The American R

Strong R
Download audio recording

Words

Listen to the audio recording and repeat after it. Read each word out loud and
make sure the sides of your tongue touch the inside part of the upper teeth
when you make the strong R.

ready river truck royal

row rough process riddle

reason around pretty robbery

repeat ruin crazy recognize

rest rumors great romantic

carry roof dream country

NEW SOUND CONSONANTS [A] 1

Ⓒ Hadar Shemesh International and New Sound. All rights reserved.
 Minimal Pairs

Can you hear the difference when you pronounce the following words?
Practice the different pronunciation of the words by using them in the same
sentence. (01:30)

R L Sentence

fries flies There were some flies in my fries

correct collect The word “collect” is correct in that context

rain lane The right lane was still wet because of the rain

grow glow Never let your glow grow dim

present pleasant Our present is so pleasant

R W Sentence

room womb There’s not a lot of room in the womb

ride wide I ride my horse in the wide open fields

rent went I went looking for a place to rent

rare wear It’s rare to find something that beautiful to wear

The guy in the red shirt wed his highschool

red wed
sweetheart

NEW SOUND CONSONANTS [A] 2

Ⓒ Hadar Shemesh International and New Sound. All rights reserved.
 Phrases

Practice the different R’s in the following phrases/expressions/idioms. (04:20)

1. Rack your brain

2. Right as rain

3. Rock the boat

4. Set the record straight

5. Hit the road

6. Rat race

7. Rewrite history

8. Different strokes for different folks

9. Constructive criticism

10. Shoot the breeze

NEW SOUND CONSONANTS [A] 3

Ⓒ Hadar Shemesh International and New Sound. All rights reserved.
 Sentences

Listen to the audio recording and repeat after it. Read each sentence out loud
and make sure the sides of your tongue touch the inside part of the upper
teeth when you make the strong R. (05:25)

1. Ron wrote a great letter to his friend.

2. The price of the rice is rising, and that’s really frustrating.

3. These restrictions are practical yet problematic.

4. We really need to rest after the long trip.

5. You need to run faster to reach better results.

NEW SOUND CONSONANTS [A] 4

Ⓒ Hadar Shemesh International and New Sound. All rights reserved.