These are short aids that provide guidance on focused subsets of words or sounds commonly found in common English words. There are about fifty pronunciation aids at the current time. Try them out.
PA-00 Syllabication Rules
Learn to break any English word down into easy to pronounce syllables. Learn to say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious with ease.
PA-01 (Hard and Soft T Sounds)
When the letter T appears in the middle of a word, it can have two different sounds: soft or hard. With my southern accent, I was raised using the SOFT-T pronunciation, so that is what I teach. I prefer the SOFT-T because it is easier to pronounce in my opinion. You are free to use the HARD-T pronunciation if you like. Both are correct.
PA-02 (Meet the Schwa Sound)
The Schwa sound is the most common sound in the English language. Learn about it.
PA-03 Mastering the CH Sound
Master the CH sound. It stops air flow, then releases it in a blast of air.
PA-04 Mastering the J Sound
Master the J sound. It stops air flow, then releases it in a blast of air.
PA-05 Pronouncing the ED Ending on Past Tense Verbs
The ED ending on regular past tense verbs has three different ending sounds. Learn when each one applies.
PA-06 Pronouncing Words Ending in ILE
The ILE ending on words has one of two different sounds. Note that American and British English differ in how they say these words.
PA-07 Pronouncing Words Ending in ATE
The ATE ending on words has one of two different sounds, depending on whether the word is used as a verb (ATE) or as a noun or adjective (UT).
PA-08 Pronouncing Words Beginning with EX
The EX at the beginning of words has one of two different sounds: KS or GZ.
PA-09 Pronouncing Words Containing UA
The UA letter combination inside words often has an implied "W" sound. UI and UE may behave the same way in many occasions.
PA-10 Pronouncing Final S, ES, and Possessive S Ending
The final S, ES, or ‘S may have three different sounds (S, Z, or IZ).
PA-11 Pronouncing Final STS and SKS Endings
The final STS and SKS endings are difficult to pronounce for some students. Let’s practice these.
PA-12 Pronouncing Words Ending in EE
Pronouncing words ending in EE is fairly easy to do.
PA-13 Pronouncing the ZH Sound
The ZH sound is similar to the J sound but without stopping the air flow. It appears in words such as vision, version, and Asian.
PA-14 Pronouncing the OUGH Sound
The OUGH sound is an English learner’s worst nightmare. The same can be said for some Americans too. 🙂
PA-15 Pronouncing Words Ending in ICALLY
For most words ending in ICALLY, we omit the AL syllable and pronounce this suffix as IC-LY.
PA-16 Pronouncing Words Ending in METER
For words ending in METER, they are not pronounced like you might think.
PA-17 Pronouncing Words Ending in EIN
For words ending in EIN, there are a couple of different pronunciations. Some are German in origin.
PA-18 Pronouncing Years in English
Years in English can be pronounced several different ways. I’ll share my favorite with you.
PA-19 Pronouncing Number Quantities
This lesson will teach you how to pronounce numbers that represent quantities of things, as opposed to ID numbers such as Room 102.
PA-20 Pronouncing Words Ending in EAD and EAT
For words ending in EAD and EAT, there are several sounds that may be encountered.
PA-21 Pronouncing the NG and ING Sounds
There are two distinct ING sounds in English. Both should be mastered.
PA-22 Pronouncing the Unstressed Long U
The long U has a Y sound. The unstressed U has a YUH sound.
PA-23 Elision and Assimilation
Sometimes in English, we omit syllables (such as IC(AL)LY) and we connect adjective words together as if they are one word (such as fuhgitaboutit).
PA-24 Intonation in English (Word Stress in Sentences)
As we say sentences in English, some speech patterns require certain tones on certain words. This is called intonation.
PA-25 Silent Letters in English (or Non-pronunciation)
The bane of many English learners is silent or unpronounced letters in words. We have many. Let’s get to know a few.
PA-28 Pronouncing Words Ending in ON
For words ending in ON, science words will generally stress the ON syllable.
PA-29 Pronouncing Words Beginning with WH
Many WH words are pronounced as if they begin with HW. Hwat?!
PA-30 Pronouncing the B and P Sounds Distinctively
Fany students don’t distinguish between the B and P sounds adequately. Let’s master this.
PA-31 Pronouncing Long and Short Vowel Sounds and the Rule of Silent E
In this aid, we will cover the long and short vowels sounds, and how these are affected by the Rule of Silent E.
PA-32 Pronouncing the 44 Sounds of English
According to some experts, the English language 44 different sounds that should be mastered.
PA-33 Pronouncing Words Ending in ARY
Sometimes the ARY ending is stressed and sometimes it’s not.
PA-34 Pronouncing Words Ending in OGRAPHY/OGRAPHER/OGRAPHICAL
Science words that refer to "the study of" some field are challenging to pronounce sometimes.
PA-35 Pronouncing Words Ending in IENT
Words ending in TIENT/SIENT and IENT have three unique sounds.
PA-36 Pronouncing Words Containing OW
There are two sounds for OW: OW and O. Bow, row, and sow are particularly confusing.
PA-37 Pronouncing Words Ending in OOD
There are three sounds for OOD: oo as in too (food, mood, brood), ou as in would (hood, good, wood), ud as in mud (blood, flood).
PA-38 Pronouncing Words Ending in ULL
There are two sounds for ULL: oo as in wool (pull, full, bull) and uh as in dull (cull, mull, skull).
PA-39 Pronouncing Words Ending in ICIOUS
The word ending -ICIOUS is pronounced (-ISH US).
PA-40 Pronouncing Words Ending in TIOUS
The word ending -TIOUS is pronounced (-SHUS).
PA-41 Pronouncing Words Ending in OVE
Words ending in -OVE have three different sounds: O, UV, OOVE.
PA-42 Pronouncing Words Ending in ICABLE
Words ending in -ICABLE have two pronunciations.
PA-43 Pronouncing Words Ending in STEN/FTEN
Words ending STEN/FTEN often have a silent T in their pronunciation.
PA-44 Pronouncing Words Ending in OLOGY
Words ending in OLOGY/OLOGIST/OLOGICAL sometimes challenge students.
PA-45 Pronouncing Words Ending in ONOMY
Words ending in ONOMY/ONOMER/ONOMIST.
PA-46 Pronouncing Words Ending in THE
Learn to pronounce words ending in THE, like breathe, bathe, soothe, etc.
PA-47 Pronouncing Words Ending in EAK
Learn to pronounce words ending in EAK.