Basic Pronounciation

Pronunciation is very difficult to correct if you have been speaking English for a long time. As you know, practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent. That means if you practice incorrectly, it will become permanent. You need to correct this problem before moving forward because having bad pronunciation is one of the most difficult aspects of speaking to someone who does not speak English well. 

Pronouncing B and P

The letters P and B are similar.

Instruction: Have your lips pressed together and then slightly push air out of your mouth forcing your lips apart.

These two letters do not require any nasal sound.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Ex:

Border
Baseball
Abnormal

"The baseball player got hurt when he went to bat"
"The border patrol was given the best officer award"
"The Abnormal tissue was being carefully examined"

Painting
Appeal
Lapse

"The painting that was stolen was a precious art piece"
"The pesty lawyer went to appeal his case"
"The lapse of time caused him to bite his lip" |

Pronouncing D and T

Instruction: Have the tip of your tongue pressed against the top of your mouth right behind the front tooth. Then slighly push air separating your tongue and upper mouth.

Everytime the letters D and T are spoken, the tip of your tongue should touch the upper part of your mouth.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Dentist
Ladder
Blood

"The dentist did a great job on the filling"
"He was a little nervous climbing down the ladder"
"The blood on his shirt indicated that he got a cut somewhere"

Terrible
Computer
Fast

"He felt terrible after eating the soup"
"His computer stopped working after he installed the service pack"
"The fleet footed runner couldn't be caught" |

Pronouncing G and K

This lesson will cover the hard sound for letter G. For the soft sound of letter G, please refer to the CH and J lesson.

Instruction: The rear portion of your tongue should move up towards the rear part of the mouth, slightly touching it when the sound is made. 

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Goose
Together
Tug

"The big goose flew off with my golf ball"
"The guests won't mind if we pay together"
"The constant tug of the little girl finally woke up the father"

Kelly
Making
Potluck

"My friend Kelly said she will come by soon"
"I was making the ingredients for breakfast"
"I didn't need to bake anything for the potluck" |

Pronouncing CH and J

Instruction: Just like the letters D and T, have the tip of your tongue pressed against the top of your mouth right behind the front tooth. At the same time, press your side cheeks inward so both cheeks are firmly pressing against your side teeth. Then slightly blow out.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Cherry
Catcher
Batch

"The little cherries were very delicious"
"The catcher gave the wrong signal to the pitcher"
"The batch of cookies were perfect"

Jam
Bridging
Ridge

"What is the difference between a jam and a jelly spread"
"Bridging the gap between the two rivals was very difficult"
"You can see the house just beyond the ridge" |

Pronouncing H

Instruction: The whole mouth is open. This sound is made by using the vocal chord in the throat. The difference between a h sound and an "ah" or an "eh" sound is that it is more hollow in the mouth when the air passes.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what it should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Home
Doghouse
Helium

"After the long day, he went home to sleep"
"The little puppy didn't like the big doghouse"
"The helium balloons filled the room for the birthday girl" |

Pronouncing F and V

Instruction: Press the top front teeth against the bottom lip and release as you blow air out.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Fiction
Inflicted
Laugh

"Even though the story was a fiction, the children were afraid"
"The damage the car inflicted was too severe to fix"
"His laugh was so loud, the whole floor was shaking"

Vase
Curveball
Believe

"This vase is over a hundred years old and is very important to the country"
"The batter had a hard time hitting the curveball"
"Whether you believe it or not, I was victorious" |

Pronouncing S and Z

Instruction: Slightly press the middle portion or your tongue to the top of your mouth. More pressure should be on the side of the tongue than the center as you press the top portion of your mouth. Then blow air outward through the small opening. Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound. Salad Massive House "He bought some lettuce to make salad for dinner" "The massive tornado only left a few number of houses standing" "The small green house was on a large piece of land" Zebra Resume Rose "The zebra was too quick for the lion" "The game will resume after a brief intermission" "The cozy house had a beautiful rose bush in the backyard" |

