When you say the letters of the alphabet, E has the long vowel sound /i:/. You hear this sound in the word meet. But the letter E can also be pronounced as the short vowel sound /e/, as in the word met. Listen to the sound /i:/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this long vowel sound.
Listen to the target sound /i:/ in the words below and compare it with the words on each side.
met meat mate list teast last bay bee beer bit beat bet
Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound. key keys keeps pea peas piece scene seas seat
Steve keeps the cheese in the freezer.
Important for listening!When there is an /i:/ sound before the letter R at the end of a word, many speakers add the vowel /∂/ and do not pronounce the /r/. Compare the vowels in these words: knее - near, pea - pier, he - hear. Many dictionaries give this vowel before R as /i∂/.
Listen to the letters of the alphabet. If the letter has the sound /i:/, write ее under it. If it has the sound /e/, write eunder it. If the letter does not have /i:/ or /e/, don't write anything. Key
1 Men or man? Did you see the men / man? 2 Pen or pain? I've got a pen / pain in my hand. 3 Bear or beer? That's a strong bear / beer. 4 Live or leave? I want to live / leave. 5 Bed or bird? Did you see the bed / bird? 6 Left or lift? You should take the left / lift.
Follow up: Record yourselfsaying the sentences in 4, choosing one of the two words. Make a noteof which words you say. Then listen to your recording in about twoweeks. Is it clear which words you said?