Pronunciation
Unit 1
Unit 2
e sounds /e/, /iː/, /ə/
Intonation in question tags
Unlike Italian, in English we can pronounce e in
several different ways. These are three of them:
1 /iː/ is in long, stressed syllables
2 /e/ can be in short stressed syllables or
sometimes in unstressed syllables
3 /ə/ is always in unstressed syllables, e.g. the
suffix -er
1
T4.1 Listen to the words. Then listen again
and repeat.
1 /e/ 2 /iː/ 3 /ə/ 2
In English we use question tags for two purposes.
1 When we think we know the answer already
and are expecting the other person to agree, the
intonation goes down  on the question tag.
2 When we are not sure and are checking to find
out the answer, the intonation goes up  on the
question tag.
1
1 sure  People didn’t have mobiles in the 1950s, did they?
2 not sure  People didn’t wear platform boots in the 1980s, did they?
3 sure  Woodstock festival was in the USA, wasn’t it?
4 not sure  The first moon landing was in 1969, wasn’t it?
yet
everalready
threeshe meet
problemhappen ever
T4.2 Listen and repeat the sounds. Then
listen and write the words in the correct column.
/e/
/iː/
T4.3 Listen to the sentences. Then listen
again and repeat.
/ə/
2
T4.4 Listen to each sentence and write sure
or not sure.
1
Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, 2
Lots of people didn’t have a TV in lottery
wedding
get
email
answer
terrifying
unpleasant
daughter
feelings
reason
see
partner
these
fallen
girlfriend
3
the 1950s, did they?
Tamagotchi were made in Japan, 4
weren’t they?
George Best used to play for 5
Manchester United, didn’t he?
Sean Connery was the first James 6
Bond, wasn’t he?
The first man on the Moon wasn’t © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS • PHOTOCOPIABLE
didn’t she?
Russian, was he?
English plus Intermediate Pronunciation • Units 1–2
Pronunciation
Unit 3
Unit 4
Stress in phrasal verbs
Stress in compound nouns
In English, phrasal verbs have different stress
patterns. Usually the main stress is on an adverb
or preposition, not the verb. In dictionaries, the
main stress is indicated by /ˈ/ before it. When you
record new phrasal verbs in your vocabulary book,
remember to also mark the stress.
T4.5 Listen to the phrasal verbs. Then listen
1
again and repeat.
1
2
3
4
2
o O
o o O
o O o
o o O o
put offsort out
carry on
get away
go out with
split up with
get together
get along with
T4.6 Listen to each sentence and choose the
correct stress pattern for the phrasal verb.
1 My mum smokes. I keep telling her she should
give up.
oO
ooO
oOo
ooOo
2 I must cut down on chocolate – I eat far too
much!
oO
ooO
oOo
ooOo
3 It can be quite stressful if you don’t get on well
with your parents.
oO
ooO
oOo
ooOo
4 Josie’s boyfriend works out at the gym every
evening.
oO
ooO
oOo
ooOo
5 There was no cake left when I got there, so
I had to go without.
oO
ooO
oOo
ooOo
6 You have to rest to get over the flu.
oO
ooO
oOo
In English, compound nouns have different stress
patterns. In dictionaries, the main stress is indicated
by /ˈ/ before it. When you record new compound
nouns in your vocabulary book, remember to also
mark the stress.
1
T4.7 Listen to the compound nouns. Then
listen again and repeat.
1 stress on the first word:
train ticket city break beach holiday
2 stress on the second word:
winter sports digital camera private jet
2
T4.8 Listen to each sentence and choose the
correct stress for the compound noun.
1 We’re going to stay in an amazing luxury hotel
in Marrakesh.
first word
second word
2 Let’s go on a day trip to the Pyramids
tomorrow!
first word
second word
3 I need to buy some skiing gear because we’re
going to the Dolomites.
first word
second word
4 I hope I’ll have a holiday romance this summer.
first word
second word
5 On the return flight, I realised I’d left my phone
in the hotel!
first word
second word
6 I won’t buy presents from souvenir shops – the
local market will be cheaper.
first word
second word
ooOo
English plus Intermediate Pronunciation • Units 3–4
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Pronunciation
Unit 5
Unit 6
gh /f/ or silent?
s sounds /s/, /z/, /ʒ/
In English, gh can be pronounced in two ways.
1Usually gh is silent, especially when it’s followed
by t.
2 When a word ends with gh, it’s often
pronounced /f/.
However, there are some exceptions to these rules.
1
T4.9 Listen to the words. Then listen again
and repeat.
1 /f/ 2 /f/ 3silent
4silent
2
enough
tough
although
tight
In English we can pronounce s in different ways.
