Vowels and consonants

a e i o u are vowels

the rest of the alphabet letters are consonants.

However there is exception of letter y

This can act as a consonant and a vowel

Vowel

is air sound that is made when air Flows out of the mouth without being blocked by any
part of the mouth or throat.

Consonant

Is a sound that is mad when air is partially blocked by part of the mouth or throat.Every

every word in English has at least one vowel.

Let's have look at some examples.

Hat

H is a consonant

A is a vowel

T is a consonant

Bed

The letter B is a consonant

the letter E is a vowel

The letter D is a consonant

Pig

The letter P is a consonant

the letter I is a vowel

the letter G is a consonant.

Hot
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The letter H is a consonant

the letter O is a vowel

The letter T is at consonant

Sun

The letter S is a consonant

the letter U is a vowel

the letter N is a consonant

Road

The letter R is a consonant

thE letter O is a vowel

the letter A is a vowel

the letter D is a consonant

Now let's see how the letter Y can act as a vowel and a consonant.

Let's start with vowel .for example the word sky . Hear the letter Y Makes an ai sound .
the letter Y is a Vowel.Therefore in this example the letter Y is consider to be a Vowel. Is
important to remember that the letter Y is a vowel when there arr no vowels in the
word.So as we can see here the letter S is a consonant. That letter K is a consonant, the
letter Y is a vowel.There are no other Vowel s in the word.

another example is try. again the Letter Y makes a Ai sound therefore is consider to be
a vowel. T is a consonant, R is a consonant.

angry here the letter Y makes an i sound .the letter i is a vowel,Therefore in this
example the letter Y is consider to be a Vowel.

The letter Y is considere to be a consonant When it comes at the beginning of the

word,and makes the ‫ ﯾﯽ‬sound .For example yellow ,you, yelp.

Each vowel has the short and long sound.

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Vowel A------>>> the short sound is a , like : apple, cat.

----->>>the long sound is like : cake, bake.

Vowel E ------>>> the short sound is e , like : jet, net.

----->>>the long sound is iii like : feet, leaf.

Vowel I ------>>> the short sound is a , like : fish ȉ , pig Ƞ

----->>>the long sound is , like : kite, ice-cream ŗ

Vowel O ----->>> the short sound is a , like : clock  , dog Ǿ

----->>>the long sound is like : rope, boat.

Vowel U ------>>> the short sound is a , like : sun đ , jump

----->>>the long sound is like : cute, unicorn

the two rules you can follow wich will make reading words easier ,the first is when you
have one vowel in the word, here the vowel sounds like it's short sound. for
example :jam the vowel is a ,it makes a short sound , bed Ї  , had.

If there are two vowels in a word ,the first vowel sounds like its alphabet name and the
second vowel is silent.For example bake ,here there are two vowels A&E.The letter A
makes its alphabet name which is a long sound ei and the letter e is silent.

bake, same, coat again here we have two vowels however I only pronounced the first
vowel sound

Quiz!

Is the letter Y a consonant or a vowel?

a. consonant

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b. vowel

c. consonant and vowel

answer c

How many vowels are there in the world ‘nursery’.

a. 2

b. 3

c. 4

answer is b

How many consonants are there in the word ‘skate’.

a. 2

b. 3

c. 4

answer is

American English pronunciation

long vowels

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the i sound.

The i sound is another long vowel sound. The i sound is a voiced sound. this means you
will use your vocal cords to produce the sound. when saying the sound correctly you
should feel your throat vibrating.

Now let's learn how to make this sound properly. correct positioning plays a massive
role in making the correct sound.this vowel sound is a high, front vowel.

that means your tongue will be placed near the roof off your mouth high. and also, it
will be pushed to the front, right behind your bottom teeth. the back of your tongue is
going to touch the hard palate in the roof of your mouth.

the sides of your tongue is going to touch your upper side teeth, whil the tip of your
tongue stays relaxed. remember, because your ja is slightly closed this is not allowing a
lot of air to travel through your vocal tract and this is what is helping produce the iː
sound.

the vowel i is also an unrounded vowel that means when making this sound your lips do
not form a round circle, your mouth is slightly open, your lips and teeth will never touch.
the jaw, however, is going to be slightly closed. the mouth will widen to the sides like a
smile. try this positioning now.

