LESSON 3

Consonant Sounds
We have learnt earlier that the speech sounds can be divided into two types: the vowel
sounds and the consonant sounds.
The consonant sounds are 24 in number. A brief description of these is given below. These
may be grouped according to:
a) the way they are pronounced
b) the place of pronunciation in the mouth, and
c) whether they are voiced or unvoiced (a sound is ‘voiced’ if accompanied by vibrations
in the vocal cords and it is ‘unvoiced’ when there are no vibrations in the vocal cords.)
We shall deal with consonant sounds in groups based on the first classification i.e. the way
the sounds are produced. This classification includes;
1. Plosives: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/.
2. Affricates: /tʃ/, /dʒ/.
3. Fricatives: /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/.
4. Lateral: /l/.
5. Frictionless Continuant:
/r/. 6. Nasals: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/.
7. Semi - Vowels: /w/, /j/.

(i)Plosives
Let us take the first group of consonant sounds, the plosives. These are six in number and
include:
/p/ as in ‘pet’, /b/ as in ‘bag’, /t/ as in ‘tap’, /d/ as in ‘dog’, /k/ as in ‘kite’ and /g/ as in ‘go’.
You will notice that while saying these sounds the air pressure is built up due to blocking of
the air stream coming out of our lungs by closing the speech organs at some point. The
blocked air is then suddenly released to produce a plosive sound.

/p/ Pin
To produce the sound /p/:
1. Close both the lips tightly to shut the mouth cavity.
2. Let the air pressure build up.
3. Open the lips to let the air out suddenly.
4. There should be no vibration in the vocal cords.
See the figure given below and practise producing this sound. The first figure shows the
position of lips when we begin to produce this sound, the second figure shows the position of
lips immedi- ately after the sound has been uttered.
Figure 3.1: Production of the sound /p/

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 1

Read the words given below and note how the consonant sound /p/ is
produced.

Pen Pull Lamp

Pot Pin Pencil

Other words :
page, piece, point, pencil, punish, peace, patience, place, space, speak, spring, split
,happy, simple, important, apply, pupil, lip, dip, ship, cap, hop, leap.

Exercise 1
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the
sound /p/.
1. The painter sprayed the pink paint all over the puzzle.
2. To polish your pronunciation practise patiently.
3. Taking a sip of soup from the cup, Peter smacked his lips.
4. Please pack a pound of potatoes.
5. Polly won a prize in the triple race, which involved hopping, skipping and jumping.

Exercise 2
What is the sound of the letter ‘p’ in ‘cupboard’ and ‘receipt’?

/b/ Ball
To produce the sound /b/:
1. First practise the sound /p/.
2. Now add voice to it with the help of vibrations in the vocal cords.

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 Figure 3.2: Production of the sound /b/

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Read the words given below and note how the consonant sound /b/ is
produced.

Bed Bottle Bowl

Banana Ball Boats

Other words :
stumble, member, hub, cub, bed, bike, bow, bite, bill, band, bay, bread, blade, block, back,
bear, big, board, behave, below ,behind, about, cupboard, labour, flabby, shabby, tribal,
pebbles, cobbler, cub, crab, job, cab, tribe, club, shrub, tub, cube.

Exercise 3
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the
sound /b/.
1. The baby used the blocks to make a beautiful building.
2. Buy a bottle of black ink when you go to the bazaar.
3. Don’t borrow books, buy them.
4. We have baked beans and bread for breakfast.
5. The club members must pay the bills by February.

/t/ Table
To produce the sound /t/ :
1. Press the tip of the tongue tightly against the teeth ridge.
2. Let the air pressure build up .
3. Quickly remove the tip of the tongue to let the air out suddenly.
4. There should be no vibration in the vocal cords.

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See the figure given below and practise producing this sound. The first figure shows the
initial position of the tongue and the lips while the second picture shows these positions at
the final stage of pronunciation.

Figure 3.3:Production of the sound /t/

Practise the sound /t/ by reading the following words aloud.

Ten Tear Truck

Torch Bottle Foot

Exercise 4
Practise the sound /t/ further with the help of these words and note the
letters used to produce the sound /t/.
time, tray, attack, top, tense mountain, tick, tough, time, pretty, fountain, cut , attract,
captain, hospital, bat, cot, meet, flight, pest, nest, seat, height, act, talked, laughed, sit,
hopped, feet, watched, festival.

