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LISTEN |
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/f/…/f/…/f/…/f/…
fix...friend...laugh...offer... | ||
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WHAT IS IT? |
Pronunciation:
The sound /f/ is a voiceless, labiodental, fricative consonant.
The sound /f/ can be in these consonant clusters:
The sound /f/ is a voiceless, labiodental, fricative consonant.
- Press your upper teeth against your lower lip.
- Breathe out and let air escape past your teeth.
- Your vocal cords should not vibrate.
The sound /f/ can be in these consonant clusters:
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/fr/ ("fr") - friend
/fl/ ("fl") - fly | ||
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/lf/ ("lf") - shelf
/lfs/ ("lfs") - gulfs /rf/ ("rf") - scarf /rfs/ ("rfs") - wharfs /fs/ ("fs" / "ffs" / "ghs") - proofs, cuffs, coughs /fθ/ (“fth”) - fifth /fθs/ (“fths”) - fifths /lfθ/ (“lfth”) - twelfth /lfθs/ (“lfths”) - twelfths /ft/ ("ft") - left /fts/ ("fts") - shifts | ||
Spelling:
- “f" - friend, before
- "ff" - off, difficult
- "ph" - phrase, physics
- "gh" - tough, laugh
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COMPARE |
Compare /f/ with /v/:
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/f/…/v/…/f/…/v/…/f/…/v/...
Both /f/ and /v/ are labiodental fricative consonants. However, /f/ is voiceless and /v/ is voiced. When you pronounce /f/, your vocal cords should not vibrate. At the end of a word, the vowel before /f/ will be shorter than the vowel before /v/. | ||
You can hear the difference between /f/ and /v/ in these words.
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1. A. face, B. vase
2. A. fan, B. van 3. A. leaf, B. leave 4. A. surf, B. serve 5. A. safer, B. savor 6. A. shelf, B. shelve | ||
Practice recognizing words with /f/ and /v/ by taking the quiz below.
Now, compare /f/ with /θ/:
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/f/…/θ/…/f/…/θ/…/f/…/θ/…
Both /f/ and /θ/ are voiceless fricative consonants. However, /f/ is a labiodental consonant, and /θ/ is an dental consonant. You should pronounce /f/ with your upper teeth rubbing against your lower lip. | ||
You can hear the difference between /f/ and /θ/ in the words below.
You can hear the difference between /f/ and /θ/ in the words below.
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1. A. fought, B. thought
3. A. free, B. three 2. A. first, B. thirst 4. A. deaf, B. death 6. A. whiff, B. with 5. A. reefs, B. wreaths | ||
Practice recognizing words with /f/ and /θ/ by taking the quiz below.r.
Practice recognizing words with /f/ and /θ/ by taking the quiz below.r.
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PRACTICE |
Listen and repeat these words:
| words_with_-f-.mp3 |
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1. fake
2. phone 3. fire 4. fever 5. flame 6. flower 7. frown 8. fraction 9. fantasy 10. offer |
11. rough
12. left 13. coughs 14. selfish 15. afraid 16. after 17. different 18. effective 19. fifth 20. philosopher |
Now, practice /f/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
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1. afford - forget - phone
You can't afford to forget your phone! 2. cough - fever - feels He has a cough and a fever, so he feels very sick. 3. flying – after - final I'm flying home after final exams. 4. family - friends - fireworks - fourth My family and friends watched fireworks on July Fourth. 5. left – before – finished I left before the class was finished. 6. fee - ferry - five The fee for riding the ferry is five dollars. | ||
To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:
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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:
People are afraid of many different things. Look at the list of fears people might have. Which fears are most common?
Prepare:
People are afraid of many different things. Look at the list of fears people might have. Which fears are most common?
Record:
In your recording, describe which 3 fears are most common among your family or friends. Explain why people are afraid of these things.
©2018-2021, Christine Wingate
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
