Pronunciation: common vowel combinations: How and When to Use in English
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Pronunciation: common vowel combinations
When two vowels are combined, their pronunciation can change. Here are some common examples in English:
ee:
- is generally pronounced as :
feel ; meet
oo:
- is most commonly pronounced as :
cool ; food .
- can sometimes also be pronounced as :
book ; good .
- can sometimes also be pronounced as :
door , floor
ou:
- is often pronounced as :
house ; loud
- is often also pronounced as :
touch ; cousin
- is sometimes pronounced as :
you ; group
Don't worry! This is a very subtle aspect of the English language and these letter combinations can actually be pronounced in even more ways, which may vary with different accents. Your pronunciation will naturally improve with time and practice!
How do you pronounce the word feel?
How do you pronounce the word feel?
This is how you pronounce fool , not feel . Here, the double o is pronounced as , like in boot and soon .
Here you heard file , not feel . In the word file, the letter ‑i‑ in the middle is pronounced as and the final ‑e is silent, as in shine or mine
This is how we pronounce feel: . In this case, the double e is pronounced as , just like in see and green .
Listen to the clip: which word did you hear?
Listen to the clip: which word did you hear?
Flier is pronounced , but here you actually heard flour . Other examples similar to flier are: drier ; crier .
In this clip, you heard flour: . In this word, the vowel combination ‑ou‑ in the middle is pronounced as as in hour and sour .
Flair is pronounced , while here you heard flour . Other words that sound like flair are: stair and fair .
How do you pronounce soon?
How do you pronounce soon?
Here you heard son (with one o) , not soon (with oo) . Other examples: mother ; oven .
In this clip you heard scene , not soon . In scene, the first e is pronounced as , like in me and we .
This is how you pronounce soon: . This is the most common sound corresponding to oo, and you can find it in words like moon and pool .
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