Pronouncing M,N and NG

Instruction: These three sounds are mostly made with the nasal pathway. For M, press the lips together and make a sound blowing air out of the nose. For N, press the tongue on top of the upper portion of the mouth and blow air out of the nose. And for NG, press the very rear portion of the tongue and upper mouth together and blow air out of the nose. These three sounds are made the same way using the air you breath out of the nose. The only difference is the lip and mouth position. If you plug your nose and try to make this sound, it will not be correct. Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound. Mary Amount Drum "Mary was very moody after the mid-term exam" "The amount of sugar she used for the muffins was perfect" "Stop beating the drum at 1 in the morning" Nice Nancy Pedestrian "They could not be any nicer." "Nancy was not herself that morning" "The pedestrian helped the old lady cross the street" Bring Dancing "Tell the young maid to bring the mop" "The couple were dancing all night long" |

Pronouncing L

Instruction: Slightly press the tip of your tongue on the top portion of your mouth. The position of the mouth is similar to the D and T sound, but is much softer.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Little
Reflect
All

"The little cat was chasing the mouse below the deck"
"He often came to this quiet place to reflect on his performance"
"All the people were laughing at his jokes" |

Pronouncing R

The letter R is difficult for many English learners. I will try to provide a good explanation with many examples to help students practice pronouncing the letter R.

Instruction: To successfully make the R sound, curl the tongue upward without touching the top portion of the mouth. You should also curl the sides of the tongue upward so it is very close to the upper molars. In this position, make a roaring sound like a lion forcing air out of the nose and mouth at the same time. If you are confused about how you should position the tongue, try to make the shape of a bowl with your tongue. The sides should touch the top, but the tip of the tongue should not touch the top part of the mouth.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Racing
Road
Growl
Carry
Very
Faster

"He got a speeding ticket for racing"
"The road home is usually long and lonely"
"The dog was growling at the cat"
"She hurt her leg so he had to carry her home"
"You did a very good job"
"If the zebra doesn't run any faster, the lion will catch up" |

Pronouncing W

Pronunciation for the W sound is not too difficult. This sound is very close to vowel sounds.

Instruction: Make the lips narrow and close to each other without the lips touching. Also make the inside of the mouth closer together. Then move the lips and mouth further apart as you make this sound.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

When
Work
Away

"When will you do your homework"
"Who is going to drive you to work"
"How far away do you live" |

Pronouncing Y

The Y sound is easy to pronounce. Just like the letter W, it is also very close to a vowel sound.

Instruction: Elevate the middle portion of your tongue without touching the roof of the mouth. Basically, you are making the shape of your tongue into a small rainbow shape. As you make the sound, move the tongue away from the roof of the mouth.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Yellow
Canyon

"You need to get yellow onions"
"The Grand Canyon is a magnificent place" |

Pronouncing TH

Instruction: To create the TH sound, place the tongue on the bottom of the upper tooth. Your tongue should almost be sticking out. Then blow air between the tongue and the top teeth.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

There
Toothpaste
Bath

"There is a bike in front of that store"
"Brush your teeth with a toothpaste that has fluoride"
"My son played in the mud puddle, so I am going to give him a bath" |

Pronouncing SH

Instruction: To create the SH sound you should make your mouth in a small position. Bring the top and bottom teeth close together without having them touch. Also, curve the tongue so the middle portion of the tongue is elevated slightly.

Here are some words and sentences to help you hear what they should sound like. Click on any word or sentence to hear the correct sound.

Shape
Hashbrown
Hush

"The shape of that shoe was very unique"
"Hashbrowns are my favorite breakfast item"
"Hush! The show is about to start" |

