran), RR (carrot) WR (wrong), RH (rhyme) 34 English Proounciotion in Use13.1 13.2 13.4 st) Section A Letters and sounds Exercises Add the sound /l/ oF. It} to the beginning of these words and write the new words. Remember: think of sounds, not spelling, For example, if you add /l/ to the beginning of ache fe1ki, you get lake etki. The sound is similar but the spelling is completely different. There may be more than one possiblity. Then say the pairs of words. EXAMPLE ache late. (or. 6 eye Te Beach __ Think of a computer which people speak into and it writes what they say. Here, the person speaking didn’t make the difference clear between R and L. The underlined words are wrong. Correct them. Follow up: listen to the correct text. Then read it out yourself, making sure that you pronounce the ‘corrected words clearly. Record yourself if you can. Circle the word in which the detters L or R are silent. (Imagine the accent is from South East England, sa the Ris silent if there is no vowel sound after it) Exampte cold (calm) collect film 1 court correct curry dairy 4 shoulder should sailor slow 2 follow fold folk file $ artist arrow arrive around 3 hurry hairy hungry hair Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Surprise or supplies? The surprise / supplies came later. (sound pair 50) 2 Collect or correct? T'll conect / collect it tomorrow. (sound pair 50) 3 Flight or fright? We had a great flight / fright. (->sound pair 50) 4 Trees or cheese? _I saw something in the zrees / cheese! (sound pair 47) 5 Jaw or drawer? She broke her lower jaw / drawer. (sound pair 47) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 13.4, choosing one ‘of the two words. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to CM ‘your recording in about two weeks. sit clear which words you said? English Pronunciation in Use 35ws Car, care The vowel sounds /ax(r)/ and /ea(r)/ In many accents in England, the letter R is not pronounced after a vowel. In other places, the R is pronounced, for example in most parts of North America. But in both cases, the lerter R. makes the vowel before it sound different. If the vowel is A, we usually get the vowel sounds in car la:! or care bead. + Listen to the sound /o:/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound. « Listen to the target sound /a:/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. + Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. os eatet Jay tongue fur far, four | Examples on calm card cart bore bar bear) star starve start Siac avn hurt heart hate | harm halve half inti: B much raareh. match | -ieethard to park a carin a dark-ear park” ZA note: Sometimes we get the sound [ai before L too. ES) 4688 « Listen to the sound /es/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound, As4® = Listen to the target sound /eo/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. Ae# » Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. aatBet len, bar bear beer | Examples square scjuares shy share sure] where where's dead dared died | fair fairly “Sarah and Mary share their pears faely* Spelling frequently sometimes fot | AR (con, EAR, (heart) AL (half) A (ask, path, ount): South East English accent Veal | ARE (care), AIR (fain EAR (bean, ERE (where) 36 English Pronunciation in Use14.1 14,2 14.3 Ae? 14.4 Section A Letters and sounds Exercises Make words with these beginnings and endings and write them in the correct part of the table. beginnings ba fa ra da sta squa ca ha cha endings =r ore Mf ir ord ort im words with the vawel /a:! words with the vowel /ea/ bar bare. Complete this conversation using the words in the box. Then listen and check. Sm: This is a grear life, with no worries or —£a"e8__ | Jor: Ir would be nice if we had _. though, Sid. Sw: I didn't say —..._., Isaid —___._! Joe: Oh, I see. Not —_...... as in traffic, bur — with an ES at the end! Sin: That's right. I've always loved sleeping under the ~ Jor: But why? There's hardly any space under the Sip: No, not ~ > ! You know, little lights in the sky. Jor: Oh, 1 thought you said ______., that people walk up! Follow up: Play the recording again, pausing the recording after each of Sid's lines. You say Joe's fines before listening to him saying them. Listen to these sentences. Is the accent from North America (they pronounce the R after the vowel] or South East England? Write Am or Eng. EXAMPLE He asked her to dance. 6g 1 We started in March. sd 5 It stops and starts. 2 Isa fastcan -—_. 6 A glass of beer, a 3 My heart's strong. 