many time you see i is followed by a colon-like symbol (ː). it indicates that this sound is a
long vowel. in minimal pair, such as i and I ,the difference in length is important to
distinguish one sound from the other.

there are many words you may already known has the sound iː. here are some examples:

heel /hiːl/

Queen /kwiːn/

Need /niːd/

Peek /piːk/

screen /skriːn/

keen /kiːn/

green /griːn/

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feel /fiːl/

weel /wiːl/

sweet /swiːt/

fleet /fliːt/

free /friː/

greed /griːd/

keep /kiːp/

screen /skriːn/

need /niːd/

queen /kw iːn/

bleed /bl iːd/

cheek /tʃiːk/

sheep /ʃ iːp/

beef /biːf/

now it's time for some short practices:

real /riːəl/

mean /miːn/

meal /miːl/

meat /m iːt/

lean /liːn/

heat /hiːt/

bean /biːn/

beam / biːm/

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grief /gr iːf/

belief /bɪˈliːf/

weakness /wiːknəs/

I have great belief in you you.

I prefer fish to beef.

how do you feel?

man, the beef was really sweet!

the cliff was really steep.

I need you to buy me some meat.

feel free to steal the tree.

the queen is washing the sheet.

the sheep is bleeding.

would you like some green bean?

I saw them danced cheek to cheek last night.

look, your cheeks are red.

the wheels are made of steel.

she usually keeps her promises.

the queen needs me to buy her a sheep.

that beast has caused us so much grief.

keep the house clean, boy!

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short vowels in a standard American English

The short vowels in American English are /æ, e, ɪ, ə,ʌ,ɑ,ʊ/

short a /æ/

the sound a /æ/ :Is the a short sound In words like hat, cat or apple. Is one of the most
open mouth sounds.

The bottom jaw goes down,

make sure your mouth is open ,

the tip of your tongue rest behind your bottom teeth and the body of your tongue will
curve upward to make a slide. ‫ﺷﺒﻴﻪ ﺳﺮ ﺳﺮﻩ‬

.‫ﻟﺐ ﻫﺎ ﺑﺎﯾﺪ ﺩﺭ ﺣﺎﻟﺖ ﺧﻨﺪﻩ ﺑﺎﺷﻪ‬

there are some very simple short words (cvc words consonant vowel consonant lists of
word)

b, bad, half, bag, back, cap, gas, bat, have, acts, jazz

To practice the æ sound read these sentences:

has Adam added his bad apples to the basket? can dad have that sad hat, or is that a
bad habit?

the short e /e/

the e sound ‫ﺍﯼ ﺑﺰﺭﮒ ﺩﺍﯾﺮﻩ ﺍﯼ ﯾﮑﯽ ﺩﯾﮕﻪ ﺍﺯ ﻧﻤﺎﺩﺍﻩ‬

is the short e sound in words like eggџ or bed Ї   or forever.The shape of the mouth is
Similar to the æ sound But this time you don't have to smile so your mouth is longer.the
tip of the tongue will be behind your bottom teeth , it will be arched up into a slide. ‫ﺷﺒﻴﻪ‬

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‫ ﺳﺮﺳﺮﻩ‬And you should be able to feel the side of your bottom teeth because your tongue
will spill out a little bit more ,do not worry too much about the tongue position for this
one,it might just frustrate you focus on your mouth . the jaw goes down but no as much.
the muscle of he jaw is relaxed.

there are some very simple short words (cvc words consonant vowel consonant lists of
words)

web, bed, left, leg, neck, bell, gem, men, yep, yes, net, rev hex, death, fetch, mesh,.

to practice this sound read these sentences :Get to bed Ed. let your neck and head rest
in your nest. never ever forget : bed is the best.

ɪ is the short i sound in the words like: big ,if .

The tongue will be in a similar position as æ and e .the tongue will be arched making a
slide with the tip of the tongue Behind the bottom teeth unlike the /æand e/ sounds ,with
the ɪ do not need to open the mouth and do not even really need to move your teeth
from where they normally rest.It also helps to focus on your nose , scruch up your nose
Like you smell something stinky.Practice this sound by reading these sentences .

his hips shiver and give him big , itchy lips. but is it wiched?

ɑː is the short o sound in the words like: offer or boss.

When you make this sound your tongue will not arch up .with this sound your tongue will
rest low in the back of your mouth , the mouth will open ito the shape of an o and you
will feel a little bit of tightness in your jaw.