Note: The past forms of words ending with ‘ed’ sound like/t/ at the end if the root word
ends with a voiceless sound such as /k/ as in ‘talked’, /f/ as in ‘laughed’, /p/ as in ‘jumped’
and /s/ as in ‘passed’.

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 5

Exercise 5
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the sound
/t/.
1. At no time must you be tense.
2. His tattered coat took twenty minutes to be stitched.
3. It’s time to set out for the tour.
4. Fatty Twinkle Teddy is her favourite toy.
5. Put it in the past perfect tense.
6. Don’t try to touch the hot pot.
7. They laughed and talked as they watched the movie together.
8. The pretty teenager attracted a lot of attention at the party.

Exercise 6
Read the following words and underline the letter ‘t’ where it is silent.
castle, kettle, Christmas, fight, whistle, cotton, fasten.

/d/ Deer
To produce the sound /d/ :
1. First practise the sound /t/.
2. Now add voice to it with the help of vibrations in the vocal cords.
See the figures given below and practise this sound. The two figures given below show the
initial and final positions of the tongue when we utter this sound.

Figure 3.4: Production of the sound /d/

Practise saying the following words aloud with special attention to the sound /d/.

Deer Head Drop Dog

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 Bundle Spider Door

Exercise 7
Practise the sound ‘d’ with the help of the following words and write down
the words ending with the /d/ sound.
dig, day, dark, dozen, delay, bad, addition, dance, pod, saddle, dry, riddle, sad, dark, bread,
blade, behind, hand, pleased, desire, deal, ground, drop, called, sinned, shrugged.

Exercise 8
Read aloud the following verbs all ending with the regular past form (-ed).
You will notice that sometimes –ed is pronounced as /d/ and at other times as /t/ in these
words. Sort these words accordingly into the two columns and also note down the
consonant after which these sounds occur (preceding consonant).
asked, begged, helped, attacked, filled, shared, talked, watched, bathed, wished, dragged,
rubbed, slipped, kneeled, loved, laughed, judged, missed, hummed, pinned

Words ending with sound

Preceding
/t/ consonant
Word ending with soundPreceding
/d/ consonant

Exercise 9
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the sound
/d/.
1. He’d dried the dahlia and dog flower seeds for the garden.
2. Don’t add dollars to pounds directly.
3. Dye the dress and drip-dry it in the shade.
4. Do you dance on Fridays?
5. I had a bad day in Delhi yesterday.

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/k/ Kite
To produce the sound /k/ :
1. Press the back of the tongue against the soft palate (back part of the roof of the mouth).
2. Let the air pressure build up .
3. Quickly remove the back of the tongue to let the air out suddenly.
4. There should be no vibration in the vocal
cords. See the figure given below and practise
this sound.

Figure 3.5: Production of the sound /k/

Practise saying the following words aloud with special attention to the sound /k/.

Clothes Car Kite

Cow Corn Cat

Exercise 10
Read the words given below and note the different spellings of the sound /k/
in these words.
kite, cake, cup, coat, coast, class, kind, kick, cross, keep, character, chemistry, chaos,
stomach, queen, quilt, queue, quality, quiet, across, account, record, request, decay,
darkness, ankle, breakage, background, occasion, occur, book, walk, truck, stick, frock,
brick, ache, bark.

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Exercise 11
Say the following words aloud. What do you notice about the sound of the
letter ‘k’ in these words?
knock, know, knee, knickers, knife, knowledge.

Exercise 12
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the sound
/k/.
1. The quality of cakes in this bakery is quite good.
2. The strikers have stopped work in the factory.
3. I can’t drink cold coffee because I’ve caught a cold.
4. Kamal kicked the ball to the back of the court.
5. Cut the cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots and capsicum for the baked dish.
6. The Cricket World Cup attracted controversy.
7. Keep quiet and sit calm during the class discussion.

/g/ Girl
To produce this sound /g/ :
1. First practise the sound /k/.
2. Now add voice to it with the help of vibrations in the vocal cords.
This sound, like /k/, is also made by pressing the back of the tongue against the soft
palate. It is accompanied by vibration of the vocal cords (throat). See the figure given
below and practise this sound. The two figures given below show the initial and final
positions of the tongue when we utter this sound.