7 Was his hair dark or fair? 4 Where’s the bar? Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice, 1 Heart or hat? She put her hand on her heart / hat. (=sound pair 3) 2 Nowhere or no way? There's nowhere / no way to 90. (sound pair 5) 3 Fair or far? It isn't fair | far. (sound pair 6) 4 Part or port? This is the main part / port of Athens. (sound pair 7) 5 Rear or beer? That's a strong bear / beer. (sound pair 8) 6 Come or calm? She told me to come / calm down. (=sound pair 9) Reeser English Pronuneiation in Use 37i Some, sun, sung The consonant sounds /m/, /n/ and /p/ | ‘The consonant sounds /m/, /n/ and /n/ are made by stopping the flow of air out of the mouth so that it goes through the nose instead. The three sounds are different because the air is stopped by different parts of the mouth. You can feel this when you say the words some, stan, sumg. au A> 5 Listen to the sound /in/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound. AA Nite: Always close your ips for fmf, even atthe end of a word when the next word begins with [k/ oF Jal, for example: cream cake; warm giow. 6% « Listen to the target sound /m/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. APs « Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. estBet nye | [rice mice nice | Examples 55 te miss More make wnt thet, | | UT sorte sun! Smoke jump harmed 50 air goes swing swim swing | comb © autumn film ough Yhroashinos® | Tang ham hang ] “yum made me move my models" 7% 6 Listen to the sound /a/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound, 47) « Listen to the target sound /n/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. 7%. Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. | | [roe might] ow © Rew know snow dinner against ‘stop the gap with warm warm pe tongue and tooth pe open listen ridge, so air goes wing wing through nose “There was no one on the moon on the — = es ms ana | sinthofunes A718 Listen to the sound /n/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this sound. Note: Open your mouth but breathe through your nose. IF you do this you will find that the air is stopped at the back of the mouth. This is where you stop the air to make the sound /n/. Ab © Listen to the target sound /p/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. AIS » Thea listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. cat Bet /yy Examples a sing singer sink | stop the gap with | | some sung some | ong bank banks brekoftongue and | | i thi hi Ridges rpicemcmra | | Kim Cali fences tink ag po mmmennes |) | shi thing __thif.} -Young King Kong was stronger than strong” GRD —_(otes on spelling: There may be a silent B o N after /a (comb, autumn). There may be a silent K before /a/ (keife). fol changes to /a/ when the next sound after itis /k/ oF fof; the Nin thin is Joh, but the N in think is fo/ 38 English Pronunciation in UseSection A Letters and sounds Exercises 15.1 Read this conversation. It contains 19 examples of the sound /m/. How many examples of the sounds 7B [n//and [nf does it contain? Write your answers. Then listen and check. ‘What, is that the moment, the monument or the man you meant? I meta man near the monument this, morning. He was a singer and he sang a song for me. I'll always remember that magic moment. Like something out of a dream! 15.2 Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound /n/. You can mave horizontally (=+) or vertically (¢) only. 15.3 Complete this conversation using words from the box. aaa (473, Then listen and check. Sid: Hey, Joe, your coat is very worn. Jor: No, it isn’t + L always feel cold in this coat. Sim: No, not! T said -» with an N! Jor: Ob, _ with an N' Siw: Yes, the cloth is . Joe: What do you mean “the cloth is —___"? Sim: No, with an N at the end, not _____ with a G at the end! 15.4 Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs Ard) for further practice. 1 Robin or robbing? My friend likes Robin Banks / robbing banks. (sound pair 48) 2 Ran or rang? Tom ran / rang yesterday: (-»sound pair 48) 3 Swing or swim? She had a swing / swim in the garden. (sound pair 49) 4 Warned or warmed? The son warned / sun warmed me. (sound pair 49) 5 Singing or sinking? The people were singing / sinking fast. (sound pair 48) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 15.4, choosing one of the ‘wo words or expressions. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said? English Pronunciation in Use 39ee Note, not The vowel sounds /au/ and /p/ When you say the lerters of the alphabet, © has the long vowel sound /au/. You hear this sound in the word ztote. But the letter O is also pronounced as the short vowel sound /o/, as in the word ot. WY) 17% - Listen co the sound /ou/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel _ sound. 47% « Listen to the target sound /ov/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. A738 + Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. toe oes, wast “Rose knows Joe phones Sophie, but Sophie comb code coar and Joe don’t know Rose knows,” roll fose rope WED 08 - Listen to the sound /o¥. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this short vowel sound (74 « Listen to the target sound /o/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. Tips rounded ‘alitle) Ss Tips forward aw down 47% » Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. rob rock wro) gone God got = doll dog dock Soni ae te wareh WSS Maa the og? important for tié-tening) HS Spelling frequentiy ‘Sometimes | notes teal fe peeve If there is an R after the letter O (and the R does OE (tod) not have a vowel after it), O has a different Tusa Awan Protuneition. (See Unit 18) 40 English Pronunciation in Use16.1 16.3 ae) a? 16.4 Section A Letters and sounds Exercises Find 14 words in the puzzle (every letter is used once) and write them in the correct part of the table. The words are written horizontally (—+) or vertically (4)- words with [ool words with Jol cs ho p rw ead os ong ok lor Ss wos ¢ a do hank t bao nm or w od wt woa eek Sine Hiss See e TY ob Read the words and circle the one with the different vowel sound. Then listen and check. EXAMPLE soap hope sold Goup) 1 come gone long want 5 both cloth clothes road 2 what hor most salt 6 word wash boss cost 3 drove love woke hole 7 post lost coast rose 4 snow low cow show Listen. You will hear the sentences twice, once in American English (A), once in British English (8). Write the order A-B or B-A. Exampie The coffee’s hor. AB. 1 The lock’s ar the top. 2 The song's long. —__ 3 Stop the clock, ___ 4 The dog's gone. 5 He's often wrong. —_—__— Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Cost or coast? What's the cost / coast like? (=sound pair 14) 2 Shot or shut? They shot / shut the door. (=sound pair 15) 3 Boat or boot? There's water in my boat / boot. (sound pair 16) 4 Woke or walk? 1 woke / walk the dog. (sound pair 17) 5 Phoned or found? Tim phoned / found her. (sound pair 18) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 16.4, choosing one of the two words. Make a nate of which words you say. Then listen to Your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said? English Pronunciation in Use 4lArthur's mother The consonant sounds /0/ and /d/ 48% 6 Listen to the two sounds /8/ and /0/. Notice that in “0, there — 8} is no voice from the throat, Instead, you can feel the air from: your mouth on your hand. In the sound /aJ there is voice from the throat. It is possible to make both sounds long. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make these consonant sounds. tongue between top and bottom teeth (bush air through gap) | 8% © Now listen to the sound /0/ on its own. A505 » Listen to the target sound fv in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. arget “yy sick thick sick boat both boat free three free « Listen and repear these examples of the target sound. thank — think thought healthy birthday naths earth Jength fourth « Listen to the sound /0/ on its own. « Listen to the target sound /0/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. “Martha Smith's an author and an athlete” xoreet “ay breed breathe breed den then den van than van S18 « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. these though they other weather clothes “My father and mother li breathe with sunbathe together with my other broth ED Spelling always notes: Aa TH (three) Ina few names of places and people, TH is pronounced as /t/ (Thailand, Thomas). i TH (then) a2 Engish Pronunciation in Use17.1 17.3 Section A Letters and sounds Exercises Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound /0/. You can move horizontally (+) or vertically ($) only. sTagT y: Complete this rhyme using words from the box. Then listen and check ae earth Heather broker neither. == mothers. brothers emother together birth either Arthur had a brother They wanted was a .... is And he didn’t want ——. So Arthur’s mother And of the brothers, — Gor them both Wanted sisters 2 And told chem alll good - ‘The last thing on this _ Should learn to share their — Follow up: Listen ta the poem again. Pause the recording after each line and repeat Ft. Think of a computer which people speak into and it writes what they say. This computer wrote these sentences down wrongly. Correct the underlined mistakes. EXAMPLE It’s free o'clock. —..