Linking words and developing rhythm
for greater fluency
Introduction
3
Linking
4
Pronunciation in context
Types of linking
9
11
Rhythm
17
Thought groups and pausing
26
Contractions
31
When do I use contractions?
31
Why should I use contractions?
32
Voice work – consonants
34
What is a consonant?
34
Voiced and unvoiced consonants
34
Final consonant sounds
35
Final ‘s’ word endings
37
Check your progress
39
Summary
40
Suggested responses
41
Glossary
49
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Introduction
Having worked through Sections 1 and 2 of the module, you will now know
there are many things to think about in English pronunciation. These include
pronouncing individual sounds, pronouncing syllables, stressing the correct
syllables in a word and stressing particular words in a sentence. In Section 2
we mainly concentrated on smaller parts of speech such as sounds, syllables
and words.
What you’ll learn
In Section 3 you will learn about pronunciation by looking at larger chunks
or parts of speech such as the sentence. This includes several important
areas for effective English pronunciation including:

linking

rhythm

thought groups

pausing
NOTE: The tracks have been linked to the audio files. Simply
click on the words Track XX and you will be able to listen to the
sound.
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3
Linking
English words ‘run together’ so that a sentence often sounds like one long
word. Joining the sounds at the end of one word to the beginning of the next
word is a common practice in English. It is called linking. This makes
English speech sound smooth and fluent. It is important because it helps you
to understand other people more easily and other people will understand you
more easily.
Listen to the linking in the example below.
Track 45
 
Is it an evening course?
When you link words together, you keep your voice going smoothly.
Linking makes English speech sound fast and fluent. In some languages,
speakers do not do this but take a short breath after each word.
Do you use linking when you speak in your first language?
Let’s do a practice activity where we listen to linking in a natural English
dialogue.
Activity 1
Read the following conversation between two colleagues who arrive at work on Monday
morning. Can you predict what the missing questions will be?
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Kate: Hi Evan.
Evan: Hi there, Kate
Kate: 1_____________________?
Evan: Yeah, thanks. It was great.
Kate: 2_____________________?
Evan: Oh nothing special. Played tennis on Saturday. Went to visit my
brother and his family on Sunday. You know, the usual weekend thing.
Track 46
Now listen to the CD and fill in the missing words in Activity 1. Can you
guess how many words were in each one?
Question 1 has _____ words.
Question 2 has _____ words.
Compare your answer with the Suggested Responses at the end of this
section.
Did you catch all the words that were said? It might have been difficult to
count all the words as some of the words joined other words and therefore
became hard to identify while listening.
In Section 2 we looked at the changes that occur when speech becomes
rapid and informal and how certain words are stressed or unstressed. This
practice encourages linking as we can skip quickly over unstressed words by
linking them to other words in the sentence.
Listen once again to the questions.
Track 47
Example:
  

Did you have a good weekend? becomes ‘Djahava goodweekend?’
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 
What did you do? becomes ‘Whaja do?’
Why does linking happen?
Linking is not a conscious process – it mainly occurs due to the position our
lips are in when we finish speaking a word in rapid speech.
What happens if I don’t link when I speak?
It usually isn’t a problem if you fail to link words in English. Although you
may sound too formal, your English will probably still be understood by
your listeners. However, if you wish to sound like a native speaker, you
need to try to incorporate linking into your speech.
Activity 2: Track 48
Listen to and read this conversation.
All the examples of linking have been marked. There are eleven links in total. The schwa
sounds have also been marked.
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What types of words are linked in English?
Track 49
Linking in English is common between:
1. A consonant and a consonant


Example: run to, eat well
2 A consonant and a vowel OR a vowel and a consonant



Example: an event, walk up, see her
3 A vowel and a vowel


Example: you are, see again
You’ll notice that when two vowels are linked together, a new sound is
sometimes created.
Listen to the two examples in 3. above again. What sound do we hear
between the two linked words?

