Ex. Look at the following words containing the letter "a" and put them in groups according to the sound that the digraph beginning with an "a" represents. The options include short vowels, long vowels and diphthongs.
1. /ɑː/ 2. /ɔː/ 3. /aʊ/ 4. /eɪ/ 5. /eə/ 6. /iː/ 7. /ɒ/
aardvark
aerial, algae,encyclopaedia, maelstrom
gait, hair, lair, maim
chaos, Laos, Taoism
auburn, auction, Australia, authority
KEY
1. /ɑː/ aardvark 2. /ɔː/ auburn, auction, authority 3. /aʊ/ Laos, Taoism
4. /eɪ/ chaos /'keɪɒs/, gait, maelstrom, maim,
5. /eə/ aerial (the second "a" is /ə/), hair, lair
6. /iː/ algae, encyclopaedia
7. /ɒ/ Australia
When in doubt, I consulted the Cambridge Dictionary at dictionary.cambridge.org.
Friday, 31 August 2018
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Pronunciation of the letter "a"
English spelling is famous for its complex rules and the different ways in which it is connected to pronunciation. In today's exercise we are dealing with the pronunciation of "a".
Ex. 1. Look at the following words containing the letter "a" and put them in groups according to the sound that the letter "a" represents (sometimes together with letters next to it). The options include short vowels, the schwa, long vowels and diphthongs.
1. /ɑː/ 2. /æ/ 3. /ə/ 4. /eɪ/ 5. /eə/
above, air, among, ago, baker, bass, class, dance, father, gran, grant, mat, mate, mare, mayor, nag, part, sofa, stare, start, state, tan
Ex. 2. How does the pronunciation of the stressed vowel change in the following words?
1. nation - national 2. status - statutory 3. class - classic/classical 4. mass - massive
5. photograph - photography (consider both o's and the a) 6. base - basic
7. compare - comparison 8. parent - parental (consider the a and the e)
KEY
Ex. 1.
1. /ɑː/ dance, father, grant, part, start
2. /æ/ class, gran, mat, nag, tan
3. /ə/ above, among, ago, sofa,
4. /eɪ/ baker, bass, mate, state
5. /eə/ air, mare, mayor, stare
Ex. 2.
1. /eɪ/ - /æ/
Ex. 1. Look at the following words containing the letter "a" and put them in groups according to the sound that the letter "a" represents (sometimes together with letters next to it). The options include short vowels, the schwa, long vowels and diphthongs.
1. /ɑː/ 2. /æ/ 3. /ə/ 4. /eɪ/ 5. /eə/
above, air, among, ago, baker, bass, class, dance, father, gran, grant, mat, mate, mare, mayor, nag, part, sofa, stare, start, state, tan
Ex. 2. How does the pronunciation of the stressed vowel change in the following words?
1. nation - national 2. status - statutory 3. class - classic/classical 4. mass - massive
5. photograph - photography (consider both o's and the a) 6. base - basic
7. compare - comparison 8. parent - parental (consider the a and the e)
KEY
Ex. 1.
1. /ɑː/ dance, father, grant, part, start
2. /æ/ class, gran, mat, nag, tan
3. /ə/ above, among, ago, sofa,
4. /eɪ/ baker, bass, mate, state
5. /eə/ air, mare, mayor, stare
Ex. 2.
1. /eɪ/ - /æ/
2. /eɪ/ - /æ/
3. /ɑː/ - /æ/
3. /ɑː/ - /æ/
4. /æ/ Correction: no change ("mass" does not have /ɑː/)
5. first "o" /əʊ/ - /ə/, second "o" /ə/ - /ɒ/, "a" /ɑː/ - /ə/
6. /eɪ/ no change
7. /eə/ - /æ/
8. "a" /eə/ - /ə/, "e" /ᵊ/ - /e/ (the upper index schwa means it is optional)
When in doubt, I used the Cambridge Dictionary at https://dictionary.cambridge.org.
