Pronunciation Rules

Pronunciation Rules
I. How "Y" is pronounced in an English word.

"Y" is pronounced either as (the sounds) [ai] or [i:].
1. In a one-syllable word, "y" is pronounced as [ai].
my by fly shy try cry fry sky
2. In a two-syllable word, "y" is pronounced as [i:].
party puppy candy bunny funny pony turkey happy cherry tiny penny city baby
II. How "C" is pronounced in an English word.
"C" is pronounced either as [s] or [k].

city country cider circle
1. When "C" is followed by "E" or "Y," it is pronounced [s].
cent cell cellar center ice
Cycle cyclone cypress
2. When "C" is followed by "o", "u" "a," it is pronounced as [k].
country cold
cup cut curb
can cat cap
couple computer
The city has cement.

The country has corn.
We cycle in the city and drive our car in the country.
III. How "G" is pronounced in an English word.
1. When "G" is followed by "E," "I," or "Y," it is pronounced as [ʤ]

gem giant gym george
2. When "G" is followed by "U," or "A," it is pronounced as [Ʌ], or [ӕ].

gum gun gap gas garden
Gorgeous George
Wagon danger strangle stranger
IV. Pronunciation of vowel letters.
1. Long "a" and short "a"
e.g. cap (short a) – cape (long a)
-at cat bat hat rat fat sat

-ad sad had bad mad
-ag bag wag rag tag
-an can fan ran pan
-am ram ham jam yam
-ap map nap tap
If "E" is at the end of the word, "A" is pronounced as a long vowel.

e.g. gate take rake base race face wave cage
ending in "r"
-car jar tar far
2. Long "i" and short "i"
-id lid kid did bid

-ig pig rig big dig wig
-in pin tin bin fin win
-ip lip rip dip hip tip
-it hit sit pit fit kit
If "E" is at the end of the word, "I" is pronounced as a long vowel.

-kite bike vine ride dime
3. Long "o" and short "o"
-og dog log fog jog hog

-op pop hop top mop
-ot hot got pot not
-ob sob cob mob job
If "E" is at the end of the word, "O" is pronounced as a long vowel.

-rose hope pole
4. Long "u" and short "u"
-ut nut cut hut rut up cup put cup pup

-ub cub tub pub dub
-us bus
-un bun fun sun run
-ug bug tug mug hug
If "E" is at the end of the word, "U" is pronounced as a long vowel.

-tune cube cute tube
English Pronunciation Rules
Ultimately, learning the rules requires quite some memorisation. However, this doesn’t mean that you
need to study for hours on end. When you practice speaking English regularly, you will slowly get
used to different pronunciations, and begin using them in your everyday speech.
 Vowels - a, e, i, o, u, *y, *w
 Consonants - b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, *w, x, *y, z
*It is important to note that -w and -y can act as either vowels or consonants, depending on the
combination of letters in each word. For example, the word “day” uses the vowel form of -y, while
“yell” uses the consonant form. Similarly, “owe” uses the vowel form of -w, while “work” uses the
consonant form.
Once you learn the name and basic sounds of each letter, you can start to put them together to form
words. For example, the letters p, e, and t come together to form the word “pet.”
Vowel Combinations
Usually, one vowel is surrounded by consonants in a word (example: pet). However, in many words,
two vowels are put together, creating an entirely new sound. When this happens, the first letter of the
combination is usually long, while the second letter is silent. Here are a few examples: ai (daily), ea
(eat), ie (pie, outside), oa (boat), ay (say), oo (choose, book), and ee (feel).
Consonant Combinations
Just like vowel combinations, consonant combinations can create entirely new sounds. Sometimes,
these sounds are a combination of each individual letter (like -ct in the word “act”), but sometimes
they are completely unrelated to the sounds the letters would make individually (like -gh in the word
“laugh”). Here are a few more examples: ch (chess), sh (shirt), th (this, bath), gh (ghost, cough), wh
(whale, whole), fr (fresh), ck (pick), bl (blue), and sp (spin).
Syllables
A syllable is basically just one sound in a word. Some words only have one syllable, while others
have many syllables. Knowing the number of syllables in a word helps you pronounce it correctly. To
use our previous example, the word “day” has three letters, but when you say the word, it only has
one unbroken sound.
Every syllable must have at least one vowel, and you can often figure out the number of syllables in a
word by looking at the number of vowels. Here are a few examples:
 Fast - 1 syllable, 1 vowel (Fast)

