Pronunciation insight 4

Stress in two-syllable nouns
We usually pronounce two-syllable nouns with the stress on the first part of the word.
○ ○○ ○
insect raven
1Say the two-syllable words below. Underline the stressed syllable. Then play the recording and listen to the words. Check your answers and repeat. 

  • 1tain

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

  • 7

  • 8

  • 9

  • 10


Answers
Vowel sounds: /i:/ /ɪ/ /æ/ /ɑ:/ /ɒ/ /ə/
2Play the recording and listen to the six vowel sounds. Then listen and repeat. 

  • 1/i:/ me, see, three

  • 2/ɪ/ big, dig, hit

  • 3/æ/ rabbit, man, bank

  • 4/ɑ:/ garden, dance, can't

  • 5/ɒ/ clock, dog, shop

  • 6/ə/ colour, never, centre



Vowel sounds: /i:/ /ɪ/ /æ/ /ɑ:/ /ɒ/ /ə/
3Play the recording and listen to the words. Choose the correct vowel sounds. 

  • 1chicken

     

  • 2giraffe

     

  • 3rat

     

  • 4budgie

     

  • 5plant

     

  • 6cactus

     

  • 7rock

     

  • 8lizard

     

  • 9dog

     

  • 10spider

     


4Play the recording and listen. Check your answers to exercise 3. 

Answers
Vowel sounds: /i:/ /ɪ/ /æ/ /ɑ:/ /ɒ/ /ə/
/ə/ is a very important vowel sound in English. It’s the vowel sound that we use the most. We use it in weak or unstressed syllables.
spidertiger
5Play the recording and listen to the words. Underline the syllable where you hear /ə/. 

  • 1flow

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

  • 7

  • 8

  • 9 

  • 10


Answers
Vowel sounds: /i:/ /ɪ/ /æ/ /ɑ:/ /ɒ/ /ə/
/ə/ is a very important vowel sound in English. It’s the vowel sound that we use the most. We use it in weak or unstressed syllables.
spidertiger
6Say the words below and mark the stress. Then play the recording, listen and check. 

  • 1er

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

  • 7

  • 8

  • 9 

  • 10


Answers