You are = We hear a sound

See again = We hear a sound
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Linking between vowel sounds
Activity 3: Track 50
Listen and mark the linking between the vowel sounds in the following short dialogue.
If a new sound is made by the linking, write the new sound above the link. The first one
has been done for you as an example.
At the Immigration counter at the airport
/j/

A: Are you Paul Jeffrey Thornton?
B: Yes, I am.
A: How long are you staying?
B: I’ll stay a week or two.
A: Why not any longer? [joking]
B: It’s too expensive!
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Pronunciation in context
You will now read an example dialogue which includes many examples of
linking.
The topic of the dialogue is a complaint somebody has about something
belonging to their neighbour. It is spoken using informal (colloquial)
vocabulary.
Have you ever had to complain to your neighbour about anything? How did
your neighbour react to your complaint?
Before we start, let’s study some idioms used in the dialogue.
Activity 4
Activity 4
Study the following idioms (words or phrases) from the dialogue below. Can you guess
what they mean?
Read the list of idioms and then read the list of meanings. Write the correct meaning (or its
number) next to each of the phrases.
Idioms
Idiom
Correct meaning
Meanings
potter about
1. do a bit of work
getting into
2. very windy
blowing a gale
3. not getting something
missing out on
4. starting something
Check your answers in Suggested Responses to activities at the end of this section.
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Activity 5: Track 51
Listen and read the first part of the dialogue. Identify any linking you hear by joining the
two words together with a line.
The first sentence has been done for you as an example.
Listen as many times as you need.
The Wind Chimes (Part One)
SUSAN

Example: Hi, I’m Susan. I’m from next door — number 29.
OLIVER
Oh right.
SUSAN
Howare you settlingin?
OLIVER
Oh yeah, good. The name’s Oliver, Oliver Stanton. How… How do you do?
SUSAN
How long is it since you’ve moved in now?
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OLIVER
Well, it’s two weeks tomorrow.
SUSAN
Oh! And you’re already getting into the garden?
OLIVER
Well I like to potter about.
Compare your answers with the Suggested Responses at the end of this section.
Did you identify all examples of linking? Don’t worry if you didn’t – some are difficult to
catch.
Now let’s look at some guidelines about linking that can help you identify it
when it occurs in listening and to gradually introduce it into your speaking
practice.
Types of linking
Track 52
There are many types of linking you can use to make English speech sound smooth and
fluent.
Listen as you read about them on the next page. Stop your CD after each example and
practise saying the sentences with appropriate linking.
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There are another two types of linking that you will hear, however less often
than the ones above. These are not recorded on your CD.
So many different types of linking!
How can you remember all the different types?
One possible way could be to start trying to identify linking in different
kinds of listening situations.
While you are listening, try to listen for what words are linked and write
these in your notebook. Analyse the words and think about why they are
linked.
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Activity 6
Go back over the transcript of The Wind Chimes (Part One) in Activity 5 and write above
each example of linking what type of linking it uses.
Use the Linking Types guidelines above as your reference. An example is given below.
SUSAN
Linking 5
Linking 1
Linking 4
Example: Hi, I’m Susan. I’m from nextdoor—number 29. Howare you settlingin?
Compare your answers with the Suggested Responses at the end of the section.
Were you successful? Did you classify all the examples of linking correctly? Don’t worry
if you didn’t, more practice is coming up!
Activity 7: Track 53
Listen to and read Part 2 of The Wind Chimes dialogue and identify the following:

Linked words.