 Order - 2 syllables, 2 vowels (Or-der)
 Tomorrow - 3 syllables, 3 vowels (To-mor-row)
 Alligator - 4 syllables, 4 vowels (All-i-ga-tor)
While the majority of English words have between 1-4 syllables, some words have as many as 19!
This means that counting the number of syllables is not always easy. Additionally, the number of
syllables is not necessarily equal to the number of vowels. Some vowel sounds are silent, while other
sounds are made up of two different vowels. For example, the word “outside” has 4 vowels, but only
two syllables, because -ou only counts as one vowel sound, while -i...e combine to form the long “i”
sound (like in the word “pie”), even though they are separated by a consonant.
Syllable Stress
When you say a word that only has one syllable, you only have one syllable to stress. “Syllable
stress” refers to the syllable in a word that gets more emphasis than the others. This means that, in
words with more than one syllable, one syllable will sound a little longer and louder than the others.
Without the right stress on certain syllables, your speech might sound like a robot!
So, how do you determine which syllables to stress? While there are certain exceptions, you can
generally use the following English pronunciation rules for shorter words:
 One syllable - Stress the first (and only) syllable.
o Examples: dog, cat, day, rain, etc.

 Two syllables - Stress the first or second syllable. Generally, two-syllable nouns, adjectives, and
adverbs stress the first syllable, while two-syllable verbs stress the second syllable.
o First syllable examples: happy (HAP-py), little (LIT-tle), and running (RUN-ning).
o Second syllable examples: record (re-CORD), combine (come-BINE), and insist (in-SIST).
 Three syllables - Stress can be on the first, second, or third syllable, depending on how the word
ends.
o Stress the first syllable on words ending with -er (ballplayer), -or (narrator), -ly (frequently), or -y
(library)
o Stress the second syllable on words ending with -tion (reception) -sion (expansion) -ic (strategic), or -
al (potential)
o Stress the third syllable on words ending with -ee (referee) -eer (pioneer) -ese (legalese), -ette
(vinaigrette)
 Four syllables - Stress can be on the second or third syllable, depending on how the word ends.
o Stress the second syllable on words ending with -cy (transparency), -ty (fraternity), -phy (philosophy),
-gy (geology), -al (political)
o Stress the third syllable on words ending with -tion (constitution), -sion (apprehension), -ic
(supersonic)
Exceptions to English Pronunciation Rules

As with most languages, English does not always follow its own rules. For every English
pronunciation rule listed above, there is at least one exception. For example, while many three-
syllable words ending in -or stress the first syllable, there are exceptions like behavior (be-HAV-ior)
and receptor (re-CEPT-or). Similarly, though most two-syllable nouns stress the first syllable, some
don’t, like today (to-DAY) and request (re-QUEST). So, while learning English pronunciation rules are
very important, Tip - try to memorise the exceptions.

Pronunciation Rules

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Pronunciation Rules

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Pronunciation Rules

I. How "Y" is pronounced in an English word.

1. In a one-syllable word, "y" is pronounced as [ai].

my by fly shy try cry fry sky

2. In a two-syllable word, "y" is pronounced as [i:].

II. How "C" is pronounced in an English word.

"C" is pronounced either as [s] or [k].

1. When "C" is followed by "E" or "Y," it is pronounced [s].

cent cell cellar center ice

Cycle cyclone cypress

2. When "C" is followed by "o", "u" "a," it is pronounced as [k].

The city has cement.

III. How "G" is pronounced in an English word.

1. When "G" is followed by "E," "I," or "Y," it is pronounced as [ʤ]

2. When "G" is followed by "U," or "A," it is pronounced as [Ʌ], or [ӕ].

1. Long "a" and short "a"

e.g. cap (short a) – cape (long a)

-at cat bat hat rat fat sat

If "E" is at the end of the word, "A" is pronounced as a long vowel.

2. Long "i" and short "i"

-id lid kid did bid

If "E" is at the end of the word, "I" is pronounced as a long vowel.

3. Long "o" and short "o"

-og dog log fog jog hog

If "E" is at the end of the word, "O" is pronounced as a long vowel.

4. Long "u" and short "u"

-ut nut cut hut rut up cup put cup pup

If "E" is at the end of the word, "U" is pronounced as a long vowel.

 Fast - 1 syllable, 1 vowel (Fast)

 One syllable - Stress the first (and only) syllable.

o Examples: dog, cat, day, rain, etc.

Exceptions to English Pronunciation Rules

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