In English, some words are spoken more strongly and are easier to hear, and some words are spoken quickly, or weakly, and can be hard to hear clearly. This combination of weak words and strong words in a sentence, makes a kind of rhythm which is called sentence stress.
Here is a sentence to demonstrate: We have to put all the bags in the car now.
Now, I will say that same sentence without sentence stress (as best I can): We have to put all the bags in the car now. It doesn’t sound natural that way, even though I said all of the vowels and consonants correctly.
Normally, that sentence would have 3 strong words: “put”, “bags”, and “car”. Those words are clear and easy to hear. The other words are spoken quickly, and may be reduced, so that they can be said more easily. This is why “have to” sounds like “hafta”: We have to put all the bags in the car now.
This combination of weak and strong words, gives English a special kind of rhythm. Linguists call this “stress-timing.” Sometimes the strong words can form a series of beats that you can clap with: We have to put all the bags in the car now.
The basic rule of sentence stress, is that the strong words should be the ones that are the most important for the meaning of the conversation. Therefore, nouns and verbs are the primary strong words, and the foundation of sentence stress.
Tongue tension is important for pronouncing English short vowels well. All of the short vowels in American English need a relaxed tongue. In fact, some books and dictionaries call these vowels “lax vowels”.
THE SECRET KEY for lax vowels
Most students of English do not seem to know about tongue tension. Many of my students have said that they were never told about relaxing the tongue. That’s why I call it the secret key.
THE CRITICAL FACTOR for some
For two vowels, Short-e and Short-i, tongue tension is critical. Failing to relax your tongue for these two vowels can make them sound more like a different vowel, which can cause misunderstandings.
Short-e can get confused with Long-A (see Sell or Sale?)
Short-i can get confused with Long-E (see This or These?)
Pronouncing the other Short vowels
Short-a-1 “man” “hat”
For this vowel, the tongue is low in the front of the mouth. The mouth needs to be open enough so that the tongue can go low enough, and with a relaxed tongue.
Short-a-2 “car” “ball”
Short-o-1 “hot” “stop”
These two vowels share the same sound. For this sound, the tongue is in the center, neither front nor back, and the tongue is low, so the mouth needs to be open. Think of saying “ah” for the doctor. The tongue is relaxed and the lips are not rounded. (this is compared to Short-u in Boss or bus?)
Short-o-2 “month” “son”
Short-u “fun” “duck”
These two vowels also share the same sound. For this sound, the tongue is completely relaxed in the middle of the mouth: neither front nor back, not high, not low, and the lips are not rounded. (this is the same as Schwa)
Short-oo “book” “good”
This vowel is pronounced in the same place in the mouth as the Long-U, as in “nuke”, but with a relaxed tongue, as in “nook”. This is the only Short vowel with rounded lips. (see Short-oo?)
If you begin to relax your tongue for these vowels, you can improve the clarity of your pronunciation. Note: If relaxing your tongue seems difficult, think about relaxing it all the way back to the throat — the tongue muscle extends into the throat.
Short-oo is a vowel that is a little bit unusual. Now, you may be thinking, “But that’s not a letter in the English alphabet!”, and of course, you’re right. But Long-OO and Short-oo is a pair of vowel sounds that follow some of the spelling and pronunciation patterns of the other Long and Short vowels of English.
How to pronounce Short-oo
Just like all of the Short vowels of English, a key factor to pronounce it well is to relax your tongue. Start by saying the Long-OO (Long-U-2) sound: “OO”. Then, hold your tongue up in the same place, but relax it completely: “OO” > “oo”.
Also, your lips should stay rounded — Short-oo is the only Short vowel with rounded lips.
Be sure to relax your whole tongue, all the way to the back, because there are some words with Short-oo that could be confused if you don’t relax your tongue. Here are a few examples:
Short-oo — Long-OO
could — cooed
hood — who’d
look — Luke
pull — pool
stood — stewed
would — wooed
Common Words with Short-oo
This vowel sound is a little bit unusual in some ways, but it is used almost as much as any other English vowel sound, because there are several frequently used words that have it. Here are some of them: could, should, would, put, push, sugar, book, look, cookie, hook, took, good, wood, stood, foot.