__ thre 1. A hat is more relaxing than a shower. 4 You need a sick coat in winter, 2 The train went true the tunnel, 5 Idon’t know; I haven't fought about 3 Don’t walk on the ice; it’s very fin. «6 Tes a matver of life and deaf. Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs for further practice. 1 Youth or use? ‘There's no youth / use talking about that. (sound pair 33) 2 Thought or taught? I don't know what she thought taught. (sound pair 35) 3 Free or three? Free / Three refills with each packet! (sound pair 39) 4 Closed or clothed? They weren’s fully closed / clothed. (sound pair 33) 5 Breeding or breathing? They've stopped breeding / breathing. (sound pair 35) 6 These are or visa? ‘These are/ Visa problems we can deal with later. (sound pair 39) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 17.4, choosing ane of the two words. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to ‘your recording in about two weeks. fs it clear which words you said? Engitsh Pronunciation in Use 43Sun, full, June The vowel sounds /a/, /u/ and /u:/ | ‘When you say the letters of the alphabet, U has the long vowel sound /u:/ (we say it with the consonant /j/ in front of it). You hear the /u:/ sound in the word June. But the letter U is also pronounced as the short vowel souads /s/ or /uf, as in the words sen and full. HERE 68 Listen to the sound //. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this shore vowel sound. Asie « Listen to the target sound /a/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. | 45% © Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. careet Jy Exataples fips andj shoot shut shirt | come ome cur inraed a ‘ae Maren } Young does must look luck lock | “My mother's brother's my uncle: my uncle's son’s my cousi (porta eae to the sound fay. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this short vowel sound. Sb © Listen to the target sound /u/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. ASS « Then listen and repeat the examples of the targer sound. aD Examples xarset fy full good for esr Tuck Took THe] ee jaw up (a tte: pool pull Paut | “That cok coud’ cook if hei tok 458 « Listen to the sound /u:/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound. ASS) «Listen to the target sound /u:/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. ASS 6 Then listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. ips rounded Examples shoe shoes shoot new — lose soup “Sue knew too few new tunes on the flute.” co, Tacit starmegmen nema RE) —_ Noes on spetting: If there is an R after the letter U (and the R does not have a vowel after it), U has a different pronunciation. (See Unit 19.) 44 English Pronunciation in UseSection A Letters and sounds Exercises Listen to this student. Do the underlined words have an /a/ oF /us/ sound? Write them in the correct part of the table. 1 studied English at 2 schoo) in London last ish ful summer. I was there for hwo nionths: May studied ‘School and June. England is famous for bad food and weather, but I thought the food was good. ‘The pub lunches were very nice. But it’s tue about the weather. Too much tain for me! Follow up: Listen again and repeat sentence by sentence. 18.2 Complete these sentences with words from the box. The vowel sound is given. Listen, check and repeat. brother wood moon juice won month June would full += beer, = Cup, pt. = son good EXAMPLE ‘Two things you can _...__. /o/ on a foot are a shoe and a —-boot.... furl. 1 The Ja after — Jarl is July. 2 My mother's other /a is my Jal. 3 Brazil Inf the World 4 Fruit Afi 5S There is a —.. fui! once a month. 6 You pronounce ......_ /uf exactly the same as bel. 18.3 Circle the word with the different vowel sound. You can use a dictionary if you are not sure. Exampte foot look (blood) push 4 pull full put rule 1 soon book boot room 5 group could would should 2 rude luck run bue 6 done move love son 3 shoes does true blue 7 south young couple won 18.4 Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs 89) for further practice. 