Aren’t all sounds important for fluent English?
Yes absolutely. Yet, there are 9 sounds or phonemes which, in my opinion, are crucial for clear and fluent English. The reason that I consider these phonemes to be critical is their frequency. In other words, they are more common than other sounds, hence important. If you mispronounce or are not able to pronounce these 9 sounds clearly and easily in a conversation, people (including most teachers) will assume you have bad grammar. Allow me to elaborate as this might sound confusing to many of you.
Sample errors resulting of bad pronunciation of the 9 sounds
As a teacher, I have come across hundreds of advanced students who know the English grammar back to front, they almost know every rule, YET they continue to, for example, omit (delete) the “s” (in Third singular), so instead of saying “he washes”, they could end up saying “he wash” or “he washed”. The students making those mistakes are aware that they should be saying “he washes” and most probably believe they are (saying it right), but the truth is they CAN’T. Why? Because they can’t produce consonant /z/ (especially at the end of the word as it is commonly pronounced in English). Okay then, without further ado, the 9 most important English sounds are:
SOUND /z/ (sometimes /s/ when contracted in IT’S)
This simple sound is just about everywhere, it happens to be in verb [be] and [have] and [do], the 3 most common irregular verbs in the entire language. You can find consonant /z/ in:
A-Verb/auxiliary BE [is]. We use [is] in simple present and present continuous.
EXAMPLES:
1-He is a lawyer OR He‘s a lawyer.(Simple present)
2-She is watching TV OR She‘s watching TV. (Present continuous)
B-Verb/auxiliary BE [was]. We use [was] in simple past and past continuous.
EXAMPLES:
1-It was cold yesterday. (Simple past)
2-He was talking on the phone. (Past continuous)
C-Verb/Auxiliary [has]. We use [has] in the simple present of verb [have], and as an auxiliary in present perfect and present perfect continuous.
EXAMPLES:
1-He has a nice car. (Simple present)
2-She has bought me a sweater OR She‘s bought me a sweater. (Present perfect)
3-He has been studying English for 2 years OR He‘s been studying English for 2 years. (Present perfect continuous).
D-Verb/Auxiliary [does]. We use [does] intensively in simple present-interrogative (questions).
EXAMPLES:
1-Does he eat sushi? (Simple present-interrogative)
2-Does it rain in summer over there? (Simple present-interrogative)
E-Possessives. We use /z/ in [whose] and after the nouns that take apostrophe and an s.
EXAMPLES:
1-Whose car is it?
2-I have to fix my daughter‘s mobile phone.
SOUND /r/
A-Like /z/, /r/ is in the auxiliary verb be [are] in simple present, present continuous and [were] in simple past and past continuous.
EXAMPLES:
1-We are a happy couple OR We‘re a happy couple. (Simple present)
2-You are going to the cinema aren’t you? OR You‘re going to the cinema aren’t you?(Present continuous)
3-They were poor in the past. (Simple past)
4-We were having dinner when you called. (Past continuous)
B-/r/ is used in the comparative [-er] and [more].
EXAMPLES:
1-He’s taller than I.
2-She’s more beautiful than I.
SOUND /m/
We use consonant /m/ in verb [be] for First Person [I] in simple present and present continuous.
EXAMPLES:
1-I am a doctor ORI’m a doctor. (Simple present)
2-I am studying IT OR I’m studying IT (Information technology). (Present continuous)
3-Am I too short you think? (Simple present-interrogative)
SOUND /v/
A-Consonant /v/ is part of the auxiliary verb [have] which we use in simple present, present perfect, present perfect continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous (the last 2 are not awfully common in everyday spoken English).
EXAMPLES:
1-I have a dog. (Simple present)
2-We have sold our house OR We‘ve sold our house. (Present perfect)
3-They have been looking for a car OR They‘ve been looking for a car. (Present perfect continuous)
4-I will have graduated by the time you get married OR I‘ll’ve graduated by the time you get married.(Future perfect)
5-We will have been living in Australia for 10 years next week OR We‘ll’ve been living in Australia for 10 years next week . (Future perfect continuous)
B-We also use consonant frequently in [never] and [ever].
