Pronunciation drills p ds by trager henderson exercises only

Noun Suffixes


,uive

The pronunciation of the noun suffixes (-s, -'s, os, is determined by the

last sound of the noun. In Column 1 below, the sounds followed by lsi

are listed, together with key words; in Column 2 below, the sounds fol­

lowed by It:zl are listed, together with key words; in Column 3 below,

the sounds followed by Izi are listed, together with key words.


•

Lms.
: was mine.
. t was yours.
; :t was hers.
. :t was ours.
.~m if it was

I.;·

.if

possessive

.,-! s' of the same
and -s' are pro­
.:ing on the last

J


,


,:-,"
1
'.~:."'.~":
·I·~"·.
'j":'

,

"

:."'

•'.

\'

."

Column 2
litel

after p, pe, t, te,
k, ke, f, fe,
ph, gh, th, etc.

after s, se, ce,
z, ze, x, (t)ch,
(d)ge
lsI
IzI
lsi
Il.l
leI
Ijl

!pl maps, tapes, stamps
It I seats, lights, satellites
Ikl checks, headaches, snakes

fl roofs, staffs, photographs,
coughs, Ralph's
81 months, laths

..

.Yil

Column 1
lsi

;..

,.

uses (n.). places. taxes
uses (v.), Liz's, quizzes
ashes, wishes
garages
matches, Rich's, niches
judges', edges

"

Column 3

ii:;~

Izl

after vowel spellings, and
b. be, d, de, g. gue,
ve, the, m, me, n, ne,
ng, 1, Ie, r, re

NI
Ibl
Idl
Igl
Iv!
161

ties, Joe's
clubs, Abe's
Ed's, cathodes
eggs, plagues
wives', waves
lathes, clothes

Iml names, claims
Inl

fans, Anne's

IfJl songs, kings'
III

smiles, walls

Irl car's, ears

;t

,w"

.

~bs

'I'te verb "to be" has these forms: be, am, is, are, being, been, was, were.
other verbs have a maximum of five different forms. (Tenses and
are really phrases of 2 to 4 words, one of which words is one of
lilt five different forms below.)
~s

51

p'


Column 1
lsi

Column 2
lirz/

after p, pe, t, te,
k, ke, f, fe,
ph, gh, th, etc.

after s, se, ce
z, ze, sh, x, (t)ch,
, (d)ge

-iple

~ed

:g
·.:en
, -hed
:ted

P-l1ar form,
-. he says,
: the verb
xes which
... ays (with
: the verb.

...

Column 3

Iz/


Ibl
Idl
Igi

-s or -es,

•.j

after vowel spellings, and

b, be, d, de, g, gue,

ve, the, m, me, n, ne,

ng, 1, Ie, r, re


NI

~ed

lsI notices, increases, kisses
IzI uses, oozes, buzzes
lSI rushes, cashes
IiI rouges
ItI reaches, itches
Ijl changes, obliges

Ip! helps, stops, wipes
ItI wants, fits, rotates
Ikl works, takes, checks
IfI laughs, coughs, rebuffs
leI froths

Ivl
161

ties, knows, sees
grabs
attends, decides
drags, begs
lives, arrives
bathes, breathes

1m!
InJ

IIJI
III
Ir!

I

seems, times
means, learns
longs for, sings
smiles, calls
hears, cares, remembers

.. this rule.

Verbs Ending in oed

I

.is verbs with

:ina! sounds
- followed by

:\1any verbs called "regular verbs" have oed as their past ending, or-d
if the verb already has an e as its last letter. This ending is pronounced
ti or !dl in the same syllable with the verb, unless the last letters of the
verb are t, d, te, or de .
As in verb suffixes, the regular verbs fall into three classes: Column 1
has verbs with final sounds followed by lidI, Column 2 has verbs with
final sounds followed by Itl, Column 3 has verbs with final sounds fol­
lowed by Id/. Say the key words.