1 Curoreat? There's a cut / cat on the arm of the sofa. (sound pair 2) 2 Come or calm? You should try to come { calm down. {sound pair 9} 3 Gun or gone? He’s taken his dog and gun / gone. (sound pair 15) 4 Shoes or shows? I've never seen her shoes / shows on TV. (sound pair 16) 5 Pool or pull? Ir said ‘pool’ / “pull” on the door. (sound pair 19) 6 Luck or look? It’s jusr her luck / look! (=sound pair 20) The hairdcesser’s shirt / shut. (sound pair 21) 2 He shot a gun / again. {sound pair 22} Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 18.4, choosing one of the two words. Make a note of which word you say. Then listen to, ‘your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear which words you said? TEES English Pronunciation in Use 45Shirt, short The vowel sounds /3:(r)/ and /s:(r)/ Tn many accents in England, the letter R is not pronounced after a vowel, In other places, the R is pronounced, for example in North America. But in both cases, the lerter ® changes the vowel sound before it. Ifthe vowel letter is E, I, © or U, we often get the vowel sounds in shirt or short. GBI 6 Listen to the sound /a:/. Look at the mouth diagram to sce how to make this long vowel sound. 49% « Listen to the targer sound lips, tongue and jaw in relaxed position in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. a8 fa: ‘short shirt where were born burn hard heard 490 «© Listen and repeat these examples of the target language. were w worst burn bird birth ber heard burt 18 « Listen to the sound “The girl heard the nurse work” Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound. 49% « Listen to the target sound /o:/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. ‘ips very 2 & soar watBt oy ‘shot short work walk far four boil ‘ball | 478 + Listen and repeat the examples of the target sound. bore bored bought call camse caught “Laura's daughter bought 2 war wall walk horse and called it Laura” “a q important " ED seating TPE/O/U+R other spellings /a:d_| IR (gir, ER (her), UR (hurd) OR (word), EAR (heara) Toil | OR (Form) A (calf, AR (war), AU (cause), AW (saw), | AL (walk), AUGH (taught), OUGH (thoughd), OUR (four) English Pronunciation in UseSection A Letters and sounds Exercises 19.1 Write these numbers out in full. Which of the two vowel sounds do they contain? Write /si/ or/ox/. 19.2. Find 14 words in the puzzle (every letter is used once) and write them in the correct part of the table, The words are written horizontally (—+) or vertically (j). words with /s1/ words with Ja: bird bob t © o ur se joa uhwswar soawrdtrre toawdadtliide Listen to these sentences. Is the accent from Britain or America? Write B or A. Exampte The girl's first birthday. A 1 It’s hard work, of course. —. 6 He was born on Thursday the thirry-first. 2 Are you sure? 7 She taught German. 3 Lawandorder 8 Llearned to surf in Brazil. 4 Twalk to work. 9 ‘Caught’ and ‘court’ sound the § Tsaw the bied fall, same in my accent, 19.4 Listen and circle the word you hear. If you find any of these difficult, go to Section D4 Sound pairs 9%) for further practice. 1 Four or far? Ie isn’t four / far. (sound pair 7) 2. Worst or west? Irs on the worst / west coast. (sound pair 12) 3 Walk or woke? I walk / woke the dog. (--sound pair 17) 4 Shut or shirt? The butcher's shut / shirt. (sound pair 21) 5 Port or pot? There's coffee in the port / pot. (sound pair 23) 6 Bird or beard? He has a black bird / beard. (sound pair 24) 7 Her or hair? Is that her / hair? (sound pair 25) & Worked or walked? We worked / walked all day. (sound pair 26) Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 18.4, choosing one of the two words. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to ‘your recording in about two weeks. ls it clear which words you said? Seer English Pronunciation in Use 4720 Toy, town The vowel sounds /o1/ and /au/ GID © - Listen to the sound /o1/, Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel _ sound. 