Monday, 9 July 2018
Homophones 1
Ex. Which of these words are homophones, that is words pronounced the same but spelt differently? Some of the following words do not match other words. The default accent is RP.
air, aren't, aunt, bare, bear, beat, beer, beet, boar, boor, bore, caught, court, ere, feat, feet, flew, flu, flue, hair, hare, heir, here, hoard, horde, hour, Lear, leer, mast, moor, more, must, our, pair, Paul, pear, peer, pier, pole, Pole, poll, root, route, sandwich, sand witch, shore, soar, sore, sure, weather, wet, whet, whether
KEY
air - ere - heir; aren't - aunt; bare - bear; beat - beet; boar - bore (and 'boor' unless we pronounce it /bʊə/) caught - court; feat - feet; flew - flu - flue, hair - hare; hoard - horde; hour - our; Lear - leer; moor (unless 'moor' is /mʊə/) - more; pair - pear; peer - pier; pole - Pole - poll; root - route; shore - sure (unless 'sure' is /ʃʊə/), soar - sore, wet - whet, weather - whether
no pair: beer, here, mast, must, Paul, sandwich (no /d/); sand witch
air, aren't, aunt, bare, bear, beat, beer, beet, boar, boor, bore, caught, court, ere, feat, feet, flew, flu, flue, hair, hare, heir, here, hoard, horde, hour, Lear, leer, mast, moor, more, must, our, pair, Paul, pear, peer, pier, pole, Pole, poll, root, route, sandwich, sand witch, shore, soar, sore, sure, weather, wet, whet, whether
KEY
air - ere - heir; aren't - aunt; bare - bear; beat - beet; boar - bore (and 'boor' unless we pronounce it /bʊə/) caught - court; feat - feet; flew - flu - flue, hair - hare; hoard - horde; hour - our; Lear - leer; moor (unless 'moor' is /mʊə/) - more; pair - pear; peer - pier; pole - Pole - poll; root - route; shore - sure (unless 'sure' is /ʃʊə/), soar - sore, wet - whet, weather - whether
no pair: beer, here, mast, must, Paul, sandwich (no /d/); sand witch
Update /'ʌpdeɪt/
As you can see, I have posted very little over the past year. This is something I hope to change in the near future since I am going to start teaching British English phonetics in October. This means that I'll do my best to post as many pronunciation exercises as possible, focusing on issues that are particularly relevant to native speakers of Polish. Unfortunately, I won't be able to include recordings - you'll have to make do with other sources such as howjsay.com. Stay tuned for more.
Punctuation: Gap filling and error correction
These exercises are a follow-up to my paper to be delivered on 23 July 2018 at the 4th English Teachers' Convention in Stryszawa, Poland. They focus on problems which are typical of Polish learners of English.
Ex. 1 Fill in the gaps with punctuation signs. In some gaps you do not need to use a sign.
1. This is the best comedy ___ I___ve ever seen. My friend didn___t like it at all ___ but I think it was hilarious.
2. After dinner ___ we went for a walk. The weather was very pleasant ___ it was warm and sunny.
3. I was in the waiting room. I had already read the magazine ___ that I___d bought one hour before ___ and there were still eight people before me. If I hadn ___t brought a book with me ___ I would have gone crazy.
4. I will not let you play computer games ___ unless you finish your homework by five.
5. We knew ___ Egypt was hot in July ___ S/still ___ we decided to fly to Sharm el-Sheikh ___ for a week.
6. My friend Jane Smith ___ who lives in a small village ___ says ___ that she misses London.
7. My brother ___ who works as a waiter ___ wants to open his own restaurant one day. (I have one brother)
8. My brother ___ who works as a waiter ___ wants to open his own restaurant one day. (I have two brothers)
Ex. 2. Each of the following sentences contains at least one punctuation error. Correct the sentences.
1. George asked me, if I was an English teacher. I said, that he must have mistaken me for Mr Kowalski who looks a little, like me. He said — Sorry, I expected him to arrive first.
