English Globe understanding the world

Open menu
 

Lesson 4. Father and Mother.



here.png
/a:/ and /a/


Lesson 4; Part A


How to make the sound /a:/
important.jpg/a:/ is a long sound.
Look at the diagram.
Listen and then say the sound.
Open your mouth wide.
Target sound: /a:/
4.1.jpg

Lesson 4; Part B

Sound and spelling
/a:/ is usually spelled a or ar.
Listen and say these words.
after     afternoon     ask     answer     bath     bathroom     can't     class     dance     fast    father     glass     tomato     bar     car     card     far     park     star     start
Listen and say these other words with /a:/.
aunt     laugh     heart     half  
Listen and say these sentences.
1    How far's the car park?
2    We went to a large bar full of film stars.
3    We're starting in half an hour.
 
Important for listening!
  • In words with a letter r after the /a:/ sound, most Americans and someBritish people pronounce the r. Listen to the same sentences, this timewith the letter rs pronounced.
  • Some people, especially in the north of England, pronounce the letters a or au as /æ/ in some of these words. Listen.
after   afternoon   ask   answer   aunt   bath    bathroom    class   dance   fast   glass laugh
 
 
Listen to these sentences, first with /a:/, then with /æ/.
1    See you tomorrow afternoon.    3 We were laughing and dancing in the classroom.
2    I'll ask my aunt.                       4 I left my glasses in the bathroom.
note.jpgNote: The name of the letter R is pronounced /a:/ or /a:r/.
Note: The word are is often pronounced /a:/ or /a:r/.

Lesson 4; Part C

How to make the sound /a/
important.jpg/a/ is a short sound.
Look at the diagram.
Listen and then say the sound.
Open your mouth wide.
Target sound: /a/
4.2.jpg

Lesson 4; Part D


Sound and spelling
/a/ is usually spelled u, but sometimes ou or o.
Listen and say these words.
bus     colour     come     cup     front     London     luck    Monday   month     mother     much     nothing     number    run     study     sun    uncle     under
note.jpgNote: The words son and sun have the same pronunciation.
Note: The number one is pronounced /wan/.
Listen and say these sentences.
1    Good luck with your exam next month!
2    Take the number one bus.
3    I said 'Come on Monday', not 'Come on Sunday'.
4    My brother's studying in London.
 
Important for listening!
Some people, especially in the north of England, say /u/ instead of /a/.
Listen to the same sentences, this time with /u/
 

 


Exercises

pen.jpgListen and write the words in the correct column.
artist    gardenwords with /a:/    Marchwords with /a:/    partwords with /a:/     square    talkwords with other vowel sounds     warmwords with other vowel sounds     watchwords with other vowel sounds
 
words with /a:/                    
words with other vowel sounds
artist
square
  
  
  

Check with the Key. Then listen again and repeat.


pen.jpgListen and write the words in the correct column.
business     country    funwords with /a/    homewords with other vowel sounds     lotswords with other vowel sounds     moneywords with /a/    motherwords with /a/    pushwords with other vowel sounds
 
words with /a/                    
words with other vowel sounds
country
business
  
  
  

Check with the Key. Then listen again and repeat.



galka.jpgComplete the sentences with one /a:/ word and one /a/ word.
butter     carpet     dark     hard     husband     love     Prague     son
  1. The buter's too _______hard     
  2. I'd _______love to buy that _______carpet!
  3. Their _______son's got _______hair  hair.
  4. I first met my _______husband  in _______Prague.  
Listen to check your answers. Check with the Key. Then listen again and repeat.
4.3.jpg

wizard.jpg
Listen and circle the word you hear. Check with the Key.

  1. heart / hat  Keyhat
  2. far / four  Keyfar
  3. cat / cut  Keycut
  4. look / luck  Keylook
  5. luck / lock Keylock
  6. butter / better  Keybutter
Check with the Key. Then listen again and repeat.
back.jpg
Lesson 3     Lesson 4    Lesson 5 forward.jpg