49% « Listen to the target sound />i/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side. estBet hy buy boy bay pint point paint all oil, mw A°% © Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. voy noise voice boil coin choice employ enjoyed “Roy enjoys noisy toys.” GRIER) © % - Listen to the sound /av/. Look at the mouth diageam to see how ro make this long vowel sound, Ae} » Listen to the target sound /av/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side, 49 « Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. how houses house pow sound sourly “Mrs Brown counted cows | town ground count coming down the mountain.” (important fee tstening) ad — Spelling frequently notes foil_| O¥{boy, 1 (cain) Tau] [OW (cov), OU (loud) Various different vowel sounds are spelt OW’ or OU. 48 English Pronunciation in UseSection A Letters and sounds Exercises Put one of the letters y, i, u or win each gap to make a word. The word must contain the sound /o1/ or /au/. Write /o1/ or /au/ after each word. EXAMPLE to_n tow /au/. lbos — 2 nose 3 fond - 4 pont 7 hot Sho. — 8 flo_er 6bol — 9 enjo_ Listen to this text. Find words from it which have an />1/ or /au/ sound and write them in the correct part of the table. T enjoy living down town. Well, it’s very bail (4 words) fan] (6 words) noisy, of course. The traffic is loud, and the enjou young people often shout when they come out of the clubs. But there are lots of good points too. There’s a big choice of shops, and it’s easy to get around. Follow up: Listen again and repeat, sentence by sentence. Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word in it has the sound /av/. You can move horizontally (==) or vertically ($) only. START y— —- — + + hose some rou about moot ca I \ + £ ' ‘Soup oot brown mouse. bought South + 1 + - + could couple. grow tow would cloud ' t | + + know Snow touch ought down count + t + + + thought should ‘slow ‘blow pound young + 5 ‘soul coumtry though Fheow Ke ee ANISH Listen and circle the words you hear. 1 Tie or toy? He gor a tie / toy for his birthday. 2 Goodbye or Good boy? ‘Goodbye!’ / ‘Good boy? she said. 3 Phoned or found? She phoned / found a friend. 4 Tone of town? What an ugly tone / town! Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences in 20.4, choosing one of the two words. Make a note of which words you say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. is it clear which words you said?rs Eye, my, mine Introducing syllables We can divide a word into one or more syllables. For example mum has one syllable, mother has two syllables and grandmother has three syllables. A syllable is a group of one or more sounds. The essential part of a syllable is a vowel sound (V). Some syllables are just one vowel sound. For example, these words have one syllable, and the syllable is just one vowel sounds eye fav, owe /avl, syllable can have consonant sounds (C) before the V, after the V or before and after the V. Here are some more examples (they are all words of one syllable). cv ve eve 90/00) iF Li] ten fien/ my [marl egg fel nose Mnouzf know /naof ice fats! mouth {man weigh weil eight fen) knife fart) Note: There may be more than one C before or after the V. (See Units 24, 25) Remember that letters are not the same as sounds. For example, the consonant letters W and Y are not consonant sounds if they come after the vowel sound in the syllable eg. saiv, say. They are part of the vowel sound. In some accents, for example South East English, the same is true for the consonant letter R, Here are some more examples. They are words of one syllable and they all have the pattern CV. how shaw law fio? pay /ped why /wai) car /ka:s hair fheas Some people use the word syllable to talk about the parts of a written word. But in this book, the word syllable is used to talk about the pronunciation of words, not the writing. For example, in writing we can divide ‘chocolate’ into three parts like this: cho-co-late. But when we say the word, we pronounce only two syllables, like this: chocolate /t/0k-lat/. (The dot shows where the two syllables are divided.) A number of other words may be pronounced with fewer syllables than in writing, Listen to these examples. chocolate /tfok.lo/ different /dif-rant/ interesting /‘in.tros.tin/ general /dsen.ra/ comfortable /’kamf.to.bol secretary /'sek.r9.trif “The first syllable in these words has the same three sounds, bur in the opposite order: kitehen /'kit anf = chicken /' fuk. 1n/. Ifa sentence has similar-sounding syllables like this in it, it may be difficult to say. ‘These sentences are called ‘tongue-twisters’. Listen to this example. Richard checked the chicken in the kitchen. AX Wiote: You can find more about sylabes ip Units 24 to 27. English Pronunciation in Use20.1 21.2 21.3 214 3 _N Din Section B Syllables, words and sentences Exercises Write these words in the correct column. 1 syllable 2 syllables 3 syllables: ata Look at these one-syllable words, Write C where there is a consonant sound. There may be one before \V, after V or in both places. Exametes high €.