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Let's Learn how to produce the ɑ sound.‫ﺁ‬

‫ﺁ‬

The ɑ sound is a voiced sound. is a long sound. This means you will use your vocal
cords to produce the sound and when saying the sound correctly you should feel your
throat vibrating.This sound is also the same sound a doctor or a dentist may ask you to
make When you are in for check-up and when they need to look inside of your mouth.

Now you are going to learn the correct positioning.

To begin practicing the ɑː sound

You are going to drop your jaw

And open your mouth wide

In a long O shape

The bottom side of your tongue is going to lie deep within your bottom jaw. so that the
front side of your tongue lies even with your bottom teeth. the sides of your tongue may
touch or rub against your bottom side teeth so put your tongue down and back.

there are many times you see this sound (ɑ) is follow byː. the ːsymbol is the lenght mark.
it means this one is a long vowel sound. you can see this symbol follows other vowels
too.

are you ready to do some practices

box /bɑːks/

fox /fɑːks/

dollar /dɑːlər/

clock /klɑːk/

odd /ɑːd/

follow /fɑːloʊ/

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possible /pɑːsəbl/

probably /prɑːbəbli/

problem /prɑːbləm/

stop /stɑːp/

father /fɑːðər/

market /mɑːrkɪt/

large /lɑːrdʒ/

park / pɑːrk/

department /dɪˈpɑːrtmənt/

argue /ɑːrgjuː/

cargo /ˈkɑːrgoʊ/

far /fɑːr/

charge /tʃɑːrdʒ/

palm /pɑːm/

shark /ʃɑːrk/

calm down ,please !

Person in charge.

Is it possible?

The dog is barking .

do no harm.

Large market.

It’s very dark.

She followed us too far .

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Stop making problems!

When did you start?

The farm is very far from here.

Do not argue with me

Calm down! I'm not doing any harm.

There is a park near the supermarket.

I think we should stop following him.

I had a party with a movie star.

We work in the same department.

He always argues with his father.

John has very long arms.

There is a shark in the box.

The fox is following the shark to the market.

You are probably right

Read these sentences to practice:

Bob thought of hot pot and sobbed. Bob bought hot pot and offered some to his dog. it
was not a shock.

ʌ Is the short u sound in words like : under or but or butterfly Ѽ .

To make this sound your tongue will be low and toward the back of your mouthjust like
with the ɑ sound But it won't be quite as far back .the mouth will also be slightly Less
rounded than an ɑ . ɑ is a circle but the ʌ sound is not as open ,there is not as much
roundness. It does not need to use your jaw as much ..

.‫ﺷﺒﻴﻪ ﺻﺪﺍﯼ ﺁ ﻫﺴﺖ ﻭﻟﯽ ﻓﮏ ﺣﺮﮐﺖ ﭼﻨﺎﻧﯽ ﻧﺪﺍﺭﻩ ﻭ ﺻﺪﺍﯼ ﺗﻨﺒﻠﯽ ﻫﺴﺖ‬ ‫ﺽ‬
‫ﻣﺜﻞ ﻭﻗﺘﯽ ﮐﻪ ﮐﺴﯽ ﺑﺎ ﺍﻧﮕﺸﺖ ﺑﻪ ﺷﮑﻢ ﺷﻤﺎ‬
.‫ﺭﺑﻪ ﻣﻴﺰﻧﻪ‬

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‫ﯾﺎ ﻣﺜﻼ ﺟﻮﺍﺏ ﺳﻮﺍﻟﯽ ﺭﻭ ﻧﻤﻴﺪﻭﻧﻴﺪ ﻭ ﻣﻴﺨﻮﺍﯾﻴﺪ ﻭﻗﺖ ﺑﺨﺮﯾﺪ ﻣﻴﮕﻴﺪ ﺍﺍﺍﺍ‬

.Practice this sound by reading these sentences

What does uncle Gus want? Just to have fun under the one, wonderful sun, son. but
what fun ? but what fun?

the ʊ sound is the short double o (oo) sound.You will see it in words like: good, look
however it can also be spelled with u in words like push or putand it can be spelled with
an oul in awards like in words like could, should, would.

To make this sound your tongue will be low and in the back of your mouth And your lips
should looks up

and pursing sides of the lips and pushing them out . like a monster spitting an egg.