What type of linking occurs? Write the number over the linked words. Refer to the
Linking Guidelines.
The first sentence has been done for you as an example.
The Wind Chimes (Part 2)
SUSAN
4 4

4
4 2
4
 
Look, I feel a bit, um, awkwardabout this — can I ask a favour?
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OLIVER
Sure you can. What is it?
SUSAN
It’s just, um, these wind chimes. Um, you see, I sleep in the front room over there and it’s
been blowing a gale these last two nights. And the fact is, I haven’t been able to get any
sleep.
OLIVER
Oh, I’m so sorry. I’d no idea. I find the sound very soothing myself.
SUSAN
Oh it’s not that, it’s not that I don’t like the sound. It’s just that they’re so close to my
bedroom and … now, if they were round the back, then I could hear them when I’m
cooking and that’d be very nice.
OLIVER
Yeah, OK, fair enough. We can’t have you missing out on your sleep, can we? Let’s get
them sorted out right now. (Unhooks the wind chimes and turns towards the house)
SUSAN
Oh thanks so much.
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OLIVER
Um, would you like to come in for a beer or something?
SUSAN
Oh, look I’d love to, but I’m in a bit of a rush and I’m supposed to be in town in about ten
minutes. Um. Some other time?
OLIVER
Oh, of course, and it’s nice to meet you Sue.
SUSAN
Oh, you too. And thanks—you know—about the wind chimes.
Activity 8
Practise one of the parts in the ‘Wind-Chimes’ dialogue. Speak aloud the part of Oliver or
Susan if possible with a learning partner.
Concentrate on making the correct linking sounds between words. Record yourself if
possible.
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Rhythm
Do you know what rhythm is?
The Macquarie Dictionary defines it as ‘a movement or procedure with
uniform recurrence of a beat, accent or the like’.
Rhythm is the way a language sounds largely because of the pattern of
stressed and unstressed syllables in speech. Some people consider that
rhythm is the music of a language. Like music, languages have strong and
weak beats and the pattern made by the stress is the rhythm. In English,
words either have strong or weak stress – this makes the unique rhythm of
English.
Stress-timed and syllable-timed languages
All languages have their own rhythm. These contribute to the characteristic
sound languages have. We can call English a stress-timed language. This
means that the ‘beat’ of the language depends on where the stress falls in
particular sentences. Other languages—including many South-East Asian
languages—are called syllable-timed languages. This means that each
syllable is given equal importance by the speaker.
Is your language stress or syllable timed?
If you speak a stress-timed language, you’re lucky—you probably won’t
need to work so hard to achieve native-like rhythm when you speak English.
What does rhythm involve?
To have good rhythm in English you need to have control of many speech
areas.
Apart from word and sentence stress, rhythm is affected by the use of:

linking

volume

speed of production

pausing

contractions.
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The most important point to note about rhythm in English is that the time
between strong stresses in a sentence is about the same. Mostly, it doesn’t
matter how many words with weak stresses there are between each word
with strong stress – an English speaker will shorten or reduce these weak
words to make them fit between the words with strong stresses. These
weakly stressed words are usually words that are important for
grammar/structure but not for meaning and include weak sounds such as the
schwa.
If you are unsure which words are likely to be stressed/unstressed in a
sentence, return to the part of Section 2 that deals with Recognising content
words.
Let’s listen to some example sentences. The words in bold have STRONG
stress.
Track 54
I said it on Friday.
I said it on Friday morning.
I said it to him on Friday morning.
Can you hear what has happened to the unstressed words? They are
squeezed in to fit in the space before the next stressed word, so that all three
sentences take about the same time to say. This allows an English speaker to
‘save time’ between words.
There is a strong beat in the all the sentences above. The strong beat occurs
on the stressed word. Let’s listen to the rhythm pattern of these sentences
using a weak ‘de’ and a strong ‘DA’.
de DA de de DA de
de DA de de DA de de de
de DA de de de de DA de de de
Track 55
Listen to this rhythm and make up words to fit the beat.
de DA de de DA
de DA de de DA de
de DA de de de DA de
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Here are some examples:
de DA de de DA
a one and a two
the man in the shop
today I am hot
de DA de de DA de
a one and a two beat
today I am hotter
de DA de de de DA de
a one and then a two beat
Activity 9
Practise the three sentences above. Use both the ‘real’ words and the made-up ‘beat’
words.
Record your voice. Does your voice have a noticeable English rhythm?
In summary:

Shortening unstressed words

linking and

using the schwa
are essential for the rhythm of English.
Activity 10: Track 56
Listen to the following five sentences and:

underline the words with the strong beat

highlight the schwa sounds where you hear them

mark the syllable stress in the underlined words (use large and small dots).
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The first one has been done for you as an example:
2 I’ve never been to Canberra.
3 I prefer to study in the library.
4 It can be hard to figure out some pronunciation.
5 A late storm meant that tennis was cancelled today.
Check your answers with the Suggested Responses at the end of this section.
Activity 11
Listen to the sentences again and this time clap your hands to the beat of the rhythm. This
will be on every stressed word/strong beat.
How many beats did you clap on each sentence?
Write the number of beats here.
Compare your answers with the Suggested Responses at the end of this section.
Play the track again, this time saying the sentences with your CD.
Do this until you can say the sentences in the same time and in the same way
as on the recording.
Rhymes and rhythm
Let’s do some more work on English rhythm with a practice rhyme.
Do you know what a rhyme is? It’s a line of verse or poetry that has
agreement in its final sounds. Rhymes are good ways to practise English
rhythm.
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Let’s listen to a traditional rhyme about tomatoes. But, before you start, it is
important to learn how to pronounce the key words correctly.
Track 57
Tomatoes, tomatoes
Fine red tomatoes
Tomatoes, tomatoes
Fine red tomatoes
Who will buy my tomatoes?
Fine red tomatoes
Ten cents, a tomato
Fine red tomatoes
Tomatoes, tomatoes
Fine red tomatoes
Did you notice that the rhyme has a strict two/three beat? The first line has two strong
beats while the second has three strong beats. The three beats have to be said in the same
time as the previous line to make a suitable rhythm. This pattern continues throughout the
rhyme.
Activity 12
Now you say the Tomatoes rhyme. Remember, that it takes about the same amount of time
to read each line.
Try to say the words with a strong beat at the same time as you clap your hands.
To extend your practice, say the same rhyme but change the names to different fruits or
vegetables. Don’t forget to change the colour too!
Example
Pineapples, pineapples
Fine yellow pineapples…
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More rhyming practice
Let’s continue to practise rhythm with another, longer traditional rhyme.
This rhyme is about what it means to be born on different days of the week.
Do you know what day of the week you were born on?
In your culture, is there any special significance attached to being born on a
particular day?
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Activity 13
Let’s read the rhyme for the first time to focus on vocabulary.
Look up any words you are unsure of in your dictionary. Try to predict what the missing
words are. Remember that these words have to match the rhyme with the last word in the
line before.
BIRTHDAYS
Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to 1 ____,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a 2________
And the child that is born on the seventh day
Is both healthy and happy and loves to 3________
Anonymous
Compare your answers with those at the end of this section.
Activity 14: Track 58
Now listen to the rhyme as it is spoken and check if your predictions were correct.
Listen again. This time, focus on the rhythm and answer the following question. What
timing beat is the rhyme based on? Underline the strong beat.
Finally, say the rhyme.
And now a little fun…
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We’ll read a verse by someone who was known as the father of nonsense
verse in English, Edward Lear (1812 – 1888).
The Owl and the Pussycat
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat;
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above
And sang to a small guitar.
‘O lovely Pussy, O Pussy my love.
What a beautiful Pussy you are
You are!
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are.’
Pussy said to the Owl, ‘You elegant fowl.
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! Let us be married; too long have we tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?’
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
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‘Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.’
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
Activity 15
Read the verse aloud. Try to ‘catch’ the rhythm of the piece.
If you have a learning partner, read alternate lines. For example, Person A reads ‘The Owl
and the Pussy-Cat went to sea’, then Person B should match the rhythm and read ‘In a
beautiful pea green boat.’ Make sure you maintain your English rhythm as you read it.
Track 59
Listen as The Owl & the Pussy-Cat is read aloud.
Extension Activity
Try to find some other rhymes, limericks or songs so you can practise your English
rhythm.
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Thought groups and pausing
When speaking a sentence, native English speakers divide words into
groups. Each of these groups contains one thought or idea, so we call them
‘thought groups’. A thought group often begins or finishes where we would
put a comma or full stop in writing.
Pausing – the number of stops or breaks in your speech – is particularly
important in helping your listener understand your message. Pausing can
help listeners distinguish between important and background information
and can also give emphasis to certain words. However, if you use too many
pauses, your English rhythm may be disrupted and your listener may find it
uncomfortable to listen to you for extended periods.
How can we recognise thought groups?
Here are the main features:

They influence the speaker’s rhythm.