Pronouncing A

There are multiple sounds using the letter A. The difference is where the sound is created within the mouth. There are sharp sounds, regular sounds, and hollow sounds. In order to pronounce the various sounds of A correctly, we should look at the differences and practice them separately. First, the sound of A that comes from the front of the mouth are the opposite of hollow sounds so I will call them sharp sounds (although the A sound is not really sharp). Here are some words that come from the front of the mouth. Bat Base Ate Great Fake "The batter at bat was known to be a good slugger" "He was running the bases so slow that he was thrown out at second" "The little boy ate the whole pizza" "He was a great man" "It was hard to tell which one was real and which one was fake" "A" Sounds that come from the center of the mouth are a little different. Pay close attention to the different sounds from the audio files and copy after what you hear. Zebra Farmer Barn Water "The constant kicking of the zebra made the tiger give up the attack" "The farmer was tired from harvesting crops all day long" "The barn was filled with animals" "Clean water is not available in all countries" Finally, the "A" sound that is hollow and deep comes from the rear of the mouth. You should put focus on creating the sound in the back of the mouth. Clock Fall Mall Raw "The clock wasn't moving because the batteries were dead" "Fall is a busy shopping period for the Christmas season so the malls are usually packed" "Raw fish is very popular in Japan" Review: Hear the difference between using the front, middle, and rear part of the mouth. Ah (front) Ah (middle) Ah (Rear) Pronouncing E There are three common sounds using the letter E. The ee sound is used with the front part of the mouth, the eh sound is used with the middle portion of the mouth, and the er sound is used with the rear portion of the mouth. Here are some words that come from the front of the mouth using the sound ee. Meat Week Beat "I like my meat fully cooked" "What day of the week is it" "If you beat me tonight, I'll buy you dinner" An example of sounds coming from the middle portion of the mouth is seen through eh. Bet Bread Fed "I will bet you that I will not lose tonight" "We need to go to the grocery store to buy some bread" "I am so fed up with him" For sounds that come from the back part of the mouth, we can look at the sound er. Earth Purr After "The earth moves at a constant speed" "The purr of the cat was all anyone could hear" "I will go home after dinner" Like most vowels, the sound of E varies according to which consonant is next to it. The R sound uses the middle to back portion of the mouth so combining the letter E with R makes it so you use the back portion of the mouth. |

Pronouncing I

There are two sounds using the letter I. The short of way saying "I" is very similar to the ee sound such as pin and win. The long sound is like the letter "I" that is actually considered a multi-vowel sound with A and I together such as pie and fry.

Let's first take a look at the short "I" sound.

Swim
Primrose
Trim
Fish

"Do you know how to swim"
"How to grow primroses in your garden"
"You need to trim off the fat"
"The fin was small in comparison to the size of the fish"

The long "I" sound is a combination of "A" and "I" together. The sound starts with ah and ends with ee as in "I"

Aisle
Try
Comply

"Who is going to walk you down the aisle"
"Don't try so hard or you'll burn out before finishing"
"You should comply with all the rules and regulations" |

Pronouncing O

There are multiple sounds using the letter O. In most cases, you make this sound with the rear portion of the mouth. You start with your mouth in an open state. Your tongue should also be away from the top part of the mouth. Then you make the sound by bringing in the lips in a circular manner and the tongue moving upward and towards the front of the mouth ending right in the middle.

If you combine the "oh" and "oo" sound, you have the sound of the letter "O". Along with these sounds, it is common to use "O" with other vowels such as "OU" as in Hour. We will see examples for all these types below.

Let's first take a look at the "oh" sound.

Boat
Older
Mold

"He bought a nice big boat"
"My parents object to my girlfriend because she is much older than I am"
"The mold in the walls is a major cause for concern

Here are some examples of the "oo" sound.

True
Blue
Flu

"The examination was in the standard true and false question format"
"My favorite color is blue"
"I got the flu this year because I didn't take the flu shot"

Two variations of the "O" sound is when it is combined with a different vowel. Let's take a look at them both.

The first one is when you combine "O" and "U". It starts with the "ah" sound and ends with the "oo" sound.

Hour
Sour
Coward
South

"How many hours are you going to study for?"
"The lemon was too sour"
"He was such a coward"
"Ducks fly south for the winter"

The second variation of "O" is when you combine the letters "o" and "i" together.

Oil
Boy
Troy

"The tanker spilled oil that ultimately spoiled the water"
"The little boy wanted to be a cowboy"
"The story of Troy is quite interesting" |

Pronouncing U

There are multiple sounds using the letter U. The sound of "U" is usually created using the the center portion of your mouth.
Many of the sounds created from the standard "U" sound is captured in many different sounds such as "oo" and the "Y" lesson, but the short form of "U" as in fun and run will be covered here.

Umbrella
Fun
Crumb

"It's going to rain in the afternoon, so don't forget to bring your umbrella"
"It's so much more fun when the sun is out"
"My poor little dog eats the crumbs that fall off the table" |