LISTEN

/f/…/f/…/f/…/f/

fix…friend…laugh…offer..

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The sound /f/ is a voiceless, labiodental, fricative consonant.

Press your upper teeth against your lower lip.
Breathe out and let air escape past your teeth.
Your vocal cords should not vibrate.

The sound /f/ can be in these consonant clusters:

BEGINNING OF A SYLLABLE

/fr/ (“fr”) – friend
/fl/ (“fl”) – fly

END OF A SYLLABLE

/lf/ (“lf”) – shelf
/lfs/ (“lfs”) – gulfs
/rf/ (“rf”) – scarf
/rfs/ (“rfs”) – wharfs
/fs/ (“fs” / “ffs” / “ghs”) – proofs, cuffs, coughs
/fθ/ (“fth”) – fifth
/fθs/ (“fths”) – fifths
/lfθ/ (“lfth”) – twelfth
/lfθs/ (“lfths”) – twelfths
/ft/ (“ft”) – left
/fts/ (“fts”) – shifts

Spelling:

“f” – friend, before
“ff” – off, difficult
“ph” – phrase, physics
“gh” – tough, laugh

COMPARE

Compare /f/ and /v/.

/f/…/v/…/f/…/v/…/f/…/v/

Both /f/ and /v/ are labiodental fricative consonants. However, /f/ is voiceless and /v/ is voiced. When you pronounce /f/, your vocal cords should not vibrate. At the end of a word, the vowel before /f/ will be shorter than the vowel before /v/.

You can hear the difference between /f/ and /v/ in these words.

1. A. face, B. vase
2. A. fan, B. van
3. A. leaf, B. leave
4. A. surf, B. serve
5. A. safer, B. savor
6. A. shelf, B. shelve

Practice recognizing words with /f/ and /v/ by taking the quiz here (external link).

Now, compare /f/ with /θ/.

/f/…/θ/…/f/…/θ/…/f/…/θ/

Both /f/ and /θ/ are voiceless fricative consonants. However, /f/ is a labiodental consonant, and /θ/ is an dental consonant. You should pronounce /f/ with your upper teeth rubbing against your lower lip.

You can hear the difference between /f/ and /θ/ in the words below.

1. A. fought, B. thought
2. A. free, B. three
3. A. first, B. thirst
4. A. deaf, B. death
5. A. whiff, B. with
6. A. reefs, B. wreaths

Practice recognizing words with /f/ and /θ/ by taking the quiz here (external source).

PRACTICE

1. fake
2. phone
3. fire
4. fever
5. flame
6. flower
7. frown
8. fraction
9. fantasy
10. offer

11. rough
12. left
13. coughs
14. selfish
15. afraid
16. after
17. different
18. effective
19. fifth
20. philosopher

Now, practice /f/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.

1. afford – forget – phone
You can’t afford to forget your phone!
2. cough – fever – feels
He has a cough and a fever, so he feels very sick.
3. flying – after – final
I’m flying home after final exams.
4. family – friends – fireworks – fourth
My family and friends watched fireworks on July Fourth.
5. left – before – finished
I left before the class was finished.
6. fee – ferry – five
The fee for riding the ferry is five dollars.

To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:

Male – US Midwest (St. Louis)

Male – US Midwest (Iowa)

Male – US Midwest

Female – US Northeast

Female – US Southeast

USE IT

Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.

Prepare:
People are afraid of many different things. Look at the list of fears people might have. Which fears are most common?

fire
a flood
a typhoon
fighting with a friend
fake news
forgetting someone’s name
being by yourself (alone)
falling
flying
failure
being different from most people
being left out of a fun activity
speaking in front of people

Record:
In your recording, describe which 3 fears are most common among your family or friends. Explain why people are afraid of these things.

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