There is often a short pause before and after each thought/idea.

The speaker uses the pause to take in air.

The final syllable of the thought group is longer.

A change in pitch (the voice goes up or down) before or after the
thought group.
Let’s look at an example.
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Activity 16
Read the following conversation about a neighbour’s dog that makes too much noise.
A: This has been going on for years now—ever since they came along with their
wretched* dog. The barking really got on my nerves and I couldn’t sleep. I was…
B: So what did you end up doing?
A: I got in touch with the council and they put me through to the Health Department.
One of them came out and paid them a visit.
*in this context ‘terrible’
Read the text again below. However, this time, the text has been broken up into thought
groups. This shows how the conversation is spoken in natural speech.
A: This has been going on for years now/—ever since they came along/with their wretched
dog./The barking really got on my nerves/and I couldn’t sleep./I was…/
B: So what did you end up doing?/
A: I got in touch with the council/and they put me through/to the Health Department./One
of them came out/and paid them a visit.
Activity 17: Track 60
Now listen to the text as it is spoken. As you listen, tick the features you hear.
I heard a:

pause at the last sound at the end of each thought group

change in pitch at the last sound at the end of each thought group

lengthening of the last sound at the end of each thought group.
Did you also notice that where there is a sentence with and, and is at the beginning of the
thought group rather than at the end?
Listen to the dialogue again if you couldn’t identify these features of thought groups.
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What happens if I don’t divide my speech into thought
groups and use pausing?
If we don’t group words into thought groups or use enough pauses, our
listeners could have difficulty in understanding the message.
Let’s look at an example of how thought groups contribute to meaning.
Activity 18: Track 61
Listen to the two examples on your CD.
Can you see how changing the position of the thought groups and pausing changes the
meaning of the sentence?
Sentence A meansJiang Min is late.
Sentence B means Armando is late.
Read below what was said on the CD to see how this is written. Note the position of the
commas in Sentence A.
Sentence A: Jiang Min, said Armando, is late.
Sentence B: Jiang Min said Armando is late.
Activity 19: Track 62
Read and listen to the conversation where the student is phoning OTEN about the
pronunciation course.
All punctuation and other text staging markers have been removed.
Listen for the thought groups and mark them with a slash (/).
The first one has been done for you as an example.
Example:
Good afternoon/OTEN/Peter speaking/How may I help you
Hello I’d like to find out about the pronunciation course
Yes we have another one starting in February can I ask you how did you find
out about the course
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Oh there was an advertisement in a Korean magazine I’m ringing for a family
member actually
OK I need to speak to the family member to see if they are suitable for the
course if they are I’ll send an enrolment package
What kinds of things do you study
Well the students practise pronunciation through conversation and special
exercises and the teacher helps them at the same time
Mmm That sounds very useful is it an evening course
No it’s on Saturday mornings it’s for speakers of Korean, Spanish, Indonesian
and Cantonese
What do you need for the course I mean do you have to buy anything
You need a dictionary the course book and a cassette player
OK just a moment and I’ll get my grandfather
Compare your answers with the Suggested Responses at the end of this section.
Practise the dialogues in Activities 16 and 19 with appropriate pausing and
use of thought groups.
If possible, record yourself speaking them with a learning partner for later
analysis.
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Extension activity
Listen to a short speech on TV or the radio by a politician. Experienced or senior
politicians often make very effective use of thought groups and pausing.
This could be an extended answer to a journalist’s question in a news conference or
delivered as a response to a current event or issue.
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Contractions
One way English language speakers maintain a distinctive rhythm is to use