2. Although, it was raining Jukka went swimming, he said he didnt mind, a bit of rain.
3. Ill help you do the dishes, if you read my essay and tell me, if its any good.
4. The textbook is entitled French Grammar — Phonology, Morphology and Syntax.
5. Ian paid 23.000,99 pounds for an old car.
KEY
Ex. 1.
1. This is the best comedy [none] I[']ve ever seen. My friend didn[']t like it at all [, / none] but I think it was hilarious. 2. After dinner [none/ ,] we went for a walk. The weather was very pleasant [: / — it was warm and sunny. 3. 3. I was in the waiting room. I had already read the magazine [none] that I[']d bought one hour before [,] and there were still eight people before me. If I hadn[']t brought a book with me [, / none] I would have gone crazy. 4. none, 5. We knew [none] Egypt was hot in July [. / ;] S/still [,] we decided to fly to Sharm el-Sheikh [none] for a week. 6. My friend Jane Smith [,] who lives in a small village [,] says [none] that she misses London. 7. two commas (a non-defining relative clause) 8. no commas (a defining relative clause)
Ex. 2.
1. George asked me [none] if I was an English teacher. I said [none] that he must have mistaken me for Mr Kowalski [,] who looks a little [none] like me. He said[,] [']Sorry, I expected him to arrive first['].
2. Although[,] it was raining [optional ,] Jukka went swimming [. / ;] he said he didn[']t mind [none] a bit of rain.
3. I[']ll help you do the dishes [none] if you read my essay and tell me [none] if it[']s any good.
4. The textbook is entitled French Grammar[:] Phonology, Morphology and Syntax. (an optional serial comma after 'Morphology')
5. 23,000.99
Ex. 1 Fill in the gaps with punctuation signs. In some gaps you do not need to use a sign.
1. This is the best comedy ___ I___ve ever seen. My friend didn___t like it at all ___ but I think it was hilarious.
2. After dinner ___ we went for a walk. The weather was very pleasant ___ it was warm and sunny.
3. I was in the waiting room. I had already read the magazine ___ that I___d bought one hour before ___ and there were still eight people before me. If I hadn ___t brought a book with me ___ I would have gone crazy.
4. I will not let you play computer games ___ unless you finish your homework by five.
5. We knew ___ Egypt was hot in July ___ S/still ___ we decided to fly to Sharm el-Sheikh ___ for a week.
6. My friend Jane Smith ___ who lives in a small village ___ says ___ that she misses London.
7. My brother ___ who works as a waiter ___ wants to open his own restaurant one day. (I have one brother)
8. My brother ___ who works as a waiter ___ wants to open his own restaurant one day. (I have two brothers)
Ex. 2. Each of the following sentences contains at least one punctuation error. Correct the sentences.
1. George asked me, if I was an English teacher. I said, that he must have mistaken me for Mr Kowalski who looks a little, like me. He said — Sorry, I expected him to arrive first.
2. Although, it was raining Jukka went swimming, he said he didnt mind, a bit of rain.
3. Ill help you do the dishes, if you read my essay and tell me, if its any good.
4. The textbook is entitled French Grammar — Phonology, Morphology and Syntax.
5. Ian paid 23.000,99 pounds for an old car.
KEY
Ex. 1.
1. This is the best comedy [none] I[']ve ever seen. My friend didn[']t like it at all [, / none] but I think it was hilarious. 2. After dinner [none/ ,] we went for a walk. The weather was very pleasant [: / — it was warm and sunny. 3. 3. I was in the waiting room. I had already read the magazine [none] that I[']d bought one hour before [,] and there were still eight people before me. If I hadn[']t brought a book with me [, / none] I would have gone crazy. 4. none, 5. We knew [none] Egypt was hot in July [. / ;] S/still [,] we decided to fly to Sharm el-Sheikh [none] for a week. 6. My friend Jane Smith [,] who lives in a small village [,] says [none] that she misses London. 7. two commas (a non-defining relative clause) 8. no commas (a defining relative clause)
Ex. 2.