Figure 3.6: Production of the sound /g/

Read the following words and note how the letter ‘g’ is pronounced.

Gate Tiger

Jug Bag

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 9

 Gun

Egg Girl

Glass

Exercise 13
Read the words given below and note whether the letter ‘g’ is pronounced as
/g/ or as /dʒ/. Put these words in correct column of the following table.
girl, ginger, gym, gingerbread, giraffe, give, glass, gesture, guest, general, generation, gem,
gene, gaze, gallant, game, gain, God, suggest, budge, George, Geography, sag, guard,
jungle, dagger.

Words containing the letter ‘g’ pronounced

Wordsascontaining
/g/ the letter ‘g’ pronounced as

Exercise 14
Read the sentences given below and spot the words which contain /g/
sound. Also note the words which contain the letter ‘g’ but it is pronounced
as /dʒ/.
1. He is holding a long string.
2. Did you get grass for your goat?
3. The beggar gave George his luggage and got a bag in return.
4. He returned in a giant ship after a great struggle.
5. Garbage in is garbage out.
6. They garnished the dish with ginger and garlic.

(ii)Affricates
These sounds are also produced by the blockage of the outgoing air stream like the
plosives. However, the release of air by parting of the speech organs is gradual and not
sudden as in plosives. The sounds of /tʃ/ as in ‘chair’ and /dʒ/ as in ‘jug’ are affricates.

/tʃ/ Chair
The consonant /tʃ/ is produced by pressing the front part of the tongue against the front
part of the roof of the mouth as is shown in the figure. The air is released slowly after the
blockage is removed. This is a voiceless sound as there is no vibration in the vocal cords.
See the figure given below and practise this sound.

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The two figures given below show the initial and final positions of the tongue when we utter
this sound.

Figure 3.7:Production of the sound /tʃ/

See the pictures given below and read the words given under them to
practise this sound.

Switch Chair Chain

Child Torch Cheese

Exercise 15
Given below are words which contain the consonant sound /tʃ/. Read these
words aloud and note where this sound occurs in these words - a)
beginning b) middle or c) end.
chair, chain, chew, choose, chick, cheese, charming, cheerful, feature, reaching, riches,
archery, watchman, speech, furniture, nature, picture, suggestion, question, catch, watch,
match, peach, bench, march, research, teach.

Exercise 16
Now read the words given above again and find out which letters are used
to produce the consonant sound /tʃ/.

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 1

Exercise 17
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the sound
/tʃ/.
1. Children choose to eat chips and sandwiches with ketchup rather than chapatti with
chutney.
2. The watchdog cheerfully wagged his tail.
3. He gave a charming smile but his speech was very boring.
4. The researcher chased the chickens under the bench.
5. The chairperson wore a cherry- red coloured dress.
6. The question is: Why does the furniture not match with the carpet?
7. The teacher watched over the children at the beach.

/dʒ/ Jug
The consonant sound /dʒ/ is produced exactly the same way as /tʃ/, but it is a voiced sound
so the vocal cords vibrate in producing this sound. See the figure given below and practise
producing this sound. The two figures given below show the initial and final positions of
the tongue when we utter this sound.
Figure 3.8: Production of the sound /dʒ/

Vegetables

Jam Jug

Practise saying the following words aloud with special attention to the sound /dʒ/.

Orange Juice Bridge

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Exercise 18
Given below are three sets of words which contain the consonant sound /dʒ/. Read these
words aloud and note where this sound occurs in these words.
Set 1: Joy, jelly, jump, jam, gentle, geography, giant,
juice. Set 2: Margin, pyjamas, largely, refrigerator,
tragedy, soldier. Set 3: Huge, orange, strange, bridge,
charge.

Exercise 19
Read the words given above once again and find out which letters are used to produce the
sound
/dʒ/.

Exercise 20
Now read the following sentences, and note the words containing the sound /dʒ/. Also,
underline the letters used to produce this sound.
1. There is jam and ginger bread in the fridge.
2. Janki joined the Geography Department in January.
3. The soldier drinking the juice is a gentleman.
4. They joined hands and jumped over the bridge.
5. You look gorgeous in the orange jacket.

