In Vowels^x, Consonants^x

Hi Jackson. This is one rule that's quite reliable: when you double the consonant following a vowel, it changes the "long vowel" sound to a "short vowel" sound. "e" as in "pet." This works only in multiple-syllable words, where the long vowel is...

The use of 'a' or 'an' is based on pronunciation. If a word begins with a vowel sound, you should use 'an'. For example:- an apple- an elephant- an idea- an orange- an umbrella- an hour- an SOSIf a word begins with a consonant sound, you should use 'a'. This...

Hi Mathew,Yes, as Mister Micawber says, native English-speakers instinctively know which pronunciation of 'the' to use before a noun (or an adjective + noun), but I can see that it may be a problem for some people learning the language.As you have yourself noted, we generally use the...

Hi. On TV you may not hear the sounds, the tongue-play within the chamber of the mouth and the tiny air stops, etcetera that occur when people speak. You need to be face-to-face with your pronunciation coach.I can well see how you "hear" FAX for facts, because the sounds are about...

The word 'the' has the voiced /th/ sound. Before consonants the vowel has a schwa sound so 'the' sounds like thə, Before vowel sounds the vowel has an /iy/ sound like thē.

When you say that /w/ does not behave as a vowel you are in a sense correct. It does not behave like a "full" vowel in that it can never form the nucleus of a syllable. However, although it does not behave like a vowel it is formed liked a vowel. It is sometimes described as a...

Here's a conundrum for you:Latin as written in Roman times had no letter <w>, but it did have the sound /w/. The letter <u> was used to represent both the sound /u/ and the sound /w/.uolo (pronouced more or less as "wallow")cumuulpus (pronounced more or less as...

In American English the 's' in sides sounds like /z/ too.Here are the rules for pronouncing the final 's' in American English.1. ‘es’ is pronounced as /ez/ after these sibilant sounds/s/ businesses, buses /z/ freezes, causes /sh/ bushes,...

I am not sure I can say anything further without repeating myself.I think we should go back to the second post in this thread:That just about sums it up really.

The author above is correct.Here is a rule that might help you in the future:“s” is pronounced as /z/ after these voiced consonant sounds and all vowel sounds/b/ tabs /d/ cards/v/ loves/g/ hugs/th/ bathes/l/ girls/r/ cars/m/ moms/n/ ...