|
|
LISTEN |
|
/ey/…/ey/…/ey/…/ey/...
take...name...later...away | ||
|
|
WHAT IS IT? |
Pronunciation:
The sound /ey/ is a mid, front, tense vowel.
The sound /ey/ is a mid, front, tense vowel.
- Put your tongue in the middle of your mouth.
- Spread your lips, like a small smile. Your tongue should move forward.
- Tighten your tongue.
- Breathe out and let your vocal cords vibrate.
|
This vowel is usually stressed, as in these words:
| ||
|
However, /ey/ can also be unstressed. In an unstressed syllable, /ey/ is pronounced quickly and softly. This is most common in the last syllable of a word.
| ||
Spelling:
- "a...(e)" - came, late
- "ai" - train, wait
- "a" - age, April
- "ay" - day, maybe
- "ey" - they, obey
- "ea" - great, break
- "ei" - rein, veil
- "eigh"/"aigh" - neighbor, weigh, straight
- "et" (French origin) - crochet, ballet
|
Grammar Tip:
The sound /ey/ is part of the common suffix “-ate,” when “-ate” is part of a verb. If the verb is more than 2 syllables, the /ey/ in the suffix is unstressed.
| ||
|
|
COMPARE |
Compare /ey/ with /iy/:
|
/ey/…/iy/…/ey/…/iy/…/ey/…/iy/...
These are both front, tense vowels. However, /ey/ is a mid vowel and /iy/ is a high vowel. | ||
You can hear the difference between /ey/ and /iy/ in these words.
|
1. A. play, B. plea
2. A. lake, B. leak 3. A. raid, B. read 4. A. same, B. seem 5. A. fail, B. feel 6. A. raisin, B. reason | ||
Practice recognizing words with /ey/ and /iy/ by taking the quiz below.
Now, compare /ey/ with /ɛ/:
|
/ey/…/ɛ/… /ey/…/ɛ/… /ey/…/ɛ/…
These are both mid, front vowels. However, /ey/ is a tense vowel, and /ɛ/ is a lax vowel. Your tongue should tighten when you pronounce /ey/, but not when you pronounce /ɛ/. | ||
You can hear the difference between /ey/ and /ɛ/ in these words.
|
1. A. mate, B. met
2. A. braid, B. bread 3. A. lace, B. less 4. A. later, B. letter 5. A. sailor, B. seller 6. A. pain, B. pen | ||
Practice recognizing words with /ey/ and /ɛ/ by taking the quiz below.
Practice recognizing words with /ey/ and /ɛ/ by taking the quiz below.
|
|
PRACTICE |
Listen and repeat these words:
| words_with_-ey-.mp3 |
|
1. shade
2. hate 3. take 4. haze 5. gave 6. lame 7. rain 8. sail 9. haste 10. mayor |
11. tailor
12. relay 13. crazy 14. potato 15. impatient 16. graduate 17. communicate 18. gracious 19. payday 20. radiate |
Now, practice /ey/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
|
1. making - cake - birthday
I'm making a cake for your birthday. 2. afraid - wake - snake I'm afraid to wake up a sleeping snake. 3. raining - today - hail It's raining today, with a chance of hail. 4. mayor - gave - waste The mayor gave a speech about waste management. 5. makes - great - relationship What makes a great relationship? 6. rainy - days - play - games On rainy days, my family likes to play games. | ||
To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:
|
|
USE IT! |
Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.
Prepare:
What do you want to be famous for? Look at the list and choose one thing that you want to be famous for, and one thing you don’t want to be famous for.
Prepare:
What do you want to be famous for? Look at the list and choose one thing that you want to be famous for, and one thing you don’t want to be famous for.
Record:
In your recording, describe what you want to be famous for and what you don’t want to be famous for. Explain the reasons for your answer.
©2018-2021, Christine Wingate
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