1. George asked me [none] if I was an English teacher. I said [none] that he must have mistaken me for Mr Kowalski [,] who looks a little [none] like me. He said[,] [']Sorry, I expected him to arrive first['].
2. Although[,] it was raining [optional ,] Jukka went swimming [. / ;] he said he didn[']t mind [none] a bit of rain.
3. I[']ll help you do the dishes [none] if you read my essay and tell me [none] if it[']s any good.
4. The textbook is entitled French Grammar[:] Phonology, Morphology and Syntax. (an optional serial comma after 'Morphology')
5. 23,000.99
Saturday, 19 May 2018
Emphatic inversion 2
Ex. Use emphatic inversion to paraphrase the following sentences so that the meaning remains as similar as possible.
1. We have seldom faced such a serious threat.
Seldom .............................................................
2. I have never witnessed so much cruelty.
Never ...............................................................
3. The novel was so popular that people queued for hours to buy a copy.
So .....................................................................
4. The book was in such great demand that people queued for hours to buy a copy.
Such .................................................................
5. The moment the sun came out, tourists flocked to the beach.
Hardly ..............................................................
6. As soon as Fiona began her lecture, the microphone broke down.
No sooner ........................................................
7. I didn't think she was in trouble at all.
Not for .............................................................
8. The children came home and only then realised their dog was missing.
Not until ..........................................................
9. The minister did not realise a detective was following him.
Little ...............................................................
10. The war caused not only a humanitarian crisis but also an economic one.
Not only..........................................................
11. You may be smart but you can't be lazy if you want to succeed.
Smart .............................................................
12. I like Tracy but I could never be her boyfriend.
Much .............................................................
13. The princess almost never talks about her private life.
Rarely ...........................................................
14. The student failed mathematics and often played truant.
Not only ........................................................
15. You can learn English only if you work hard.
Only .............................................. succeed ..................
KEY
1. Seldom have we faced such a serious threat. 2. Never have I witnessed so much cruelty. 3. So popular was the novel that people queued for hours to buy a copy. 4. Such was the demand for the book that ... 5. Hardly had the sun come out when tourists flocked to the beach. 6. No sooner had Fiona begun her lecture than the microphone broke down. 7. Not for a (single) moment did I think she was in trouble. 8. Not until the children came home did they realise their dog was missing. 9. Little did the minister realise that a detective was following him. 10. Not only did the war cause a humanitarian crisis, nut it also caused an economic crisis/one. 11. Smart as/though you are, you can't be lazy if you want to succeed. 12. Much as I like Tracy, I could never be her boyfriend. 13. Rarely does the princess talk about her private life. 14. Not only did the student fail mathematics, but he/she also often played truant. 15. Only by working hard can you succeed in learning English.
1. We have seldom faced such a serious threat.
Seldom .............................................................
2. I have never witnessed so much cruelty.
Never ...............................................................
3. The novel was so popular that people queued for hours to buy a copy.
So .....................................................................
4. The book was in such great demand that people queued for hours to buy a copy.
Such .................................................................
5. The moment the sun came out, tourists flocked to the beach.
Hardly ..............................................................
6. As soon as Fiona began her lecture, the microphone broke down.
No sooner ........................................................
7. I didn't think she was in trouble at all.
Not for .............................................................
8. The children came home and only then realised their dog was missing.
Not until ..........................................................
9. The minister did not realise a detective was following him.
Little ...............................................................
10. The war caused not only a humanitarian crisis but also an economic one.
Not only..........................................................
11. You may be smart but you can't be lazy if you want to succeed.
Smart .............................................................
12. I like Tracy but I could never be her boyfriend.
Much .............................................................
13. The princess almost never talks about her private life.
Rarely ...........................................................
14. The student failed mathematics and often played truant.
Not only ........................................................
15. You can learn English only if you work hard.
Only .............................................. succeed ..................