(iii) Fricatives
Let us take the third group of consonant sounds. These are nine in number and include:
/f/ as in ‘fan’, /v/ as in ‘van’, /θ/ as in ‘think’, /ð/ as in ‘then’, /s/ as in ‘sit’, /z/ as in ‘zoo’, /ʃ/
as in ‘shoe’, /ʒ/ as in ‘pleasure’ and /h/ as in ‘hen’. These sounds are produced by a
continuous flow of air through a narrow passage in the mouth made by placing the two
organs of speech very close together. Now let us discuss these sounds one by one.

/f/ Fan
To produce the sound /f/:
1. Touch your upper teeth with the lower lip.
2. Blow out air between the teeth and the lower lip without using your
voice. See the figure given below and note how the consonant sound /f/ is
produced.

Figure 3.9: Production of the sound /f/

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 1

Read the following words aloud and practise the sound /f/.

Fan Family Fingers

Foot Flowers Forest

Exercise 21
Read the following sentences and underline letters which are used to
produce the sound /f/.
1. This is a ceiling fan.
2. I bought a beautiful photo frame.
3. The surface of the road is rough.
4. Mangoes are my favourite fruit.

Exercise 22
Read aloud the passages given below and mark the words that produce
the /f/ sound. Read them aloud once again.
1. Kanha National Park came into existence in 1955. Since then, its flora and fauna have
been protected. It preserves a great number of wildlife species. It is one of the finest
national parks in Asia. You can see its photographs on the internet.
2. The forests of the Himalayan region have played an important role in the life of the
people of Uttarakhand. They have been supplying fodder for their cattle, wood for fuel,
fresh fruits for food and herbs for medicines. The forests have also prevented floods and soil
erosion in the area during the rough monsoon season.

/v/ Van
To produce this sound /v/:
1. First practise the sound /f/.
2. Then add voice to it to produce the target sound.

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Look at the figure below. It will help you to produce this sound correctly.

Figure 3.10: Production of the sound /v/

Read the following words aloud and note the way /v/ sound is produced.

Vase Liver Veins

Vote Vegetables Vision

Read aloud the conversation between two friends, Raj and Shyam to
practise the sound /v/.
Raj: Shyam, I visited my grandparents last
week. Shyam: That’s very nice. Where do they live?
Raj: They live in a small village near Varanasi.
Shyam: I’d love to live in a village. Life is very simple
there. Raj: Yes. I think I will invest in some land near
Varanasi.

Exercise 23
Read the sentences given below and underline the words that contain the
sound /v/.
1. We should eat green vegetables every day.
2. Blood flows through the veins in our body very fast.
3. Many visitors to Agra see the Taj Mahal and also visit the Red Fort.
4. We must cast our votes to bring about a revolution in the country.
5. We have given away five expensive vases from our shop to the charitable society-
‘Vision for All’.
Note: You have now learnt both the sounds /f/ and /v/. The former is voiceless, whereas the
latter is voiced. The following exercise will help you to differentiate the two sounds.

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Consonant sounds /f/ & /v/
Read the following pairs of words and note the difference in the way the sounds /f/ and /v/
are produced.

Fan — van Few — view

Fine — vine Fission — vision
Ferry — very File — vile

Exercise 24
Read the following words aloud and divide them in two columns on the
basis of the sounds
/f/ or /v/ they contain.
fridge, roof, voice, level, fur, victory, revolution, vision, raft, refresh, half, enough,
love, laugh, photo, behaviour, five.

Sound /f/ Sound /v/

Read the following sentences aloud using each of the two words given in brackets
in turn and observe the difference in meaning when using the sounds /f/ or /v/ in
these words:
1. Their (fine/vine) seems good this year.
2. The (few/view) that we saw pleased us.
3. We got our (fans/vans) last week.

/θ/ Teeth
To produce the sound /θ/:
1. Bring your tongue between your teeth.
2. Then blow out air without using your voice.
See the image given below to know how the sound /θ/ is produced.

Figure 3.11: Production of the sound /θ/

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Read the following words aloud and note the way /v/ sound is produced.

Teeth Path Thumb

Thermometer Theatre Tooth

Exercise 25
Read the sentences given below and underline the words that contain the
consonant sound
/θ/.
1. We place a thermometer in the mouth to measure temperature.
2. We should brush our teeth with toothpaste every day.
3. Wind the thread around your thumbs with care.
4. Soldiers need a health check up every three months.
5. The film in the theatre showed the birth of panther cubs.
6. The athlete let out a long breath after running through a thick fog.

