Cover of the textbook English File Advanced - Student's Book

The key answer of exercise 2

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 2B - On the tip of my tongue for the textbook English File Advanced - Student's Book with authors Christina Latham-Koenig, Clive Oxenden, Jerry Lambert and Kate Chomacki from Oxford University Press

Question

  1. With a partner, say each group of words aloud. How are the pink letters pronounced? Circle the different word in each group if there is one.
  2. Listen and check. What's the pronunciation rule for each group? Can you think of any more exceptions?
  3. Look at the spelling patterns in a. Now decide how you think the words from the list below are pronounced. Check their pronunciation and meaning with your teacher or with a dictionary.

Answer

a) and b)

1

  • dishonest /dɪs'ɒnɪst/
  • Rule: the letter h is nearly always pronounced /h/.
  • Common exceptions: heir, honest, honour, hour, exhausted.

2

  • allow /ə'laʊ/
  • Rule: the letters ow are often pronounced /əʊ/, as in blow, window, below, but are also often pronounced /aʊ/, as in frown, towel, now. At the end of a word, the letters are usually pronounced /əʊ/.
  • Occasionally, the same letters have different pronunciations according to the meaning, e.g. row /raʊ/ (= argument) but row /rəʊ/ (= a line of seats).
  • These are called homographs.

3

  • river /'rɪvə/
  • Rule: the letter i + consonant + e is usually /aɪ/.
  • Common exceptions: river, give, live (the verb), since.

4

  • whose /hu:z/
  • Rule: the letters wh are nearly always /w/, but occasionally /h/, e.g. whose, who, whole.

5

  • All the same pronunciation
  • Rule: the letter j is always pronounced /dʒ/.

6

  • chorus /'kɔ:rəs/
  • Rule: the letters ch are usually pronounced /tʃ/, but occasionally /ʃ/, e.g. machine, chef, cliché, when the words are of French origin, or /k/, e.g. chemist, architect, when the word comes from Greek.

7

  • sure /ʃɔ:/
  • Rule: the letters at the beginning of a word is nearly always /s/.
  • The only two exceptions are sugar and sure, where the s is pronounced /ʃ/.

8

  • All the same pronunciation
  • Rule: the letters aw are always /ɔ:/ when they come at the end of a word, or when aw is followed by another consonant.

9

  • reporter /rɪ'pɔ:tə/
  • Rule: the letters or are usually pronounced /ɔ:/, but are usually /3:/ after a w, e.g. work, word, world.

10

  • All the same pronunciation
  • Rule: the letters ir are always /3:/ when they are followed by a consonant, but are pronounced /aɪə/ when followed by an e, e.g. require.

c)

  • chime /tʃaɪm/: verb; (of a bell or clock) to ring
  • howl /haʊl/: verb; (of a dog, wolf, etc.) to make a long, loud cry
  • jaw /dʒɔ:/: noun; either of the two bones at the bottom of the face that contain the teeth
  • whirl /w3:l/: verb; to move around quickly in a circle
  • worm /w3:m/: noun; a long, thin creature with no bones or legs, which lives in soil