¥ nee je We 1 bought 2 eyes Bikey 4 day The spelling changes if you change the order of sounds in these one-syllable words from CV to VC Write the missing words. cv vc EXAMPLE flor! = fo = all 1 idev = — Jerdl = aid 2 Ino = foonl = own, Jerp! = ape fit = Jem = deis/ = ace Read the text aloud. Record your voice if you can. Then listen to the recording. Did you say the same number of syllables in the underlined words as on the recording? Twent to an interesting restaurant on Weduesday. First had chicken with a lot of diffcrent vegetables. Then I had a piece of chocolate cake. In general, I don’t like chocolate, but the cake was fovely. Listen to these tonque-twisters. How many syllables are there in each? Write the number. Then listen again and repeat. EXAMPLE She sells sea shells on the sea shore. 1 Walter walked towards the waicer = 2 Betty bought a better bit of burer. = 3 The fat cat sat on the ver's wet hat. = English Pronunciavon in Use stry 52 Saturday September 13th Introducing word stress If a word has more than one syllable, you give stress to one of the syllables, To give it stress, do one or more of these to the syllable: * Make it longer. SS =m tourday « Make it louder 5 Sat < urday + Make ie higher. ‘We can show stress with circles: each circle is a syllable and the bigger circle shows which syllable has the stress. For example, Saturday is Ooo. Listen to the conversation and listett to the stress patterns of the words in bold type. A: When do you begin your holiday? °° Ooo B: On the thirtieth of August. Ooo Oo A: That’s next Saturday! Ooo B: We've leaving in the afternoon, 000 ‘As And when are you coming back? Bs Saturday September the thirteenth, °00 00 A: Thirtieth? Doo B: No thirteenth! 00 Different words have different stress patterns (patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables). Listen to these two- and three-syllable words. 00 April, thir), morning, Sunday oOo. September, comorrow, eleventh 00 midday, thirteen, today, thirteenth 000 afternoon, seventeen, twenty-one 000 « thirticth, yesterday, holiday, seventy Note: The stress pattern of numbers with -tcen is sometimes different when the word is in a sentence. For example, the normal stress pattern of nineteen is 00, but when it is followed by a noun, e.g. the nineteen nineties, nineteen people, the patter is Oo. Note: January and February may be pronounced with the stress patterns O00 or Oooo. Stress patterns can help you hear the difference between similar words, for example, numbers ending in -teen or -ty. Listen to these examples. 00 Oo thirteen thirty fourteen forty eighteen ighty nineteen ninety ZX Note: You ean find more about word stress in Units 28 to 31. English Pronunciation ia Use22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Be Section B Syllables, words and sentences Exercises Write the full words in the correct column, according to their stress pattern. Mon Tues Thu Sar today tomorrow Apr Jul Aug Sepr Oct Nov holiday 2nd dr 13 30 [3th 30th 17 70 afternoon 00 Ooo 000 000 00 Monae Write one word from 22.1 in each sentence below. The word miust fave the stress pattern shown, Then say the sentences. 1 I'm going to have a party on —- (O00). 2 My grandfather is (Goo) years old. 3 Toften sleep for an hour in the —-—- (000). 4 My birthday is on the (000) of March. 5 In Europe, the weather is warm in... (00). 6 Heft school when I was —— -—.. (000). 7 Goodnight. See you {000}. 8 How long is your summer - (Ovo)? Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a square only if the word has the stress pattern Ooo. You can move horizontally (+) or vertically ($) only. svar cighticth twentieth \ thivtiath Beptember —+— Fuenty-one — +houSand yesterday October November" sietiewHe seventy eleventh eee second Forties thickeen Seventeen a ae holiday Fomerron | aSternoon ninetiot Saturdag NSH Listen and circle the number you hear, 1 100 dollars! It only cost 17 / 70 last year! 4 She was born in 1916 / 1960. 2 He was the 14th / 40th President of my country. § He was 13 / 30 on his last birthday. 3 The maximum number of people is 15 / 50. 