KEY
1. Seldom have we faced such a serious threat. 2. Never have I witnessed so much cruelty. 3. So popular was the novel that people queued for hours to buy a copy. 4. Such was the demand for the book that ... 5. Hardly had the sun come out when tourists flocked to the beach. 6. No sooner had Fiona begun her lecture than the microphone broke down. 7. Not for a (single) moment did I think she was in trouble. 8. Not until the children came home did they realise their dog was missing. 9. Little did the minister realise that a detective was following him. 10. Not only did the war cause a humanitarian crisis, nut it also caused an economic crisis/one. 11. Smart as/though you are, you can't be lazy if you want to succeed. 12. Much as I like Tracy, I could never be her boyfriend. 13. Rarely does the princess talk about her private life. 14. Not only did the student fail mathematics, but he/she also often played truant. 15. Only by working hard can you succeed in learning English.
Friday, 9 March 2018
Gerunds and infinitives: base, perfect, passive and continuous forms
Ex. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct non-finite form. Add a preposition where necessary.
1. Nobody likes (criticise) or (laugh) at.
2. Einstein is sometimes said (fail) mathematics at school, which is not true.
3. The ninja was dressed in black to avoid (see) by his enemies.
4. It's necessary for the project (complete) by Friday.
5. I'd love (live) in Ancient China.
6. Shakespeare is thought by some (have) a ghostwriter.
7. Miss Grumble made us (study) hard. We were also made (learn) poems by heart.
8. Hugh apologised to Jill (call) her incompetent.
9. Only you can prevent forest fires (happen).
10. The man denied (be) in the victim's house that night.
11. In the end George was coerced (make) a confession.
12. Joseph Conrad is considered (be) one of the greatest masters of English prose.
13. He never admits (make) mistakes.
14. Where are you, Jack? You're supposed (work) in your office.
15. Frank was accused (steal) his great-aunt's jewellery.
16. During the scandal the politician was believed (hide) on a private island.
17. Did you see the chicken (cross) the road?
18. Would you mind (help) me (translate) this text?
19. Don't waste your time (try) to call him. His phone is always turned off.
20. The decision has been made - there's no point (discuss) it now.
KEY
1. being criticised, (being) laughed, 2. to have failed, 3. being seen, 4. to be completed, 5. to have lived, 6. to have had, 7. study, to study, 8. for calling/for having called, 9. from happening, 10. being/having been, 11. into making, 12. to be/to have been, 13. making, 14. to be working, 15. of stealing/of having stolen, 16. to be hiding, 17. cross/crossing, 18. helping, (to) translate, 19. trying, 20. discussing
1. Nobody likes (criticise) or (laugh) at.
2. Einstein is sometimes said (fail) mathematics at school, which is not true.
3. The ninja was dressed in black to avoid (see) by his enemies.
4. It's necessary for the project (complete) by Friday.
5. I'd love (live) in Ancient China.
6. Shakespeare is thought by some (have) a ghostwriter.
7. Miss Grumble made us (study) hard. We were also made (learn) poems by heart.
8. Hugh apologised to Jill (call) her incompetent.
9. Only you can prevent forest fires (happen).
10. The man denied (be) in the victim's house that night.
11. In the end George was coerced (make) a confession.
12. Joseph Conrad is considered (be) one of the greatest masters of English prose.
13. He never admits (make) mistakes.
14. Where are you, Jack? You're supposed (work) in your office.
15. Frank was accused (steal) his great-aunt's jewellery.
16. During the scandal the politician was believed (hide) on a private island.
17. Did you see the chicken (cross) the road?
18. Would you mind (help) me (translate) this text?
19. Don't waste your time (try) to call him. His phone is always turned off.
20. The decision has been made - there's no point (discuss) it now.
KEY
1. being criticised, (being) laughed, 2. to have failed, 3. being seen, 4. to be completed, 5. to have lived, 6. to have had, 7. study, to study, 8. for calling/for having called, 9. from happening, 10. being/having been, 11. into making, 12. to be/to have been, 13. making, 14. to be working, 15. of stealing/of having stolen, 16. to be hiding, 17. cross/crossing, 18. helping, (to) translate, 19. trying, 20. discussing
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