These are three of them:
1 Usually when s is at the beginning of the word
or is double, it’s pronounced /s/.
2 If you find -se at the end of a word, preceded by
a vowel, it’s usually pronounced /z/.
3 In the middle of a word, when it’s preceded
and followed by a vowel, it’s sometimes
pronounced /ʒ/.
However, there are many exceptions to these rules.
1
1 /s/ something
2 /z/ whose
3 /ʒ/ television
T4.10 Listen and repeat the sound. Then
listen and write the words in the correct column.
/f/
silent
daughter
frighten
high
weigh
through
neighbour
taught
right
cough
might
laughter
laugh
thought
rough
bought
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T4.11 Listen to the words. Then listen again
and repeat.
2
depressing
recognise
measurement
stereotype
clause
treasure
T4.12 Listen and repeat the sounds. Then
listen and write the words in the correct column.
/s/
/z/
/ʒ/
vision
slow
pleasure
swim
music
organise
confusion
express
usually
smile
myself
years
beads
clothes
illusion
English plus Intermediate Pronunciation • Units 5–6
Pronunciation
Unit 7
Unit 8
u sounds: /juː/, /uː/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/
Silent consonants
Sometimes English words are written including
letters which are silent when the word is spoken.
Consonants which are often silent include:
• r when it’s preceded by a vowel
• w at the end of a word, or at the beginning of a
word when it’s followed by a consonant
• k at the beginning of a word when it’s followed
by a consonant
• gh when it’s followed by t
• l when it’s preceded by a vowel and followed by
a consonant
There are exceptions to these rules and other letters
may also be silent, so you should always make a
note of silent letters when you learn new vocabulary.
1
T4.13 Listen to the words. Then listen again
and repeat.
1
2
3
4
5
6
2
silent r :borderministerparty
silent w :lawknow
write
silent k :
know knee
knife
silent gh :mightrighteighteen
silent l :couldwouldshould
other silent
letters :listen
honest psychology
T4.14 Listen to each sentence and choose
which of the consonants is silent.
1 I wish I could design posters for the government.
d
s
g
n
Unlike Italian, in English we can pronounce u in
several different ways:
• At the beginning of the word, it is usually
pronounced /juː/ or /ʌ/.
• In the middle of a word, it is often pronounced
/uː/ or /ʊ/.
Like many of the common sounds of English, there
are many irregularities and exceptions.
1
T4.15 Listen to the words. Then listen again
and repeat.
1
2
3
4
2
/juː/ unit
communicate
/uː/ ruleblue
/ʊ/ put
push
/ʌ/ up
study
refuse
solution
full
understand
T4.16 Listen to each sentence and write the
correct sound: /juː/, /uː/, /ʊ/ or /ʌ /.
1 You behaved really rudely!
2 Do you think the economy will get better in the
future?
3 Eating lots of sugary food is bad for you.
4 He was more upset than me about our dog
running away.
5 I need to pass my exams to be able to go to
university.
6 The TV programmes I watch most frequently
are documentaries about different cultures.
2 If I participated in a student election, I wouldn’t
win!
r
t
c
p
3 If you want to be an MP, you'll need some
knowledge of local problems.
k
n
l
g
4 If only politicians talked to the people more!
t
l
k
d
5 The government are doubtful about when the
economy will recover.
b
t
f
l
6 If the minister didn’t spend lots of time
answering emails, people would complain!
n
s
r
w
English plus Intermediate Pronunciation • Units 7–8
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Pronunciation
Unit 9
Showing disbelief
In English when we don’t believe what someone
has said, we can show this with the stress and
intonation we use when we report it.
• In normal reported speech, the intonation goes
slowly down.
• If we want to show disbelief, we put extra stress
on the reporting verb and our voice also goes
up on it, before going down at the end of the
sentence.
• We sometimes also stress the part of the
reported speech that we don’t believe.
1
T4.17 Listen to the sentences. Then listen
again and repeat.
1
normal reported speech:
Laura said that the boy had pushed her.
2 showing disbelief:
Laura said that the boy had pushed her.
3 normal reported speech:
Callum told us that his grandma was in hospital.
4 showing disbelief:
Callum told us that his grandma was in hospital.
2
T4.18 Listen to each sentence and write
normal reported speech or showing disbelief.
1 She said that she wouldn’t break her promise.
2 He told me that he was Australian.
3 The boys told me that they could speak Spanish.
4 The children said that they hadn’t done
anything wrong.
5 My sister told my dad that she was ill.
6 The con man said that he would never break
the law again.
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English plus Intermediate Pronunciation • Unit 9