‫ﻣﺜﻞ ﻫﻴﻮﻻﯾﯽ ﮐﻪ ﺗﺨﻢ ﻣﺮﻍ ﺗﻒ ﻣﯽ ﮐﻦ‬

the corners of your lips will come inward a little bit . it is a caveman sound . it is a
stereotypical sound that a caveman made by grunting with this nois ‫ﺍﻭﻩ ﺍﻭﻩ ﺍﻭﻩ‬

Practice this sound by reading these sentences

should a good book look good ? would you read it if you could, or put it down near the
woman's foot?

ə (schwa sound)

the schwa sound is basically the same sound as the short u or ʌ sound.

the ʌ sound is a lazy sound and the schwa sound is an even lazier versio,e in fact it's the
laziest sound in english and the most common sound. the schwa sound is a short
version of the ʌ sound it happens quicker and it often replaces other sounds and words
when we speak quickly with reduced or connected speech . for example the word
president

(prezədent),,,ȶ

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(prezɪdent)ȷ

when you write words phonetically using the International phonetic alphabet the symbols
that are used in this book

the schwa sound in is used instead of ʌ sound when when it is unstressed. so in the
word uncle (ʌnkəl) the first sound is ʌ and that is the stress sound

in another world like banana (bənænə) however the stressed syllable is næ so we have
two schwa sounds because they are not stressed so we don't say them for as long they
are not emphasised as much.

the schwa sound is pretty much the short u sound (ʌ) .

ə=ʌ

those are the six short vowel sounds in standard american english.

comparing

the /æ/ and the /e/ sounds.These sounds are very similar and easily confused . There
are three things that you need to know about these differences between these two
sounds,there are three rules.That First one has to do with mouth position,the second
one with the tongue position,and the third one about the difference between British
English and American Englishan.

let's talk about the mouth position first. for The /æ/ sound the mouth is bigger.The vowel
requires the mouth to be more open. For the /e/ sound you can open your mouth just a
little bit And relax your mouth . So the first one is big and it is a little more tense .

The second rule is about tongue position . for the /æ/ sound the Tongue is down and
Much more tense. (tongue is tense and down ).Make sure that the tip of the tongue is
touching your bottom teethand then make the tongue wide and pull it down ( tongue
wide).

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let’s think of some brand names that have the /æ/ sound in it .Amazon, apple, Samsung
(an Koran brand) .So it is a big sound and the mouth is tense.That tongue position is
also tense .

for the /e/sound the mouth does not open so much and the tongue is relaxed.

Like bad friend then let’s think of some brand names that have the /e/ sound in it. like
Fedex, Pepsi,

The third thing you need to know Is that the /æ/ sound is often pronounced as an /ɑː/

sound in British English Specially if there is an s that follows it .for example Pretty sure
speakers say class and American say class .

British speakers say grass American say grass .Let's practice some expressions first
with the /æ/ sound and then wih the /e/ sound

Bad language .

Math class .

Angry man

Happy family .

No let's pronounce some words with the /e/ sound .

Better friend

Never ending

10 eggs

Penn and pencil

let's make a bet. (short e)

I have a baseball bat.(short a)

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Now let's compare the two sounds together .Two different words, different
meanings ,different sounds and after that we will do some sentences for practice

the short a /æ/ he short e /e/

bat bet
matt met
sat set
pat pet
had head
sad said (past tense of say)
fad fed
man(a nasally sound) men
tan ten
ban ben
and end
than then
gas guess
bad bed

bet

No let's practice the words together in a sentence

I met a man.

These are bad eggs .

We had guests yesterday .

He is left handed.

Your grammar is getting better .

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You have a second chance.

He's the best man .

I have friends in France.

We met our pet pat on the mat .

I have a bad bed.

He was sad that she said that he had bad bed head.

words with _an makes more of a nasally sound. like: man, men

I got a tan at the beach.

I have 10 sisters.

th tan man saw ten men in the den with dan and ben.

the American T

the T sound is one of the most common consonant sounds in the English language.
And Americans have a distinct way of pronouncing this sound Depending on where it is
in a word and whats ounds come around it there is actually Four different T sound in
American English

the trur T, the flap T, the held T, the vanishing T.