/ð/ This
To produce this sound /ð/:
1. First practise the sound /θ/.
2. Then add voice to it to produce the target sound.
See the image given below to know more about how this sound is produced.

Figure 3.12: Production of the sound /ð/

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 1

Now practise the sound /ð/ in the words and given below.

Father and son Clothes This boy

That girl Feather

Exercise 26
Read the sentences given below and underline the words that contain the
consonant sound
/ð/.
1. The father walks with his son every evening.
2. The leather bag will last longer.
3. This is the pen that I bought yesterday.
4. Although the weather was rough yet they attended all the meetings.
5. The peacock has colourful feathers.
6. The boy is bathing with his friends in the river.
7. My brothers work in this factory.
8. Don’t go out without your shoes.

Exercise 27
Read the following words aloud and divide them into two columns on the
basis of the sounds
/θ/ and /ð/ in them ( Note that both the sounds are spelt as ‘th’)
the, thank, thought, this, with, those, brother, these, through, though, there, three,
think, thin, breathing, breath, faithful, toothless, authority, without, mother.

Words containing the /θ/ sound Words containing the /ð/ sound

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/s/ Sofa
To produce the sound /s/:
1. Slightly touch your upper teeth with the tip of the tongue.
2. Blow out air between the teeth and the tongue without using your
voice. See the figure given below to know how the sound /s/ is
produced.

Figure 3.13: Production of the sound /s/

Read the following words aloud and note how the consonant sound /s/ is
produced.

Soap Caps Sofa

Circle Study Cycle

Exercise 28
Read the sentences given below and underline the words that contain
the consonant sound /s/.
1. She keeps dirty utensils in the sink.
2. The seal is a sea animal.
3. The children were playing in a circle.
4. The soup is steaming hot.
5. The postman delivered the parcel.
6. The policeman at the crossing blows a whistle.

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 1

Exercise 29
Read the following words aloud and underline the different letters producing
the sound /s/ :
caps, box, skull, school, sir, books, salt, sip, sand, soul, pass, parcel, face, cell, difference,
science, scene, mix, essence.

/z/ Zip
To produce this sound /z/:
1. First practise the sound /s/.
2. Then add voice to it to produce the target sound. See the given figure to understand
how the sound /z/ is produced.

Figure 3.14: Production of the sound /z/

Practise reading the following words aloud and note where the sound /z/ occurs in
each word:

Zip Hands Rose

Cloves Zebra Zoo

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Exercise 30
Read the following sentences and underline the letter(s) producing the
sound /z/ and also note the spellings.
1. The zebras are enclosed in cages at the zoo.
2. The rose is the king of flowers.
3. Cloves are good for the throat.
4. Always wash your hands before meals.
5. The sun is rising over the hills.
6. The bazaar is closed on Tuesdays.
Note: The alternative spelling of the sound /z/ is ‘s’, as in case of ‘hands, cloves and rose.’

Exercise 31
Read the following words aloud and divide them into two columns on the
basis of the sounds
/s/ or /z/ which they contain.
rings, rise, sign, slow, price, bags, cats, sweet, sleep, lungs, peace, peas, fence, fans, niece,
knees, lacy, lazy, ice, eyes, falls, false, buttons, bottles

Words containing /s/ sound Words containing /z/ sound

/ʃ/ Ship
To produce the sound /ʃ/:
1. First practise the sound /s/.
2. Then move the tip of the tongue further back to produce the target
sound. See the figure given below and practise this sound.

Figure 3.15: Production of the sound /ʃ/

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Read the following words aloud and note how the consonant sound /ʃ/ is
produced.

Shoe Ship Push

Cushion Fish Shore

Exercise 32
Read the following words and note down the different combinations of the
letters used to produce the sound /ʃ/.
sheet, shy, shine, shore, shave, passion, fashion, ration, emotion, sure, show, shoot.

Exercise 33
Read the following words aloud and group them into three columns
depending on the sound they contain /s/, /ʃ/ or /z/.
school, breeze, shoe, case, easy, shine, flash, permission, cash, bus, box, mission, closes,
pauses, pass.