EXAMPLES:
1-We have never been to Europe OR We’ve never been to Europe.
2-Have you ever driven a sports car? OR Ever driven a sports car? (casual)
SOUND /l/
A-We use /l/ in the auxiliary verb be [will] in future tense, Future continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous.
EXAMPLES:
1-I will call you tomorrow OR I‘ll call you tomorrow. (Future tense)
2-I will be studying while you’re watching TV OR I‘ll be studying while you’re watching TV. (Future continuous)
3-Call me at 9am, I will have arrived at my office by then OR I‘ll’ve arrived at my office by then. (Future perfect)
4-You will have been studying English for exactly 6 months tomorrow OR You‘ll’ve been studying English for exactly 6 months tomorrow. (Future perfect continuous)
B-We also pronounce /l/ in many adverbs such as [really] [frequently] [importantly] and adjectives with suffix [-ble] such as [unbelievable] [eatable] [feasible] etc.
SOUNDS /t/, /d/ and /t̬/
A-We use these 3 phonemes especially in regular verbs with [-ed] endings. We pronounce [-ed] as /t/ when there’s a voiceless consonant before it, as /d/ when there’s a voiced consonant before it and as /t̬/ when there’s a vowel after it.
EXAMPLES:
1-I hoped he would get the job. (-ed as /t/ because /p/ in [hope] is a voiceless consonant)
2-I loved her so much. (-ed as /t/ because /p/ in [hope] is a voiceless consonant)
3-He waited a minute. (-ed as /t̬/ because it is followed by a vowel)
B-We also pronounce /d/ as part of the auxiliary verb have [had] in simple past present perfect , past perfect, past perfect continuous.
EXAMPLES:
1-I had a meeting. (Simple past)
2-She has had a boyfriend OR She’s had a boyfriend. (Present perfect)
3-He had studied English before he went to the US OR He‘d studied English before he went to the US. (Past perfect)
4-They had been living in this house for 5 years before we moved into this neighborhood OR They‘d been living in this house for 5 years before we moved into this neighborhood. (Past perfect continuous)
C-Also, consonant /d/ is in the auxiliary verb do [do] [does] [did] etc.
EXAMPLES:
1-Do you drive?
2-Does he speak Chinese?
3-Did you call him? OR Djou call him? (casual)
D-Consonant /d/ is in modals [would] [could] [should] and [need] while /t/ is in [must] [might] and [ought]. Both /d/ and /t/ however could be pronounced as /t̬/ before a vowel.
EXAMPLES:
1-I would travel around the world if I had more money OR I‘d travel around the world if I had more money.
2-Could you pass me the salt? OR Couldjou pass me the salt? (casual)
3-I need to buy some clothes.
4-You must pass the driving test to get your driving license.
5-We might go skiing on the weekend.
6-He ought to study harder if he wants to pass his exams.
E-We use /t/ or /t̬/ in conjunction [but].
EXAMPLES:
1-I like it but she doesn’t. /t/
2-She eats Thai food but I don’t. /t̬/
F-We use /t/ in negative sentences in all of the following contractions: [isn’t] [aren’t] [wasn’t] [weren’t] [hasn’t] [haven’t] [hadn’t] [don’t] [didn’t] [won’t] [wouldn’t] [couldn’t] [shouldn’t] [mustn’t] etc.
EXAMPLES:
1-He isn’t in a hurry.
2-We aren’t married.
3-She wasn’t at home.
4-They weren’t at the movies, they were at the mall.
5-It hasn’t stopped raining yet.
6-You haven’t finished eating yet have you?
7-I hadn’t seen him for over 3 months before his birthday party.
8-I don’t like reading.
9-He didn’t call me last night.
10-It won’t rain tomorrow.
11-He wouldn’t steal from me.
12-She couldn’t rent that apartment.
13-You shouldn’t buy a house at the moment.
14-You mustn’t drive over 120Kmph on the highway in Sydney.