Let's start first with the true T

.It is clear, it is concise , it is distinct ,It is made by taking your tongue tipand tapping
itvon the ridge behind your top front teeth. You hearthis sound at the beginning of words
like to, take, tell

You are also going to hear this sound at the beginning of the stressed or emphasized
syllable in words like until , hotel and return. the true T also happens in consonant
cluster. cluster is when two consonant sounds occur right next to each other and you
say them both for example st as in stop, str as in street , and tr as in tree.Constant
cluster also occur at the end of words in English you will hear the true t sound in

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clusters like ct as in fact , ft as in lift , lt as in melt, st as in best, pt as in kept.There is
one final T cluster that doesn't Follow along with the others That is nt

A quick recap The true T hear

1. at the beginning of words

2. At that beginning of stressed syllables

3.And in consonant clusters that have T

The flapTis really just a D sound and .This flap T happens when T is

In the middle of words in between two vowel sounds.

For example take this word w-a-t-e-r wa-der

this is the flap T that has the d sound.

I need a drink of water

c-i-t-y “ci-dy" I live in this city

l-a-t-e-r “la-der" i will see you later

b-e-t-t-e-r “be-der" i hope you feel better.

flap T will also happen in between words when one word ends in a vowel sound and
T ,and the next word starts with a vowel sound for example take

what is “wa-dis" What is this ?

but i “bu-die" But I said that.

A recap on flap T or the D soundyou are going to hear this quick D sound when the T
comes between two vowel sound wether That is within a word or between two words

the held T

When you make the T sound there is actually Tree steps to this process

step one :the air comes up through your lungs and into Your mouth

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Then step two :the tongue tip raises up to the ridge behind your top front teeth and
stops the air

and step three :the air is released in an air puff

For the held T you just skip step threeyou hold the tip of your tongue against the ridge
behind your top front teeth and you do not released any air .

held t happens at the end of words in American English for example Take the ward
about

Most Americans are going to hold. that T :about that the Tongue tip stays up for the tand
goes straight into the th sound the tongue tip goes under the front teeth for the th
sound : about that .Let's talk about that

it was. it the tongue goes up for the tat the end of the word it holds there and then
straight into the w sound for was . It was awesome

2.Another time you are going to hear the held t is at the end of a syllable when the next
syllable starts with a consonent sound for example the word outside . the tongue stays
up for the t and Goes straight into the s sound outside .Let's sit outside tonight

Apartment .I love my new apartment

cluster ntat the end of words does not follow the true tlike other consonant clusters It
is because the ntat the end of words you are going to hear a held t for that cluster. sofor
example the word student .The tongue stays up for the t sound

I'm glad I'm not a student anymore .

the President of the United States . the tis held after the n t cluster .

so to recap

held thappens at the end of words

And at the end of the syllables when the next syllable starts with a consonants sound .

and in the nt cluster

vanishing t

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Sometimes in American English the t just disappears completely it happens when the
tcomes after the m or n sound in an unstressed syllable.

t after the n sound in words like

internet “innernet" Do you have internet access ?

printer “prinner"can I use your printer

vanishing t alot of times that t just drops out after the m and n souand in an unstressed
syllable The reason for this is because the m , n and t sound are made at the ridge Your
top front teeth It is easier to drop the T sound. Instead of doing a double tap .

Another time when that t tends to disappear knowing About this pattern is going to
make a lot of words and word combinations a heck of alot easier to pronounce so Let's
dive in

When the t sound comes between two other consonants sounds At the end of a word or
even between words that Tis likely going to disappear this Happens a lot when adding s
as an ending to a word that Ends in a t cluster or a consonant plus Tfor example take
the ward fact

fact /fækt/ We have a very clear k , t blendat at the end of this word . ,but if we add an s
to the end to make it plural It becomes facts /fæks/ .You don't know all the facts.Let's
take a look at the facts.

product /'prɑ dəkt/ Again a very clear k, t blendat the end of this word productbut what if
I add an apostrophe s in order to conteract product is, into product's /'prɑ dəks/ Anothr
example

gift / gɪft/ Again a very clear f plus t consonant cluster at the end of this word , if i add
an s at the end to make it plural it becomes gifts / gɪfs/

You have many gifts . put the gifts on the table please

protect /prə 'tekt/ k plus t clustrr at the end of this word . if add an s it becomes protects
/prə 'teks/ this protects your skin in this sun

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