ENGLISH MONOPHTHONGS (SINGLE VOWEL SOUNDS)

I. English Vowels Examples – IPA Short Single Vowels

Vowel Phonetic Symbol   &    IPA Examples in Words
/ɪ/   – fit /fiːt/, pick /piːk/, difficult /ˈdɪ.fɪ.kəlt/
/e/  –  pet /pet/, sent /sent/, attention /əˈten.ʃən/
/æ/ – pat /pæt/, flat /flæt/, family /ˈfæ.mə.li/
/ʌ/   – cut /kʌt/ jump /dʒʌmp/, cover /ˈkʌ.vər/
/ʊ/   – put /pʊt/, book /bʊk/, cushion /ˈkʊ.ʃən/
/ɒ/   – pot /pɒt/, dog /dɒg/, hospital /ˈhɒs.pɪ.təl/
/ə/   – about /əˈbaʊt/, system /ˈsɪs.təm/, complete /kəmˈpliːt/. 

II. English Vowel Examples – IPA Long Single Vowels

Vowel Phonetic Symbol   &    IPA Examples in Words

/i:/     week /wi:k/, feet /fi:t/, media /ˈmiː.di.jə/
/ɑ:/    hard /ha:/, park /pa:k/, article /ɑː.tɪ.kəl/
/ɔ:/    fork /fɔ:k/, walk /wɔ:k/, August /ɔːˈɡʌst/
/ɜ:/   heard /hɜ:d/, word /wɜ:d/, surface /ˈsɜː.fɪs/
/u:/   boot /bu:t/, group /gru:p/,  beautiful /ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl/

III. Monophthongs in words

Sound
Letters Examples Notes
s
been [i];
e, ee be, eve, see, meet, sleep,
bread, deaf [e];
[i:] ea meal, read, leave, sea, team,
great, break [ei];
ie, ei field, believe, receive
friend [e]
i it, kiss, tip, pick, dinner, machine, ski,
[i]
y system, busy, pity, sunny liter, pizza [i:]
e let, tell, press, send, end, meter [i:]
[e]
ea bread, dead, weather, leather sea, mean [i:]
cat, apple, land, travel, mad;
[æ] a AmE: last, class, dance, castle,  
half
army, car, party, garden, park,
war, warm [o:]
ar father, calm, palm, drama;
[a:]  
a BrE: last, class, dance, castle,
 
half
[o] o not, rock, model, bottle, copy  
[o:] or more, order, cord, port, work, word [ər]
 o long, gone, cost, coffee,
 
aw, au law, saw, pause, because,
 
ought bought, thought, caught,
 
al, wa- hall, always, water, war, want
use, duty, music, cute, huge,
u
tune,
ew
[ju:] few, dew, mew, new,  
eu
euphemism, feud, neutral,
ue, ui
hue, cue, due, sue, suit
u rude, Lucy, June,
o, oo do, move, room, tool,  
ew crew, chew, flew, jewel,  
[u:]
ue, ui blue, true, fruit, juice, guide, quite [ai];
ou group, through, route; build [i]
  AmE: duty, new, sue, student
oo look, book, foot, good,
[u] u put, push, pull, full, sugar,  
ou would, could, should
u, o gun, cut, son, money, love,
neutral Also:
ou tough, enough, rough,
sound stressed, [ʌ];
a, e about, brutal, taken, violent,
[ə] unstressed, [ə].
o, i memory, reason, family
serve, herb, burn, hurt, girl,
er, ur, ir
sir,  
[3:] or, ar
work, word, doctor, dollar, heart, hearth [a:]
ear
heard, earn, earnest, earth

IV. Monophthongs in sentences

1. I went to the sea, to see what I could see, and all I could see was sea, sea, sea.
2. Six kittens sit knitting mittens.
3. You should look at good books, cook-books and crooked books.
4. Two cows mooed due to the view through the flue.
5. The teacher went away, oh again, again, again, the teacher went away.
6. The pat cat sat on that mat with a hat. The cat went splat that straw hat.
7. The mutt cut pine nuts, peanuts and walnuts.
8. The star car sparred far.
9. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
10. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
11. Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.