contractions. Contractions occur when nouns/pronouns and verbs or verbs
and ‘not’ are joined together. In this type of connected speech, some letters
are left out. Using contractions is one way to make sure we can fit all the
words we have to say between the strong stresses in our speech.
Track 63
Listen and read the following examples:
Full form
Contracted form
Example sentence
You are
You’re
You’re the best dancer I’ve ever seen.
We have
We’ve
After work, we’ve got a party to go to.
Had not
Hadn’t
Hadn’t you better ring her with the news?
When do I use contractions?
Contractions are common in informal speech. They are not generally used in
formal speaking or writing. They are almost never stressed except when
they are used to contrast two things. Listen to the examples below.
Track 64
Examples of stressed contractions:
1.
We’re going out but you’re staying at home.
2.
A: Can you do it?
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B: No, I’m sorry, I can’t do it.
31
Why should I use contractions?
Using contractions will improve your English rhythm and will make you
sound friendlier. Native speakers rarely use the full forms in casual
conversation.
Activity 20: Track 65
Listen to how the following common contractions are pronounced.
Practise saying them. If possible, record yourself and compare your recording to the
original.
Meaning
Contraction
Meaning
Contraction
I am
I’m
it would
it’d
I have
I’ve
we are
we’re
I will
I’ll
we have
we’ve
I had
I’d
we will
we’ll
I would
I’d
we had
we’d
you are
you’re
we would
we’d
you have
you’ve
they are
they’re
you will
you’ll
they have
they’ve
you had
you’d
they will
they’ll
you would
you’d
they had
they’d
he is
he’s
they would
they’d
he has
he’s
there is
there’s
he will
he’ll
there has
there’s
he had
he’d
there will
there’ll
he would
he’d
there had
there’d
she is
she’s
there would
there’d
she has
she’s
are not
aren’t
she will
she’ll
can not
can’t
she had
she’d
could not
couldn’t
she would
she’d
dare not
daren’t
it is
it’s
did not
didn’t
it has
it’s
does not
doesn’t
it had
it’d
do not
don’t
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Meaning
Contraction
had not
hadn’t
has not
hasn’t
have not
haven’t
is not
isn’t
might not
mightn’t
must not
mustn’t
need not
needn’t
ought not
oughtn’t
shall not
shan’t
should not
shouldn’t
used not
usen’t
was not
wasn’t
were not
weren’t
will not
won’t
would not
wouldn’t
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Voice work – consonants
What is a consonant?
A consonant is any speech sound characterized by constriction or closure at
one or more points in the breath channel, or a letter or symbol that
represents a consonant.
Have a look at the consonant chart in Section 1 again.
Voiced and unvoiced consonants
Consonants can be classified as either voiced or unvoiced in English. Let’s
study the difference between these two different kinds of consonants.
A voiced consonant is the sound that is made from the vibration of the vocal
cords. The voiced consonants come from your voice-box. When you
produce a voiced consonant sound you can feel your throat vibrating as the
sound comes from your throat. In contrast, when you make a voiceless
consonant sound your vocal cords are relaxed.
Let’s look at some examples. Feel around the middle of your throat when
you pronounce the voiced consonant (as in ‘zoo’). As you say the sound
you should feel a buzz as your vocal cords vibrate.
Now try the unvoiced consonant// (as in ‘sing’). This sound is produced
without any vibration.
The following table displays both voiced and unvoiced consonants. They are
shown in paired groups.
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Voiced Consonants
Unvoiced/Voiceless Consonants
as in choose
as inhats
as in button
as in people
as in day
as in time
as in green
as in kiss
as in jail
as in chair
as in vital
as in five
as in those
as in thought
as in television
as in wish
Activity 21: Track 66
Listen to these sounds as they are said first by themselves and then in the example words.
Practise these sounds in the pair groups shown above, by themselves and then in example
words.
Example:

choose/hats
If possible, record yourself and focus on the difference between the two sounds.
Final consonant sounds
It is important to say both voiced and unvoiced consonants at the ends of
words. It is particularly important with some words because if you don’t
pronounce the last consonant of the word, you actually say another word!
Let’s listen to an example:
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Track 67
Listen and repeat these words.
rain (
range(