Words containing /s/ sound Words containing /ʃ/ sound Words containing /z/ sound

Exercise 34
Read the following plural forms of the words given below and group
them into three categories according to the ending sounds /s/, /z/ and /iz/.
pens, dams, songs, caps, crabs, pets, beds, kicks, mugs, watches, judges, wolves, puffs,
berths, deaths, breathes, clothes, bathers, clutches, bridges.

Words ending with /s/ sound Words ending with /z/ sound Words ending with /iz/ sound

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/ʒ/ Treasure
To produce the sound /ʒ/ :
1. First practise the sound /ʃ/.
2. Then add voice to it to produce the target
sound. See the figure given below and practise
this sound.

Figure 3.16: Production of the sound /ʒ/

Read the following words aloud and note how the consonant sound /ʒ/ is

Treasure Garage Barrage

produced.

Vision Division Measure

Exercise 35
Read the following sentences and underline the words which contain /ʒ /
sound.
1. The decision of the parents was most appropriate.
2. Soil erosion is due to deforestation.
3. The illness affected his vision.
4. The cars were all parked in the garage.
5. The division of the property among the brothers was unfair.
6. The thief stole the treasure.

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 2

7. A barrage was built on the river to control the flood water.

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/h/ Hat
To produce the sound /h/ :
1. First open your mouth.
2. Then push plenty of air out from the throat quickly just like we do in the winters to warm
our hands.
See the figure given below and practise this sound.

Figure 3.17: Production of the sound /h/

Read the following words aloud and note how the consonant sound /h/ is
produced.

Hat Hen Horse

Helmet Houses Hair

Exercise 36
Read the sentences given below and underline the words which contain
the sound /h/.
1. Who has left his hat in the hall?
2. The race horse was standing behind the hedge.
3. They have put a hoarding up on the hill top.
4. Hunting tigers is prohibited in Bihar.
5. Perhaps they will be happy in Haryana.

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(iv) Lateral
The English sound /l/ comes under this category. The sound is called lateral (which means
side) as the air stream comes out from both sides of the tongue due to blockage in the
middle of the mouth.

/l/ lamp
To produce the sound /l/ :
1. Let the tip of the tongue touch the teeth ridge.
2. Let the air come out through the sides of the tongue.
3. Feel the vibrations in your throat.

Figure 3.18: Production of the sound /l/

Read the following words aloud and note how the consonant sound /l/ is
produced.

Lamp Bottle Lip

Flower Wall Lion

Practise saying the following words which contain the sound /l/
light, line, loyal, lamb, long, late, liver, legs, handle, yellow, laugh, pull, oil, flame, loaf, lock,
pillar, slide, black-board, ladder, letter, apple.

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Exercise 37
Read the sentences given below and underline the words which contain the
sound /l /.
1. Lalit fell off the lorry and was badly hurt.
2. The liver is a vital organ in the body.
3. Lift the bundle up and put it on the table.
4. Planting trees helps lower the pollution level.
5. Village life is still simple and healthy.
6. Leela blessed Lalit with a long and healthy life.
7. Blow the flame lightly but calmly till the fire lights up.
Note: ‘l’ is silent in words like walk, talk, half, calm, calf, should, would.

(v)Frictionless continuant
The English sound /r/ as in ‘rat’ comes under this category. The air passes out through a
narrow passage without any friction.

/r/ rose
To produce the sound /r/:
1. Put the tip of the tongue just behind the teeth ridge.
2. Let the air come out of the narrow passage near the teeth ridge.
3. Feel the vibrations in your throat.

Figure 3.19: Production of the sound /r/

Read the words given below and note the sound /r/.

Fruits Ring Tourist

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 2

 River Rose Rain

Other words:
ray, three, draw, cross, road, track, tree, river, raised, rough, rock, scream, grow, root,
forest, heart, cradle.

Exercise 38
Read the following sentences and underline the words containing /r/
sound.
1. Cricket is a crazy game.
2. The driver of the red car braked suddenly at the traffic light.
3. The acrobat in the circus swung around on the trapeze and then went through the ring of
fire.
4. This greeting card is worth three hundred rupees.
5. Remember to bring a crate of soft drinks for the party.
6. Her answers are never wrong.
7. Ring out the old, ring in the new.
8. Reading, writing and arithmetic are the three R’s of primary education.
9. She bought red roses for her mother’s birthday.
Note: If /r/ is followed by a consonant, its sound is unheard. It is also silent if it comes at
the end of the word i.e. ‘better’, ‘sir’, ‘singer’, ‘fur’, etc. The sound of the phoneme /r/ is
heard only when it is followed by a vowel sound i.e. ‘driver’, ‘hundred’ etc.

