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LISTEN |
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/v/…/v/…/v/…/v/…
vase...view...love...ever... |
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WHAT IS IT? |
Pronunciation:
The sound /v/ is a voiced, labiodental, fricative consonant.
The sound /v/ can be in these consonant clusters
The sound /v/ is a voiced, labiodental, fricative consonant.
- Press your upper teeth against your lower lip.
- Breathe out and let air escape past your teeth.
- Your vocal cords should vibrate.
The sound /v/ can be in these consonant clusters
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Beginning of a Syllable
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End of a Syllable
<
>
(none)
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/lv/ (“lve”) - shelve
/lvz/ (“lves”) - themselves /lvd/ ("lved") - delved /rv/ (“rve”) - carve /rvz/ (“rves”) - serves /rvd/ ("rved") - starved |
Spelling:
- “v”/”ve” – vet, leave
- “f” - of
Grammar Tip:
The sound /v/ is present in the suffix “-ive.” This suffix may turn a verb into an adjective, or sometimes a noun.
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COMPARE |
Compare /v/ with /f/:
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/v/…/f/…/v/…/f/…/v/…/f/...
Both /v/ and /f/ are labiodental, fricative consonants. However, /v/ is voiced and /f/ is voiceless. When you pronounce /v/, your vocal cords should vibrate. At the end of a word, the vowel before /v/ will be longer than the vowel before /f/. |
You can hear the difference between /v/ and /f/ in these words.
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2. A. veer, B. fear
1. A. vine, B. fine 3. A. view, B. few 4. A. save, B. safe 6. A. believe, B. belief 5. A. proves, B. proofs |
Practice recognizing words with /v/ and /f/ by taking the quiz below.
Now, compare /v/ with /w/:
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/v/…/w/…/v/…/w/…/v/…/w/…
Both /v/ and /w/ are voiced consonants that involve lip movement. However, /v/ is a voiced labiodental consonant, and /w/ is a bilabial glide. When you pronounce /v/, your upper teeth should rub against your lower lip, but when you pronounce /v/ your lips should not touch your teeth. |
You can hear the difference between /v/ and /f/ in these words.
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1. A. vest, B. west
2. A. vow, B. wow 3. A. veil, B. whale 4. A. verse, B. worse 5. A. viper, B. wiper 6. A. roving, B. rowing |
Practice recognizing words with /v/ and /w/ by taking the quiz below.
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PRACTICE |
Listen and repeat these words:

words_with_-v-.mp3 | |
File Size: | 624 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
1. vest
2. very 3. veer 4. violin 5. visor 6. vendor 7. love 8. save 9. shelve 10. curve |
11. above
12. believe 13. creative 14. over 15. heaven 16. moving 17. deliver 18. advice 19. convey 20. advantage |
Now, practice /v/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
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1. travel – overseas – vacation
We will travel overseas on our vacation. 2. five – visitors – arrive At five o’clock, our visitors will arrive. 3. vendor– seventh - souvenirs The vendor on Seventh Street sells souvenirs. 4. of – relatives – love – volleyball All of our relatives love volleyball. 5. approve – of - violent - behavior I don’t approve of his violent behavior. 6. every – evening – drive – visit Every evening, I drive to visit my grandfather. |
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:
Imagine you are planning a vacation to an island in the Caribbean. These are the activities you can do.
Prepare:
Imagine you are planning a vacation to an island in the Caribbean. These are the activities you can do.
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- Go scuba diving
- Drive along the beach
- Attend a carnival
- View the island from an airplane
- Watch an evening show
- Shop for souvenirs from local vendors
- Visit a volcano
- Have dinner with native people
Plan a one-day schedule for a vacation to the island. Choose activities that you would do at each of these times
- 11:00 am
- 12:00 pm
- 5:00 pm
- 7:00 pm
- 11:00 pm
Record:
In your recording, explain what you will do at each time..
©2018-2021, Christine Wingate

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