Pronunciation and spelling

You can have perfect grammar and still not be understood. These are the sounds Urdu and Punjabi speakers have to be taught, because they do not exist in the same form in either language.

Five sounds to work on

th

There is no th in Urdu, so it often becomes t or d. Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and blow.

think, three, thank / this, that, mother

v and w

V uses the top teeth on the bottom lip. W uses rounded lips only, teeth never touch.

very / wery · vest / west · wine / vine

p and f

P is a small puff with the lips closed. F is teeth on lip.

pan / fan · pull / full

s at the start

English does not add a vowel before s. Say school, not iskool.

school, station, student, street, sport

silent letters

Some letters are written but never said.

knife, write, hour, calm, debt, island, Wednesday

The three sounds of -ed

This matters in listening as much as in speaking: if you expect wanted to have two syllables, you will hear it.

How -ed is pronounced
Sound	When	Examples
/t/	after a voiceless sound (p, k, f, s, sh, ch)	worked, stopped, watched, finished
/d/	after a voiced sound (b, g, v, m, n, l, r, vowels)	played, called, cleaned, arrived
/ɪd/	only after t or d, and it adds a syllable	wanted, needed, started, decided

The three sounds of plural -s

How the plural -s is pronounced
Sound	When	Examples
/s/	after a voiceless sound	books, cats, stops
/z/	after a voiced sound or a vowel	dogs, cars, boys, plays
/ɪz/	after s, z, sh, ch, x, ge and it adds a syllable	buses, watches, boxes, changes

Word stress

Every English word of two or more syllables has one strong syllable. Saying the strong part in the wrong place is the single biggest reason listeners say sorry? even when your grammar is perfect.

Where the stress falls
Say it like this	Word
TA-ble	table
de-VE-lop	develop
in-for-MA-tion	information
COM-fort-a-ble	comfortable
u-ni-VER-si-ty	university
op-por-TU-ni-ty	opportunity

Some words change meaning with the stress: RE-cord (a thing) but re-CORD (an action); PRE-sent (a gift) but pre-SENT (to give a talk).

Words that get confused

Commonly confused words
Words	The difference
their / there / they're	their = belonging to them · there = in that place · they're = they are
your / you're	your = belonging to you · you're = you are
its / it's	its = belonging to it · it's = it is
to / too / two	to = towards · too = also or excessive · two = 2
advice / advise	advice = a noun · advise = a verb
practice / practise	practice = a noun · practise = a verb (British English)
affect / effect	affect = a verb, to change something · effect = a noun, the result
lose / loose	lose = to not win or to misplace · loose = not tight
since / for	since + a starting point · for + a length of time
say / tell	say something · tell somebody something
borrow / lend	you borrow from someone · you lend to someone
beside / besides	beside = next to · besides = in addition to

Check yourself

Say each one aloud before you check.

How does -ed sound in worked, played, wanted?
Show the answer
/t/ in worked · /d/ in played · /ɪd/ in wanted (an extra syllable)
How does the plural -s sound in books, dogs, buses?
Show the answer
/s/ in books · /z/ in dogs · /ɪz/ in buses (an extra syllable)
Which letters are silent: knife, write, hour, island?
Show the answer
the k, the w, the h, the s
Where is the stress: university, information, comfortable?
Show the answer
u-ni-VER-si-ty · in-for-MA-tion · COM-fort-a-ble
What is the difference between very and wery?
Show the answer
There is no wery. For v the top teeth touch the bottom lip; for w the lips round and the teeth never touch.
Say: school, student, street. What must you not add?
Show the answer
No vowel before the s. Not iskool or istudent.

More practice on this topic: 14 exercises →