One fun way to practice the Short-oo sound is with the tongue twister “How Much Wood“.
Consonant sounds at the ends of English words are difficult for many students, but it is definitely important to pronounce them well. This is explained in Ends of Words.
If you have difficulty pronouncing word-final consonants in English, here is a special trick that can make it easier: link the end of the word to the beginning of the next word.
Let’s use the sentence “He saved up his money”, for an example.
In the phrase “saved up”, pronouncing the “-ed” can be tricky, and skipping this “-ed” is a fairly common mistake for students. But in normal conversation, the [d] at the end of “saved” links to the beginning of the word “up”, and it actually sounds like: “save-dup”.
This kind of linking is a normal part of English pronunciation, so it is a trick that makes you sound more natural, and moving the [d] sound to the beginning of the next word makes it easier to pronounce.
Linking can also help to avoid the problem of added vowel sounds. In “saved up” the [e] is silent, but some students have trouble saying the [v] next to the [d] without sticking a vowel sound in the middle. But that could cause a problem, because if the [e] is not silent, then it will end up sounding like “save it up” instead.
Even though linking can make pronunciation easier, it can sometimes make listening harder. Some students have asked me “Why do we have to say the last letter, if native speakers don’t?” They mistakenly think that native speakers skip the last letter, because they don’t hear it at the end of the word, since it is delayed until the beginning of the next word.
Linking a consonant to a vowel
When the second word starts with a vowel, it is easier to hear the linked consonant:
talked about: “talk-dabout”
hard enough: “har-denough”
stops it: “stop-sit”
turned off: “turn-doff”
Linking a consonant to a consonant
When the second word starts with a consonant, the ending of the first word is harder to hear, so it may seem like it is missing. However, if it is actually removed, then it would sound different. For example, in the phrase “keep speaking”, you might think that the [p] is missing, but if I acutally take it away, then it would sound like I am saying “key speaking”!
Here are a few more examples:
“might buy” (not “my by”)
“teen center” (not “tee center”)
“seat cover” (not “sea cover”)
“home plate” (not “hoe plate”)
Listen for linking when you hear native English speakers. And give it try yourself. It can help you speak more clearly.
Six thick thistle sticks.
Six thick thistle sticks.
Six thick thistle sticks.
This tongue-twister is good for practicing 2 things:
1. Short-i. In all of these words, the [i] uses the Short-i sound. The key to Short-i is to relax your tongue so that it doesn’t sound like Long-E (see This or These ).
2. “TH”. Be careful –“TH” should not sound like the “S”! (see TH Part 1 & TH Part 2 )
A homograph is a word that has two different pronunciations, and the different pronunciations have different meanings. The words in Homographs Part 1 have a change in vowel sound, and Homographs Part 2 deals with words that have a change in a consonant sound. However, the words here have a change in word stress.
One important thing to know is that changes in word stress often cause changes in vowel sounds, so in some of these words you may notice a vowel sound change, but that change goes with the shift in stress. The primary way that vowels change with word stress is by becoming weaker and reducing to Schwa when they are in a syllable that is not stressed. Here is an example:
OBject (noun – a thing):
–the first syllable is stressed, so the [o] is in the strong syllable and has a Short-o sound
obJECT (verb – to voice disagreement):
–the second syllable is stressed, so the [o] is in the weak syllable and sounds like Schwa
(The capitalized letters show the stressed syllable, but this is not normal spelling).
