Prof.

Mara Del Saz

Connected Speech Exercises

1. Assimilation. Put the words under the correct column, according to the
pronunciation of their suffix s/-es.
Stays
Johns
Fixes

/s/

Washes
Takes
Studies

/z/

Quizzes
Kates
Surprises

Tips
Runs
Interests

/z/

2. Read the following text and look at the verbs in the past tense and verb
past participles. Decide what the pronunciation of their endings d/-ed is
(/d/, /t/, or /d/).
Joe and I have decided to spend our next holidays in Hawaii. Last year,
we travelled to the north of Scotland and it was quite an experience! It
was snowing when the plane landed and it almost crashed. Still shaking
from that arrival, we waited for 2 hours for our luggage to come out.
When we arrived to our hotel, we had a shower and went out for dinner.
The food was so different! The waiter insisted that we tried their
traditional meal, so we did but we didnt like it.
And that was only the beginning. The following night, the hotel alarm
went off and scared all of us. We had to go dowsntairs in the middle of
the night on our pijamas. What a sight! We talked to other guests and
asked for places to visit while the firemen solved the problem.
In the end, we spent ten days in cold weather with too many incidents.
So this year is going to be different. We have already booked our trip to
the sunny and warm island!

Prof. Mara Del Saz

3. Elision. Transcribe the following sentences paying attention to the elision

of [t] and [d] in consonant clusters.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Go through the first door on the right.

My grandmother doesnt understand my friends.
I was the best man at Stuarts wedding.
Give the postman a sandwich too! Its Christmas!
Are you getting the last train to San Fernando? It depends.

4. Liaison. Transcribe the following using linking [r]:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Over and over again

More or less
Your own responsibility
For a small charge
Petr and Carl
War and Peace
The car on the corner
The door on the left

5. Weak forms. Transcribe the following sentences using weak forms where
possible:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

They are looking for a hotel in the center of town.

What does he mean by sticking his nose in everyones business?
What do you want for Christmas?
Put them away at once!
We could have visited the church if we had had more time.
She had better clear this mess up before her mother sees it.
Are you busy or have you got time for a beer?
Some of us like jazz, but others do not.
You must put it back where you found it.
I love you more than I can say.