If you don’t pronounce the last syllable of range, you are left with rain –
which, of course, has a completely different meaning!
If you have trouble with pronouncing final consonants, you may find it
easier to put a word beginning with a vowel after it and imagine that the last
consonant of the first word is the beginning of the second word.
For example:
couldn’t understand
becomes
couldn’ tunderstand
Activity 22: Track 68
Listen, repeat and underline the word you hear.
1. car
card
2. four
fort
3. greed
greet
4. hole
hold
5. LAN*
land
6. nine
ninth
7. pass
past
8. when
went
*Local Area Network
Compare your answers with the Suggested Responses at the end of this section.
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Now practise the word pairs by yourself. If possible, record yourself and make sure you
can hear the difference between the two words each time you pronounce them.
Final ‘s’ word endings
Another area which could cause difficulty with the pronunciation of final
consonants is in the final ‘s’ word endings. We add an ‘s’ to the ends of
words for two main reasons:
1 When we want to indicate more than one noun.
Example: Job + ‘s’ = jobs
2 To make the third person ‘s’ for verbs.
Example: I work, she works
It is important to pronounce the final ‘s’ clearly in both situations.
Activity 23: Track 69
Listen, repeat and underline the word you hear. The first one has been done for you as an
example.
1. bank
banks
2. telephone
telephones
3. leave
leaves
4. gift
gifts
5. bottle
bottles
6. swing
swings
7. expect
expects
8. collect
collects
Compare your answers with the Suggested Responses at the end of this section.
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Now practise the words pairs by yourself. If possible, record yourself and make sure you
can hear the difference between the two words each time you pronounce them.
You have now finished Section 3. Before you start the next section do the Check you
progress to assess skills and knowledge you have learned in this section.
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Check your progress
From working through Section 3, assess your abilities in the following
areas.
Yes
No
Not
sure
I know the importance of linking in natural English
speech.
I know the importance of rhythm in natural English
speech.
I can use some short rhymes to practise rhythm.
I know about thought groups and pausing in
English.
I can recognise and produce some common
contractions in English and know how they assist
rhythm.
I know how to pronounce voiced and unvoiced
consonants in English.
I know the importance of pronouncing final
consonant sounds in English.
If you ticked Not sure or No for any of the statements, find that part in this
section and revise it.
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Summary
In this section you have learnt about pronunciation by looking at larger
chunks or parts of speech such as the sentence.
You have learnt about several important areas for effective English
pronunciation including the following:

Linking

Rhythm

Thought groups

Pausing
Now you are ready to do Assignment 1. Go to the Assessment guide for
instructions for this assignment.
When you work in Section 4 and 5 you will need to listen to the tracks on
CD 2.
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Suggested responses
Activity 1
1 Did you have a good weekend? (6 words)
2 What did you do? (4 words)
Activity 3 – Linking between vowel sounds
Scene: At the Immigration counter at the Airport


A: Are you Paul Jeffrey Thornton?


B: Yes, I am.


A: How long are you staying?