6 She'll be 18 / 80 in March. Engish Pronunciation in Use 5323 Remember, he told her 54 Introducing sentence stress (P) Individual words have a stress pattern, that is a pattern of strong and weak syllables. Sentences also have a stress partern, and this is serttence stress. Sometimes a word and a sentence have the same stress pattern. Listen to these examples. O00 000 000 word sentence word sentence word sentence photograph Answer me! _| September Excuse me | aftemoon Do you smoke?) Canada Doesn't he? | tomorrow Ithink so. | Japanese One of these? cabbages Copy it! remember He told her. | Portuguese He's arrived. (810) Short sentences and phrases in English have some typical stress patterns. Listen to the examples. QoO — What's the time? Yes, of course! Thanks a lot! Qo00o See you later! Pleased to meet you! Can't you hear me? 0000 A piece of cake. The shop was closed. It’s time to go. O000 What do you do? Where do you live? Give me a call. 00060 — Are you coming? Do you like it? Is he happy? A Note: For more examples, see Section DS: Sentence stress phrasebook. There is normally a space between stressed syllables in a sentence. Unstressed syllables can be put in that space. The space stays more or less the same length whether one or more unstressed syllables are pushed into it. So for example, these three sentences take abour the same length of time to say. Listen. i) 000 Don't tell Mike. O00000 Go and speak to Mary. Oo0Q00000 Hurry and give it to Jonathan. Stress patterns can help you hear the difference between similar sentences. For example, verbs with the negative ending -n't are always stressed. This helps us to hear the difference between can and can’t in the following two sentences, because the two sentences have different stress patterns. 000 He can talk. 000 He can't talk. ZA Nate: You can find more about sentence stress in Units 32 to 40. English Pronunciation in Use23.1 2 ve 23.2 a? 23.3 ea) e 23.4 Exercises Section B Syllables, words and sentences Listen and underline the sentence which does not have the same stress pattern as the word at the beginning of the line. EXAMOLE Ooo cinema ‘Wasn't it? 1000 tomato Close the door. 2 v0 afternoon Does he drive? 3 000 December It’s open. Hasn't she? Don't you? He told me. Tike ie. Were you cold? ‘Whar happened? They arrived. They listened. Write these sentences in the correct catumn. Then fisten, check and repeat. Bh ‘Come and look. Close the window. ‘Whar do you want? ‘The water's cold, Give me a call. ‘What did she say? Phone and tell me. Nice to see you. ‘Where's the car? Irs cold and wet, ‘What's the time? 000 2000 ‘900 0000 The. bus was late. Combine phrases from the boxes A, B and C to make three sentences or phrases with these patterns: 000 00000 Oo0G00000. Then listen, check and repeat. EXAMPLE A B c Half a bottle of beer 900. One glass of orange juice O00000 = Saar. Give mea cold water QocQoeOoo Give me a bottle of orange. juice... poe A B Doesn't Jennifer listen 000 = Can't you make} Pete talk to you | GoOoOo — Can't Oscar drive Qo00000000 —4 weal a Listen and tick the sentence you hear, A or B. A B 1} | can swim. J can't swim. 2 | Are you coming? Aren't you coming? 3 | We were tired. We weren't tired, 4.| She can help you. ‘She can't help you. S| Can you see? Can't you see? 6 | They were talking. They weren't talking. Ceres) English Pronunciation in Use 55ye 8 a Oh, no snow! Consonants at the start of syllables Some one-syllable words are just a single vowel sound (V), for example ob and eye. If we add ‘one of more consonant sounds (C) to the beginnings of these words, they are still only one syllable. Look at these examples. a v wv cv on oof [no fnouf | snow = oh = foot [tow flavf ‘| slow o eye feat fie flaif fly air leaf where Jweaf —} swear or bot faw fai} When there are two Cs at the start of a syllable: if the first C is //, the second C can be any of these: //, /k/, Mh, Jul, Jpl, If, fh, fi ifthe first Cis any sound other than /s/, the second C can only be one of these: /l/, ih Avh ile ‘When there are three Cs at the start of a syllable: «# the first Cis always //. You may find some of these syllables with more than one C at the beginning difficult to say. Listen to these examples. dst+ Cz spell stairs sleep small snack swim C+ Mil, w/ or lif; blue fly. dress ground. quick swim yiew tune ‘f+CC:” spring strange square scream ‘When there are two or more Cs at the beginning of a syllable, many learners add a V before the first C or between the Cs. Be carefull * I you add a V before the frst C, you may get a different word, For example, if you add a vowel before sleep, it may become asleep. * If you add a V berween the Cs, you may get a different word. For example, if you add a vowel between // and /p/ in sport, it becomes support. Listen to the difference. + extra syllable sleep asleep, dress address street a street sport support That ski That's a key. That smile. That's a mile. What snake? What's an ache? English Pronunciation in Use Engst Pronunciation in Use