I

•

53


Column 1

Column 2

/i:d/

It!

after t, te, d, de

..

after p, pe, t(ch}, k, ke,
f, fe, ph, gh, th, s, se, x, sh

ItI wanted, fitted,
seated, waited,
expected, delighted,
rested, rotated,
completed
Idl needed,attended,
added, crowded,
decided, faded

Ipl helped, stopped, wiped
lei reached, itched
Ikl checked, worked,
asked, talked,
smoked, baked
IfI laughed, coughed,
rebuffed
191 frothed
lsi noticed, increased,
kissed, dressed,
taxed
Is/. rushed, cashed

· ...
•

·

"~j

.•

Column 3
Idl

after vowel spellings and
all other voiced consonants:

b, be. (d}ge, g, gue,

v, the, m, me, n, ne,

ng, 1. Ie, r, re


"

i


NI
Ibl

Ijl
Igi
Ivl
161

tied, allowed
grabbed
judged
dragged, begged
lived, arrived
bathed, breathed

1m!

Inl
IIJI
11/

Irl
Iii

named. claimed
learned, cleaned
longed for
smiled. called
heard, cared, remembered
rouged I

'Some speakers pronounce this word with /j/, not IiI.

54


PRONUNCIATION DRILL 16
\:. ke,
.... x, sh

2. STRESS

.,iped

Stress Patterns

•

•

~i,

Stress means "loudness." In English, there are four grades of stress.
Often, a small difference in the stress pattern makes a large difference
in the meaning.
Here are the names of the four grades of stress, and two ways to repre­
sent them:
Names of Stress

Accent Symbol

Dot Symbol

Weak (quiet)
Tertiary (loud)
Secondary (louder)

Primary (loudest)


•

,

••

,

•

,..

Here is a well-known example of two different stress patterns on the
same phrase:

•

•

1. White House

The president lives in the White House.

• •

2. white house

The family lives in the white house.

••

White House

••

white house

Stress Patterns on Words
lbered

Below are the five most frequent stress patterns. They consist of Primary
Stresses and Weak Stresses. Notice the occurrence of the vowels lal and
/tI in weak syllables.

•.

yes
no

•after•
city

••

before
enough

•.

• •

company
possible

•

••

another

together


55

1

"


man
good
fast

believe
result
above

little
saying
added

consider
tomorrow
believing

• usual
happily
gathering

Here are some other stress patterns consisting of one Primary Stress
and one or more Weak Stresses:

•

•••

America
American
Republican

•••

•

•

, ':--­

~

experIence
especially
material

•••

•

•

immediately
imaginative
conditionally

• • •

passionately
practicable
amicable

Other Stress Patterns on Words
Earlier in this Pronunciation Drill, you practiced stress patterns con­
sisting of Primary and Weak Stresses. Many words have one Primary

Stess, one Tertiary Stress, and some Weak Stresses:

•

"'<11,

..-,

-

•

rSincoat
also
increase (n.)
blackbird
locate

•

• • ••

realize
indicate
satisfied
holiday
telephone

estimated
operator

territory
qUalitative
telephoning

apprecIate
intensify
intimidate
infanticide

•••

•

afternoon
understand
represent
guarantee
disappoint

appreciated
intensifying
intimidated
romanticizing

•

• ••

increase (v.)
herself

themselves
humane
cartoon

•

•••

•

however
already
whatever
re-doing
unfeeling

••• •

anthropologi'caI
sociometrical

56

•

•••

possibility
satisfactory

•

•

•

• ••

••••

••

information
competition


b

.

• •••

Stress

.~ .elY
Ible

education

operation

Democratic

••••••

imthropologicitIly
sociometrically

There are a few pairs of words in English which are alike except for the
stress pattern. They have different meanings. Say the words below:

~

l

•

•

specifications
mathematician
semicoherent

•

•

unconditional

regimentational

. ier
-row

ing

•• ••

•

•

•

•

•

•

••

Augiist - augUst import (v.)· import (n.) PE!rInlt (v.) - permit (n.)

con': Primary

"~erns

Stress Contrasts

•

Now you will hear some pairs of words which differ in having one Primary
Stress, or a Primary Stress and a Weak Stress.

••

pop, poppy
Bob, Bobby
leaf, leafy
move, movie
tang, tangy
sit, city
doll, dolly
dot, Dotty
droop, droopy

~te

.de

t

•••
,tOO


-:;ing

idated
-' :cizing

might, mighty
shade, shady
pith, pithy
rose, rosy
Bill, Billy
red, ready
pat, patty
boot, booty
tab, tabby

itch, itchy
edge, edgy
sis, sissy
room, roomy
star, starry
laid, lady
part, party
stone, stony
Tom, Tommy

rock, rocky
bag, baggy
bush, bushy
rain, rainy
cough, coffee
hill, hilly
putt, putty
wind, windy
pen, penny

Sentences

,


1. Chicago is called the Windy City.
2. Billy, your coffee is ready.


Stress Patterns on Phrases
Some of the stress patterns which appear with phrases consist of Primary
Stresses, Tertiary Stresses, and Weak Stresses. Listen to the phrases
below, classified by their stress patterns, then repeat:

III

III

57

-


.ilil


•

.

eat quickly
jump off
come to

four paws
black car
white dress

Cows moo.
Dogs bark.
Horses neigh.

