5 SAY IT RIGHT |  Missing vowel sounds in questions
Optimise your pronunciation
• In Unit 4 you learnt about the schwa sound
/ə/ which is used in unstressed words. In
sentences with several unstressed sounds
together, these often join together and vowel
sounds may be missed.
• It is important to be aware of missing sounds
to help with understanding. Learning to run
words together like this will help you sound
more natural and fluent.
1 5.01  Listen to sentences 1–5. Underline
the words that are unstressed and that run
together. Listen and check.
1 What do you do in your free time?
2 What did you do yesterday?
3 What are you doing on Saturday?
4 What do you like to do on your computer?
5 When did you start using a computer?
✁
Optimise your pronunciation
• In Unit 4 you learnt about the schwa sound
/ə/ which is used in unstressed words. In
sentences with several unstressed sounds
together, these often join together and vowel
sounds may be missed.
• It is important to be aware of missing sounds
to help with understanding. Learning to run
words together like this will help you sound
more natural and fluent.
1 5.01  Listen to sentences 1–5. Underline
the words that are unstressed and that run
together. Listen and check.
1 What do you do in your free time?
2 What did you do yesterday?
3 What are you doing on Saturday?
4 What do you like to do on your computer?
5 When did you start using a computer?
Optimise A2 Optimise A2 Teacher’s Resource Centre © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2017.
This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
A2
2 5.02  Listen again and repeat. Match the
sounds with the words.
1 do you    a) /dɪdʒə/
2 did you    b) /əjə/
3 are you    c) /djə/
4 do you    d) /dɪdʒə/
5 did you    e) /djə/
3 5.03  Make questions using the prompts.
Underline the unstressed sounds.
1 What / you do / yesterday?

2 What / you do / next Sunday?

3 When / you start / learn English?

4 What time / you go / school every day?

5 Which phone / you buy / last weekend?

4 Repeat the questions in Exercise 3 again
using /də/, /jə/, /dʒə/ and /ə/ correctly.
Record yourself if you can.
✃
2 5.02  Listen again and repeat. Match the
sounds with the words.
1 do you    a) /dɪdʒə/
2 did you    b) /əjə/
3 are you    c) /djə/
4 do you    d) /dɪdʒə/
5 did you    e) /djə/
3 5.03  Make questions using the prompts.
Underline the unstressed sounds.
1 What / you do / yesterday?

2 What / you do / next Sunday?

3 When / you start / learn English?

4 What time / you go / school every day?

5 Which phone / you buy / last weekend?

4 Repeat the questions in Exercise 3 again
using /də/, /jə/, /dʒə/ and /ə/ correctly.
Record yourself if you can.
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