Pronunciation 1: Difficult Consonant Sounds

[Th] vs [S] vs [Z]

How to pronounce:

[Th] sound [S] sound [Z] sound

– tongue between teeth – tongue behind closed teeth – tongue behind closed teeth
– blow a little air – blow air – make a vibrating sound
– Sometimes make a sound – no sound from vocal with vocal chords
with your vocal chords chords

Example pronunciation pairs:

think / sink bus / buzz

thank / sank sue / zoo
that / sat hiss / his

[F] vs [V] vs [P]

How to pronounce:

[F] sound [V] sound [P] sound

– top teeth on bottom lip – top teeth on bottom lip – firmly press both lips
– gently push out a little air – make a vibrating sound together
with your vocal chords – quickly push out a puff of
while you breathe out air

Example pronunciation pairs:

fine / vine fair / pair

fairy / very face / pace
face / vase raft / wrapped

(c) 2013 Shawn Roe www.SimpleBetterEnglish.com