Stress Patterns in Contrast
The same phrase has one meaning if its stress pattern is
Secondary + Primary ( /\ + , ), and a different meaning if its stress pat­
tern includes a Tertiary Stress. Listen to the following phrases in con­
trast, then repeat:

:J

••
can up

Secondary+Primary

•
/\

bring up

He's here.

It is.


•,

Primary + Tertiary

•

,

•,


1. old maid

(former servant)
2. Paul Jones
(a man's name)
3. red cap
(hat which is
red)
4. blue bird
(a bird which is
blue)
5. black board
(a piece of wood

that is black)
6. four-foot steps
(steps which are
4 feet high)
7. four paws
(all 4 feet of an
animal)
8. long island
(an island which
is long)

t

;tress. Every
lCondary, Ter­

~.
+ noun,
~tIve

• \'erb

•

;!one.
gs.
I decided.

3a. redcap
(porter)

Tertiary +Primary

•,

•,

1a. old maid
(spinster)
2a. Paul Jones
(name of a
dance)

4a. bluebird
(certain species
of bird)
5a. blackboard
(writing surface
in a classroom)
6a. four footsteps
(sound or im­
pression of feet)
7a. forepaws
(the 2 front feet
of an animal)
8a. Long Island
(name of an
island off New
York)

59

1

)
I,.

",ii


9. white house
(a house which
is white)
10. iced cream
(cream which is
iced)

- I:

- (',

9a. White House
(President's
house)
lOa. ice cream
(dessert)

lOb. ice cream
(dessert)

Sentences

I really a white house?
Long island I really is a long island.
A redcap I used to wear a red cap.
A blilCkboard I is seldom a black board.
A bluebird I is not the only blue bird.

1. Is the White House

2.
3.
4.
5.

PRONUNCIATION DRILL 17
_

H

' ....

,...
-,

3. INTONATION
Intonation is the tune of what we say, or the way our voices go up and
down as we speak. In English there are four significant levels of pitch.
Pitch means the highness or lowness of the voice. We can represent the
four pitches in English in this way:

4
3
2
1

The lowest pitch (represented on line 1) is usually used at the end of
sentences. A higher pitch (represented on line 2) is usually used at the
beginning of sentences: in a long sentence, most of the words will be
spoken on this pitch. A still higher pitch (represented on line 3) is also
used. The strongest stress usually occurs with the highest pitch in a
sentence, but this is not always true. The highest pitch of all (represented
on line 4) is not used as often as the other three. It has a special con­
notation, such as emphasis, surprise, or emotion.
The most frequent intonation pattern in English is the 2-3-1 pattern.
That is, the sentence begins on pitch two, goes up to pitch three, and

60




If you say

••

•••

•

, you are asking a question .

He bought it yesterday?

Do NOT use the rising intonation with a statement construction unless
you mean to ask a question.
Uses of the Intonation Patterns

1-

Falling Intonation: 2·3-1, 3-1, 2-3-2

a. Statements:
.ally for a

• examples.

-­
-.--;-.-­

2
31
Close the door.
2 3 1
What time is it?

l

: a statement.

2

2
3
Open the window, please.

3
1
Who's coming?

232
Who is it?

Rising Intonation: 2-3

a. Questions Which Can Be Answered by Yes or No:

,~


r

3
1
Tell me.

c. Questions Except Those To Be Answered by Yes or No:

ertainly.

Do you have

2

3
I'm fine, thanks.

b. Commands:

-~

~ ;>€;;cli?\1

2

1
3
John's here.

231
It's raining.

2

3

2

Is it time for dinner?

3

Can you speak English?


2
3
Do you have a pencil?
~.

Questions Constructed Like a Statement:
3
She went to school today?
2

3
You went to the movies?
2

2
3
This bus goes to town?

63

,