Word-stress homograph examples
ADdress (noun – the location of a building)
adDRESS (verb – to write down an address OR to speak to a group of people)
COMpound (noun – something made of two or more parts)
comPOUND (verb – to combine or add)
CONtest (noun – a game or event of competition)
conTEST (verb – to challenge or dispute)
CONtract (noun – a written agreement)
conTRACT (verb – to make smaller in size)
DEcrease (noun – the total reduction in the amount of something)
deCREASE (verb – to become smaller in amount)
DIgest (noun – a compilation of information)
diGEST (verb – to break down food in the stomach)
ENtrance (noun – a place of access such as a door or gate)
enTRANCE (verb – to completely captivate someone’s attention)
EXtract (noun – something taken from a larger work or substance)
exTRACT (verb – to remove or pull out)
INcline (noun – a slope or hill)
inCLINE (verb – to lean, tip, or tilt something)
INcrease (noun – the amount that something has grown)
inCREASE (verb – to become greater or larger)
OFfense (noun – the players on a sports team that attack or advance)
ofFENSE (noun – an illegal act)
PERfect (adjective – something that is as good as it can possibly be)
perFECT (verb – to improve or make something as good as possible)
PREsent (noun – a gift)
preSENT (verb – to show or give something formally)
PROduce (noun – food that has been grown, such as vegetables)
proDUCE (verb – to make or create something)
PROject (noun – a large or extended task or piece of work)
proJECT (verb – to estimate, forecast or predict)
PROtest (noun – an group of people organized to display objection to something)
proTEST (verb – to express an objection)
REcord (noun – a written account of information)
reCORD (verb – to keep or store information for future use)
REfund (noun – the amount of money returned to someone)
reFUND (verb – the action of giving money back to someone)
REject (noun – an item that is defective or inadequate)
reJECT (verb – to refuse to accept something)
SUBject (noun – the topic of a conversation or a book)
subJECT (verb – to cause or force something to undergo a process)
TRANSport (noun – a system for moving objects or items)
transPORT (verb – to carry or move goods from one place to another)
UPset (noun – an unexpected defeat of a champion sports team)
upSET (adjective – to be disturbed or extremely unhappy)
This is not a complete list — there are many other words like this. Also, these definitions are not complete — they are just to help show how the meaning can change when the stress changes. Many of these words actually have several definitions.
Perhaps you noticed that these words start with a prefix, such as, “re-” “com-” or “in-“, for example. Most of the homographs that follow this alternating word stress pattern do start with a prefix.
So now that you know about these homographs, you can keep your eyes open for words with prefixes, and keep your ears open for changes in word stress, and that will help you be less confused with words that are pronounced in more than one way.
Homographs are words that have two different pronunciations, and different meanings. The word pairs in Homographs Part 1 differ primarily in the vowel sounds. In this list, there is a change in a consonant sound rather than a vowel, and difference in the meaning is very slight.
There are not many words in this group, but it is good to know about them because there is a small change in grammar that goes with the small change in sound. In these pairs, the letter “S” alternates in voicing and switches between /s/ and /z/.
Homographs
use — (verb, [s] sounds like /z/)
“He would like to use your phone for a minute.” use — (noun, [s] sounds like /s/)
“I have no use for another vacuum, I already have three.”
close — (verb, [s] sounds like /z/)
“Please close the door quietly.” close — (adjective, [s] sounds like /s/)
“Her house is close to mine.”
excuse — (verb, [s] sounds like /z/)
“Could you please excuse me for a moment?” excuse — (noun, [s] sounds like /s/)
“I don’t want to hear another excuse for not finishing your work!”
abuse — (verb, [s] sounds like /z/)
“They were afraid that he would try to abuse the employees.” abuse — (noun, [s] sounds like /s/)
“Drug abuse is often seen as a social problem.”
house — (verb, [s] sounds like /z/)
“This apartment can house up to 6 people.” house — (noun, [s] sounds like /s/)
“Their house is very old.”
Similar Words
In this next pair, the vowel spelling looks different but the vowel sound is the SAME! lose — (verb, [s] sounds like /z/)
“I don’t want to lose any more time waiting here.” loose — (adjective, [s] sounds like /s/)
“Don’t sit on that chair! One of the legs is loose.”
In this pair, the change in the consonant sound is visible in the spelling. advise — (verb, [s] sounds like /z/)
“Could you advise us about which car is best?” advice — (noun, [c] sounds like /s/)
“We need some advice about which car to buy.”
Even though these words follow the same pattern of pronunciation, they are not considered to be homographs because of the change in spelling.
When you see the letter “S” how do you know if you should pronounce it with an S-sound or a Z-sound? Knowing how to pronounce “S” can be tricky. The bad news is that there are no clear-cut rules, so you really need to learn to use your ear.
