by Phil Williams | Jun 16, 2015 | Exercises, Reading Exercise, Speaking skills
Following on from the rules and patterns laid out in my previous post about how to pronounce –ed endings in English, here are a few exercises to test understanding of when it is appropriate to add a -t, -d or –id sound (with an extra syllable) to different words...
by Phil Williams | May 12, 2015 | Speaking skills
Endings of words that use the suffix -ed are pronounced in 3 different ways in English – as an added –t or –d sound, or as an extra syllable, -id. It is actually quite easy to spot the difference between these different pronunciations, as this short explanation, with...
by Phil Williams | Nov 20, 2014 | Grammar, Speaking skills
Though the present simple’s main use is for general rules, and grammatically represents timeless facts, native speakers often use it in an colloquial setting for storytelling. This can be to recount a past event, a film or book plot, or for running commentaries, as...
by Phil Williams | Sep 4, 2014 | Speaking skills
There are many contractions in English, as shown in my previous list exploring the most common ones. The most commonly contracted words, such as is, not, will, are and had, are reasonably clear to identify, usually joined by either a personal pronoun, certain subject...
by Phil Williams | Aug 5, 2014 | General English, Speaking skills, Words
When you need to spell a word out loud, there is a recognised vocabulary for naming the individual letters of the English alphabet. The names of these letters mostly correspond to the sound of the letter itself (usually in a single long vowel form, or with a consonant...
by Phil Williams | Feb 26, 2014 | Exercises, Listening, Speaking skills
Understanding and using contractions in spoken English may seem simple in theory, but when listening to native English speakers you can encounter contractions unexpectedly. It can be difficult to understand what contractions mean when there is more than one...