Daily English - Day 31

Okay, the first vowel sound that I want to address is ah as in hat. It is the last front vowel. You may remember the front vowels that we went over. Well, that last sound ah as in hat, that's the sound that we are covering today. Listen carefully. It's not ah, it's ah, ah, hat. Your mouth has to be wide open. Let's practice these words with me. catch, rabbit, tack. Okay, now try these sentences. The fat cat wore a jacket. Okay, now try these sentences. The fat cat wore a jacket. Pack your sack and bring your magnet. He wore a jacket. He bring your magnet. Pack your sack and bring your magnet. He sang about an actor. He sang about an actor named Jack. Named Jack. Jack. Very good. Now, the next vowel sound that we are going to cover is a little bit more tricky. It's the ow sound as in the word out or the word downtown. Out. Downtown. Many Asian speakers have difficulty with this sound. In order to say it correctly, when you begin the sound, you start it with the sound that we just went over. Ah as in hat. That ah sound is what begins the ow sound. Then move your mouth forward and you close the sound sort of on a double note. Ow. You hear that? It starts with ah, but then it moves forward. Ow. Let's look at this word. Downtown. First of all, it's not Dong-Pong, which you may be saying, especially if you are from China. To correctly say this sound with proper pronunciation, here's the trick. You have to make believe the vowel begins with the ah sound as in hat. Once you have that sound, then you close it. Ow. Dow. Ha. Town. Like that. You see, if you don't begin the vowel with the ah sound in hat, you will never say it correctly. Okay, now the whole word. Down. Town. With practice, you'll be able to say these sounds perfectly. Just have to remember that even though down and other words like it are spelled with an o, you still attack the vowel with that a sound in hat. Downtown. Like that. Let's practice these words slowly, and as you are saying them, keep that ah sound in the back of your mind. Now. House. Round. Loud. Down. Out. Found. Ounce. Rebound. Down. Ounce. Rebound. Mouth. Bounce. Flower. Thousand. Stout. Pound. Okay, now try these sentences. The brown couch is downstairs. Her house is on the south side of the mountain. The couch is downstairs. Her house is on the south side of the mountain. I was proud of the sound. That came out of my mouth. My mouth. If these vowels sound strange to you, just listen when American speakers talk, and you'll start to notice that this is exactly how we pronounce our words. Okay, new topic. How to pronounce the words are and our. You may not have known that there is a pronunciation difference between these two words, because many people pronounce are and our exactly the same. This is not correct, however. Let me show you how to pronounce these words correctly. The first word, are, has a strong are sound at the end. Are. The second word, our, has a sound like the word out. It has a hidden W in the middle. Our. Think of the word our as having two syllables. One, two. Our. Like our. That our car is over there. Also, while we are on the subject, note the word hour that is used for telling time. It is pronounced exactly the same way as in our meeting is in one hour. Okay, let's practice these sentences. Are you going to our house? Our meeting is in one hour. Okay, let's practice these sentences. Are you going to our house? Sales are down, but our projections for next year are very good. Are you going to our house? Sales are down, but our projections for next year are very good. Our plans will be changing in the next hour. Are you sure that our meeting will be an hour late? Okay, here is another example of when English pronunciation can become very confusing. Did you know that there are words in English that are spelled with an O, but are pronounced as ah? So even though these words that I'm about to show you are all spelled with an O, we pronounce all of these vowels with an ah. Here we go. Hot. You see, it's not hot, it's ah. Hot. Top. Probably. Follow. Not. Lob. Suck. Mop. Product. Sound. Problem. Okay, let's practice these sentences. Note that I put a line under all the words that have an ah sound. Bob, open the box. Pop. And follow the instructions. All the words that have an ah sound. Bob, open the box and follow the instructions. Tom put some cotton, rocks, and a doorknob in his locker. My mom made a concrete model of a hockey doorknob in his locker. Model of a hockey. Hockey ring.