Pronouncing the sounds of S and Z
Some students have trouble hearing the difference and pronouncing the two sounds correctly. Both “S” and “Z” are made in the same place in the mouth, but the factor that distinguishes them is: voicing. For “S” the voice is off, so there is only the sound of air coming from the mouth: /s/. For “Z” there is also the sound of air, but the voice is on, so the vocal cords need to be making sound: /z/.
Pronouncing words spelled with S
Now, even if you have no trouble hearing and saying these two sounds, the spelling can leave you totally confused. English spelling does not always indicate which sound you should use.
Frequent Words
The first step is to make sure that you are pronouncing the everyday words correctly. Here are the words from the 1,000 most frequently used words of English in which the [s] is pronounced as /z/. You should definitely make sure that you are saying these words right:
What can make it seem even more confusing, is that there are sometimes differences in American and British English spellings, such as: realize/realise. These small variations in spelling do not confuse native speakers of English because they already know how the words should sound. You just need to be aware that even though the spelling looks different, the pronunciation is the same, so don’t let it confuse you.
Pronouncing Words with [-s] endings
The S and Z-sounds are also important in words that end with [-s]. The good news is, there is a clear pattern for this. The sound of an “S” at the end of a word needs to match the voicing of the sound just before it. Here are some examples to illustrate:
take — the last sound in this word /k/ is voiceless. So when an “S” is added, it matches the voicing of the “K” and is pronounced as /s/: takes
live — the last sound in this word /v/ is voiced. So when an “S” is added, it follows the voicing of the “V” and is pronounced as /z/: lives
pass — the last sound in this word is already /s/, so when “S” is added, a small vowel sound is used to separate them. And since all vowel sounds are voiced, the [-s] ending is pronounced as /z/: passes.
So remember, keep your ears open and listen carefully so that you are not confused about pronouncing “S” and “Z”.
Voicing is an important factor for pronouncing consonants correctly. There are some consonants that are spoken with the voice off (voiceless) and others that need to have the voice on (voiced).
Let’s compare T and D. These two sounds are almost the same, because they are both made in the same place in the mouth, and with the same part of the tongue. The only factor that makes them different is the voicing.
T is voiceless — that means it is pronounced with the voice turned off; the vocal cords do not vibrate or make any sound: “t”, “bat”, “time”.
D is voiced — that means is it pronounced with the voice turned on; the vocal cords vibrate and the sound of the voice is heard: “d”, “bad”, “dime”.
The voiced and voiceless consonants of English
In this list, the consonants in each pair are pronounced in the same place in the mouth, and differ only in the voicing. For each of these pairs the first is voiceless and the second is voiced.
Besides being able to pronounce these consonant sounds correctly, another reason why it is important to know about voicing, is to be able to pronounce the word endings [-s] and [-ed] correctly.
So pay attention to your voice!
Homographs are words with two different pronunciations, and different meanings. This particular list of homographs has some words that could cause some confusion if you aren’t aware of them.
Listen carefully to how these words are pronounced.
bass – a kind of fish
bass – the low notes in music (a homonym of “base”)
bow – to bend over
bow – loops made with ribbon or the stick part of a violin
buffet – to hit or strike
buffet – a meal with many dishes self-served
does – 3rd person singular of “to do”
does – female deer (plural) (a homonym of “doze”)
dove – a kind of bird
dove – past tense of the verb “to dive”
desert – to abandon (a homonym of “dessert”)
desert – a dry area of land
invalid – not valid
invalid – a person who is disabled
live – the verb meaning to be alive
live – the adjective meaning not dead
lead – to show the way
lead – a kind of metal (Pb) (a homonym of “led”)
minute – 60 seconds
minute – very small
mow – to cut grass
mow – a stack of hay
polish – to make clean and shiny
Polish – from Poland
resume – to start again
resume – a summary of experience
read – to understand written words
read – the past tense of “to read” (a homonym of “red”)
sewer – drain pipes for waste water
sewer – a person who sews
slough – to shed old tissue
slough – a swampy area of land
sow – to plant seeds
sow – a female pig
tear – to rip
tear – water produced by the eyes
wind – air movement
wind – to turn or twist something
wound – past tense of wind
wound – an injury
Pay attention to the vowel sounds in these words so that you can say the right pronunciation for the right meaning!
PronunciationCoach 