(vi) Nasals
There are three nasal sounds in English-/m/ as in ‘man’, /n/ as in ‘nine’ and /ŋ/ as in ‘ring’.
These are called nasals because the outgoing air stream passes through the nasal cavity in
place of the oral cavity as in all other sounds. The oral cavity is closed by lowering the soft
palate.

/m/ Man
To produce the sound /m/ :
1. Close your lips tightly
2. Let the air come out through the nose. Add voice
to it. See the figure given below and practise this
sound.

Figure 3.20: Production of the sound /m/

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Read the following words aloud and note how the sound /m/ is produced.

Mirror Monkey Lamb

Magnet Jam Man

Exercise 39
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the
sound /m/.
1. He has worked hard for months and must score the maximum possible marks now.
2. They need him most in the team.
3. Money makes the mare go.
4. Report the temperature using the metric units.
5. Thermometers are used to measure temperature.
6. The map of Mumbai shows areas where the mangroves are found.

/n/ Nine
To produce the sound /n/:
1. Bring the tip of tongue to touch the teeth ridge.
2. Let the air come out through the nose. It is a voiced
sound. See the figure given below and practise this
sound.

Figure 3.21: Production of the sound /n/

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 2

Read the words given below and practise the sound /n/.
pen, pant, tent, rain, minister, mines, hen, and brown.

Nails Banana Ten

Pin Nine Nails

Note: When the consonant /n/ is placed after the consonant /k/, the sound produced is of /n/
and the letter ‘k’ remains silent as in the words know, knowledge, knee, etc.
Read the following words beginning with the letter ‘k’ and note how
these words are pronounced.
knight, know, knife, knot, knock, knew, knowledge, knell, knit, knave.

Exercise 40
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the sound /n/.
1. Many men wanted to win the reward.
2. It is fun to see the sun shine while it is raining.
3. They appointed nine new nurses to look after the new-borns.
4. The man can nose out a new story anywhere.
5. An instrument blown with the nose is called a nose-flute.
6. Nitrate is used to enrich the soil.
7. The eleventh month of the year is November.

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/ŋ/ Ring
To produce the sound /ŋ/:
1. Raise the back part of the tongue to touch the soft palate and shut the mouth cavity.
2. Let the air come out through the nose.

Figure 3.22: Production of the sound /ŋ/

Read the words given under these pictures and note how the sound /ŋ/ is

Flying Ring Sing

produced.

King Tongue Fingers

Exercise 41
Read the words given below noting the position of the consonant sound /ŋ/
in the words. Categorize them accordingly.
singing, jungle, bangle, triangle, among, singer, song, uncle, string, tongue, wrong, hang,
crying, swinging.

Words containing /ŋ/ sound in the middle

Words in which the sound /ŋ/ occurs at the end

Note: The sound /ŋ/ occurs in the middle and the end of the words but in does not occur at
the beginning of words.

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 3

Exercise 42
Read the sentences given below and underline the words containing the
sound /ŋ/.
1. There is something wrong with his ankles.
2. He waited for his friend for a long time in the jungle.
3. Two tanks full of drinking water are needed.
4. She fell off the top rung of the ladder.
5. He is gardening while his sister is cooking.

Exercise 43
Categorize the following words into three columns according to the presence of the sounds
/m/,
/n/, and /ŋ/.
map, new, bring, sting, knew, more, blink, nose, mole, button, night, ring, monkey, knob,
sling.

Words containing /m/ Words containing /n/ Words containing /ŋ/

(vii) Semi-vowels
These sounds include /w/ as in ‘wall’ and /j/ as in ‘yellow’. A semi-vowel is a vowel glide in
which the tongue glides from one position to another while pronouncing it. However, semi-
vowels function like consonants in English speech. Hence they are termed semi-vowels.

/w/ Wall
To produce the sound /w/ :
1. Put your lips in a rounded position as when you say /u/.
2. Raise the back of the tongue close to the soft palate.
3. Produce the sound by quickly gliding over to the vowel sound that follows.
4. In producing this sound the lips are rounded and the tongue assumes a position
required for producing the sound that follows it in the word. See the figure given below and
practise this sound.

