Minimal pairs: /e/ and /æ/

Both sounds are difficult for Polish learners. While pronouncing Polish /ɛ/ instead of English /e/ is not a problem that would lead to misunderstandings, using Polish /a/ or /ɛ/ (or even the nasal diphthong spelt <ę> in Polish) instead of /æ/ is admittedly a far greater obstacle to intelligibility. Speakers of other Slavic languages may find this exercise equally useful.

Ex. 1. Look at the following words containing the short vowel /e/ and find their counterparts containing the short vowel /æ/.

bed, beg, Ben, bet, dregs, fret, Jen (Jennifer), Ken, kept, leg, men, merry, neck, net, peck, pen, pent, pet, petty, rep, said, set, shell, spend, wrench

Ex. 2. In each set of words choose the one which does not contain the vowel /æ/.

a. mad, plan, Japan, Malta   b. hall, trap, hat, lap   c. lad, flat, wad, pad   d. tad, pack, paste, damp

e. tag, ball, span, lack   f. many, crammed, tan, ran

Key
Ex. 1. bad, bag, ban, bat, drags, frat (a fraternity in the USA), Jan (Janine), can, capped, lag, man, marry, knack, gnat, pack, pan, pant, pat/Pat, patty, rap, sad, sat, shall (full form), spanned, ranch (also with /ɑː/)
Ex. 2. a. Malta, b. hall, c. wad, d. paste, e. ball, f. many