G-Finally, we use /t/ or /t̬/ in [get]. [get] plays several roles. TO GET + direct object = to obtain, to receive, to buy. TO GET + place expression = reach, arrive at a place. TO GET + adjective = to become, show a change of state. TO GET + preposition/adverb is used in many phrasal verbs. Depending on what follows verb [get], /t/ or /t̬/ is pronounced. [get] + past participle=passive voice. Let’s check it all out.
EXAMPLES:
TO GET + direct object = to obtain, to receive, to buy.
1-Finally I got a loan from the bank. (obtain)
2-She’s got a letter from her friend. (receive)
3-I got a new sweater yesterday. (buy)
TO GET + place expression = come, reach, arrive at a place.
1-We got to New York at about 10pm. (come)
2-I just got here (arrive)
3-What time did you get over there? (reach)
TO GET + adjective = to become, show a change of state.
1-I’ve got angry with him because he’s always late for work.
2-Let’s eat, I’m getting hungry.
TO GET + preposition/adverb is used in many phrasal verbs.
1-They don’t get on very well (they don’t have a good relationship)
2-She said she just got on the train.
3-Let’s get off the bus now.
4-I need to get over that horrible flu. (recover from)
5-What time do you get up in the morning? (wake up)
6-What are you getting at? (What do you mean? OR What are you trying to say?)
TO GET + past participle=passive voice.
1-When did you get married? (When were you married?)
2-I heard he got arrested for fraud. (I heard he was arrested for fraud)
3-I get paid on the 25th of every month. (am paid)
4-Who did you get hired by? (were you hired)
SOUND /n/
A-Consonant /n/ is also pronounced in negative sentences only because phoneme /t/ is very often omitted (deleted). Using the same list above, here’s how these words are pronounced: [isn’] [aren’] [wasn’] [weren’] [hasn’] [haven’] [hadn’] [don’] [didn’] [won’] [wouldn’] [couldn’] [shouldn’] [mustn’] etc.
B-However, that is not the only use for consonant /n/ in grammar, we use it in particle [an], prepositions [in] and [on], conjunction [and] as we more often than not drop (delete) consonant /d/, and in modal [can].
EXAMPLES:
1-I want an apple.
2-I live in the city.
3-I’m on the train.
4-He’s stupid and arrogant.
5-I can play the guitar but I can’t play the piano.
C-We use consonant /n/ in the participle of irregular verbs such as [been] [eaten] [written] [beaten] [begun] [chosen] etc.
EXAMPLES:
1-How long have you been living in New York for?
2-I’ve already eaten, thank you.
3-This book was written in 1957.
4-They’ve been beaten by another soccer team.
5-He’s begun to work in a new company.
D-Let’s not forget the excessively used [gonna] as an informal way to say [going to] and [wanna] to say [want to].
EXAMPLES:
1-I wanna go home.
2-She’s gonna quit her job.
E-Finally, when some people speak English casually, they omit (delete) the [g] in the continuous or present participle form [ing]. So instead of pronouncing /ŋ/, which is the IPA for [ng], they pronounce /n/.
EXAMPLES:
1-I’m eatin’ now, why don’t you call me later?
2-I was drivin’ on the highway, so I couldn’ answer the phone.
3-I don’t like playin’ cards.
4-Do you see the sleepin’ woman over there?
SOUND /ŋ/
Consonant /ŋ/ is essentially present in the continuous, participle, gerund forms [ing].
EXAMPLES:
1-I’m eating at the moment
2-The land of the rising sun.
3-I like listening to music.
SOUND /ð/
Consonant /ð/ is the voiced [th] inevitable in determiner [the], demonstratives [this] [that] [these] and [those], conjunctions [though] [wether] [although] [that] [then] and[than] (although the status of THAN as a conjunction is debatable) and preposition [with]
EXAMPLES:
1-The table in the living room.
2-This guy is bald.
3-That boy over there is my neighbour’s son.
4-These flowers are beautiful.
5-Those people are so noisy.
5-I don’t know whether he’s coming or not.
6-Although he didn’t study, he passed the exam.
7-I know that he’s a good man. (We often delete it)
8-We ate hamburgers, then we had a salad.
9-He’s taller than I.
10-Come with me.
What do you think? Have I missed anything?
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