Position of tongue Shape of lips

Figure 3.23: Production of the sound /w/

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Read the words given below and note how the consonant sound /w/ is
produced.
twig, watch, wallet, whale, wine, queen, wheel, wail, white, worm, railway.

Write Wind mill Woman

Wall Whistle Watch

Exercise 44
Read the sentences given below and underline the words containing the
sound /w/. Also note its position in the words and categorize them
accordingly.
1. This week the weather has been worse.
2. The woman wailed for the loss of her husband’s wallet.
3. William was coming on Wednesday.
4. They wore woollen clothes to keep themselves warm.
5. Twenty women were invited to the wedding feast.
6. The party enjoyed walnut cake and sweet wine.
7. From the railway station they walked towards the woods which were very quiet.
8. Why was the queen weary?

The sound /w/ occurring in the beginning

Theofsound
the words
/w/ occurring in the middle of the w

Note: The consonant sound /w/ occurs in the beginning and middle of the words but, it does
not occur at the end of the words.

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 3

Exercise 45
Given below is a list of words which contain the sound /w/. When we say
these words sometimes the sound of /w/ remains silent. Now read these
words and divide them in two columns on the basis of the presence of
the sound/w/.
worth, write, swallow, sweater, twig, whisky, wrestler, wrong, wring, would, whims, switch,
swing, wrinkle, wrap.

Words in which the sound /w/ remains silent

Words in which the sound /w/ is heard

Note: It should be noted that the sound /w/ remains silent if it is followed by the letter ‘r’.

Consonant sounds /v/ and /w/

Some speakers use the sound /v/ for both the sounds /w/ and /v/ which
leads to a confusion in meaning.
Read the following pairs of words and note the way the sounds /w/ and /v/ are
pronounced. vest — west vine — wine veil — whale vein — wane verse —
worse
Note: For producing the sound /v/ the lower lip touches the upper teeth and the lips are in
approx- imately spread position whereas, for production of the sound /w/ the lips are
rounded.

Exercise 46
Read the following sentences and underline the words which contain the
/v/ and /w/ sounds.
Also put them in the correct column of the table given below.
1. He visited the place twice during this week.
2. She was wearing a veil for a while.
3. They went without any woollen vests.
4. Wait, the train is slowing down.
5. Everyone claimed a square of land.
6. The driver went swiftly and avoided the crowd.
7. We voted him vice-president.
8. There lived a hermit in the village above the valley.
9. His book was reviewed.
10. The thief was acquitted.

Words containing sound /v/ Words containing sound /w/

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Exercise 47
Read this conversation in pairs and note the words containing the sounds
/w/ and /v/.
A: I saw that your hotel had advertised vacancies in the newspaper. I’m interested in
working at your hotel. Are the posts still vacant?
B: Yes, they are. There are three vacancies for waiters and waitresses and one vacancy
for a watchman.
A: I’m interested in the waiter’s job. Are the interviews next week?
B: Yes, on Wednesday. Send me your CV and we’ll inform you by Monday evening about
the interviews.

Words containing the sound /v/ Words containing the sound /w/

/j/ Yellow

To produce the sound /j/:

1. Put your lips in a position as when you say /i/.
2. Raise the back of the tongue close to the soft palate.
3. Produce the sound by quickly gliding over to the vowel sound that follows.

Figure 3.24: Production of the sound /j/

Read the words given under the following pictures and note how the consonant
sound /j/ contained in these words is produced.

Yes Youngman Yacht

© 2013, Dayalbagh Educational Spoken English - Section 3

 Tube Yellow

Exercise 48
Read the sentences given below and locate the words containing the
sound/j/. Also note its position in the words and categorize them
accordingly.
1. He owns a huge yellow jeep.
2. Have you used the New York subway?
3. A yoke is placed on a bullock’s neck.
4. The union members met as usual yesterday.
5. On Tuesday they stood in a queue.
6. They are playing tunes to cure their patients.
7. His future in Europe is uncertain.

Words containing sound /j/ in the beginning

Words containing sound /j/ in the middle

Note: The consonant sound /j/ occurs in the beginning and middle of the words but it does
not come at the end.

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