B: I’ll stay a week or two.
A: Why not any longer? [joking]


B: It’s too expensive!
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Activity 4
Potter about
Do a bit of work
Blowing a gale
Very windy
Getting into
Starting something
Missing out on
Not getting something
Activity 5 and 6
The Wind Chimes (Part 1)
SUSAN
5

Example: Hi, I’m Susan. I’m from next door—number 29.
OLIVER
Oh right.
SUSAN
1
4


How are you settling in?
OLIVER
4

Oh yeah, good. The name’s Oliver, Oliver Stanton. How…How
2
4
 
do you do?
SUSAN
4
42
4
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

How long is it since you’ve moved in now?
OLIVER
Well, it’s two weeks tomorrow.
SUSAN
9
3
4



Oh! And you’re already getting into the garden?
OLIVER
4
3


Well I like to potter about.
Activity 7
The Wind Chimes (Part 2)
The following are suggested answers.
SUSAN
4 4
4
4 2
4


 
Look, I feel a bit, um, awkward about this — can I ask a favour?
OLIVER
4
4

Sure you can. What is it?
SUSAN
4

It’s just, um, these wind chimes. Um, you see, I sleep in the front
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5
6
43
 over there andit’s been blowing a gale these lasttwo nights. And
room
4
4
4



the fact is, I haven’t been able to get any sleep.
OLIVER
1
1


Oh I’m so sorry. I’d no idea. I find the sound very soothing myself.
SUSAN
1
6
6
4


 I don’t like the sound.
Oh it’s not that, it’s not that
4

It’s just that they’re so close to my bedroom and … now, if they were
4
4

I’m cooking and that’d
round the back, then I could hear them when
be very nice.
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OLIVER
3
4
4

  on your sleep,
Yeah, OK, fair enough. We can’t have you missing out
7
can we? Let’s get
4
 them sorted out right now.
SUSAN
6
Oh thanks
 so much.
OLIVER
9
4
4
4




Would you like to come in for a beer or something?
SUSAN
4
4

 I’mina bitofarush andI’m supposed
Oh, look I’d love to but
2
4
4


4
4
4
4 4
6
4


4
to be in town in about ten minutes. Some other time?
OLIVER
4
9


Oh, of course, and it’s nice to meet you Sue.
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SUSAN
7

Oh, you too. And thanks—you know—about the wind chimes.
Activity 10
Activity 11
Sentence 1:
3 beats
Sentence 2:
3 beats
Sentence 3:
3 beats
Sentence 4:
4 beats
Sentence 5:
5 beats
Activity 13
1 go
2 living
3 play
Activity 14
The rhyme is based on a four-beat rhythm.
The strong beats have been underlined below.
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BIRTHDAYS
Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a living
And the child that is born on the seventh day
Is both healthy and happy and loves to play
Activity 19
Good afternoon/OTEN/Peter speaking/How may I help you?
Hello/I’d like to find out about the pronunciation course.
Yes/we have another one starting in February/can I ask you/how did you
find out about the course?
Oh/there was an advertisement in a Korean magazine/I’m ringing for a
family member actually.
OK/I need to speak to the family member to see if they are suitable for the
course/if they are/I’ll send an enrolment package.
What kinds of things do you study?
Well/the students practise pronunciation through conversation and special
exercises/and the teacher helps them at the same time.
That sounds very useful/Is it an evening course?
No/it’s on Saturday mornings/It’s for speakers of Korean, Spanish,
Indonesian and Cantonese
What do you need for the course?/I mean do you have to buy anything?
You need a dictionary/the course book/and a cassette player.
OK/just a moment/and I’ll get my grandfather.
Activity 22
1 Card
2 Fort
3 Greed
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4 Hold
5 Land
6 Ninth
7 Pass
8 Went
Activity 23
1 Banks
2 Telephone
3 Leaves
4 Gifts
5 Bottle
6 Swing
7 Expects
8 Collects
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Glossary
Beat
The stroke of a musical instrument, hand etc marking
time in a sound-based performance.
Emphasis
One syllable or word that stands out/is highlighted
more than other syllables or words.
Linking
Connected speech; joining together of the ends and
beginnings of words in spoken language.
Pause
A short break in speaking
Pitch
High or low tone level on words in spoken language.
Rhyme (noun)
A text type featuring ends of sentences that share the
same final sound.
Rhyme (verb)
Words rhyme if they share the same final sound.
Rhythm
The regular repetition of particular elements of a
language.
Thought group
A group of words that contains one thought or idea.
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