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Writer's pictureIneka Estabrook
May 18, 20202 min read

Pronounce /æ/ in cap, /ʌ/ in cup, and /ɑ/ in cop

Updated: Dec 3, 2020

How to make the /æ/ in cap, /ʌ/ in cup, and /ɑ/ in cop sounds:


The /æ/ in cap is a short sound. The jaw drops and the tip of the tongue presses into the bottom teeth.


The /ʌ/ in cup is made with the mouth entirely relaxed with the tongue resting on the bottom of the mouth.


The /a/ sound in cop is long and comes from the back of the mouth. The lips are relaxed, the tongue is down, and the mouth is open wide. Imagine you are holding a hot potato in your mouth and you don't want to touch it.

 

CLICK BELOW TO HEAR THE WORDS AND READING


Practice Reading:

Jan had a cat named Lucky, who was truly a lucky cat. Jan discovered Lucky on a hot, sunny day stuck in a stack of wood behind the summer cabin. Lucky’s paw was caught fast in a trap and he couldn’t get loose. Jan pried his paw out of the trap, and doctored his cut. He had been stuck fast for a couple days at least and was quite hungry and thirsty. Jan put out a cup of water and some food for the poor cat. After that, Lucky wouldn’t leave her side. He moved into Jan’s cabin and that was that. Jan had a new cat. Lucky lost his lust for wandering and stuck close to home now.

Learn more:

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#/ʌ/SoundPracticeReadingForAdults #EnglishPronunciation/ʌ/ #PronunciationOf/ʌ/ #EnglishPronunciationOf/ɑ/ #/ɑ/ #/ɑ/SoundInEnglish #/ɑ/SoundPracticeReading #HowDoYouPronounce/ɑ/ #/ɑ/SoundPracticeReadingForAdults #/æ/and/ʌ/and/ɑ/ WordPairs #DifferenceBetween/æ/and/ʌ/and/ɑ/ #BatBet #/æ/and/ʌ/and/ɑ/MinimalWordPairs #ShortA #a #ShortE #e #ShortO #o #CapCupCop #CopCapCup


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Writer's pictureIneka Estabrook
May 16, 20201 min read

Pronounce "ough"

Updated: Jul 20, 2020

The “ough” spelling and pronunciation is a HUGE HEADACHE, but there aren’t that many words.


I’ve only included the American pronunciation. Thankfully, American English has merged two of the pronunciations (ɒ and ɔː), so simpler!


There are actually NINE different pronunciations of “ough”, but some of them are only in English dialects (looking at you, Scots) and some are very rare. No need to confuse things with details. I’ve included the most common four here.

“OUGH” RULES, kind of.

  • If an “ough” word ends in T, it usually is pronounced /ɐ/.

  • If “ough” ends a word, it’s usually pronounced /oʊ/ or /ʌf/.

  • The only /u:/ “ough” words you need to learn: through and throughout.

 

Watch the video below to hear the sounds and practice reading.


Practice Reading:

Doughnuts!, thought Hough. Although he had been furloughed and ought not to, Hough wanted a doughnut. He fought the urge. Throughout his youth he was told to be careful with his money and he sought to be wise, but he wanted a doughnut desperately. He threw on his coat, headed out onto the rough cobblestones, and sought out a doughnut shop. He walked through his borough until he found one, bought enough doughnuts to satisfy his craving, and headed home, munching happily.

More practice:


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Writer's pictureIneka Estabrook
May 5, 20202 min read

Pronounce the past tense: -d, -əd, or -t?

Updated: Jul 28, 2020

Regular verbs add -ed at the end of a word to denote past tense. While this final -ed is always spelled the same, it is pronounced three different ways, /d/, /t/, or /əd/. Thank you English! (Practice with /t/ and /d/.)


But there are rules, and fairly consistent rules.


When the final consonant of the verb is either a vowel or a voiced consonant, use the /d/ sound. Voiced means your vocal cords are vibrating—put your fingers on your voice box and feel it vibrate.


When the final consonant of the verb is an unvoiced, use the /t/ sound. Put your fingers on the voice box on your throat and you won't feel a thing.


The unvoiced consonants are: ch. f, h k, p, s, sh, t, and θ (th). All the rest are voiced.


And /əd/? You use that when the final consonant is /d/ or /t/. You can see why--how would you pronounce needd? You need that /ə/ and an extra syllable.

 

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN


Practice Reading:

Sophia loved soccer. She played it every weekend and used to play it every day when she was in high school. She messed around with the ball in the backyard with her kids, too, now that they were old enough. It seemed to help them stay focused in school; they needed to get their energy out. They worked on ball skills—they dribbled, they passed the ball to each other, they practiced their turns, and sprinted across the yard. They worked hard and had a lot of fun.





More Pronunciation Help:

#HowDoYouPronouncePastTense #DifferenceBetweenDandT #PastTense



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