LISTEN

/r/…/r/…/r/…/r/
​
rose…borrow…green…far

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The sound /r/ is a voiced, alveolar, glide consonant.

• Move the tip of your tongue upwards and backwards, so that it almost touches the top of your mouth. Your tongue should curl slightly, but it should not touch the top of your mouth.
• Breathe out and let air escape your mouth.
• Your vocal cords should vibrate.

Some English speakers round their lips when pronouncing /r/.

The consonant /r/ may be at the beginning of a word, in the middle of a word, or at the end of a word. If /r/ is at the end of a word, it has a slightly different sound. To pronounce /r/ at the end of a word (especially after a tense vowel like /iy/ or /ey/), use the vowel /ər/ (“-er”) and drop the pitch of your voice in the middle of the vowel. Enunciate the final consonant clearly.

Try to hear the /ər/ and pitch drop in these examples.

• near (NEE-er)
• stair (STAY-er)
• fire (FI-er)
• lure (LU-er)

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The consonant /r/ can be in these consonant clusters:

Spelling:

• “r” – far, run
• “wr” – wrap, wr​ite
• “rr” – borrow, marry
• “re” – more, stare

Grammar Tip:

The sound /r/ is used in the suffixes “-ory” and “-ary.” These suffixes are used in some adjectives.

• introductory
• complimentary
• temporary
• sanitary

The suffix “-ry” also appears in some nouns. When “-ry” is added to a noun or verb, it can mean “place of ____,” “activity of ____”, “practice of ____,” or “collection of ____”.

• treasure –> treasury
• bake –> bakery
• rival –> rivalry
• dentist –> dentistry
• machine –> machinery
• rocket –> rocketry

COMPARE

Compare /r/ and /l/:

/r/…/l/…/r/…/l/…/r/…/l/

The consonants /r/ and /l/ are both voiced,liquid consonants. However, /r/ is pronounced with the tongue near (but not touching) the roof of your mouth, while /l/ is pronounced with the the tip of the tongue touching the gum ridge.

You can hear the difference between /r/ and /l/ in these words.

1. A. rake, B. lake
2. A. grass, B. glass
3. A. mayor, B. mail
4. A. fires, B. files
​5. A. steering, B. steeling
6. A. barked, B. balked

Practice recognizing words with /r/ and /l/ by taking the quiz here (external site). As extra practice, compare words with and without a vowel+/r/ by taking the quiz here.

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:

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

1. car – parking – garage
I left my car in the parking garage
2. forecast – predict – rain – tomorrow
The weather forecast is predicting rain tomorrow.
3. afford – rent – borrow
If you can’t afford to buy textbooks, you can rent or borrow them.
4. dark – road – drive – carefully
If you’re on a dark road, you should drive carefully.
5. fourth – engineering – course
This is the fourth week of my engineering course.
6. brother – warned – strangers
​My brother warned me not to talk to strangers.

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

Prepare:
When should a child be responsible for doing household chores? Look at the list of chores, and decide on an appropriate age for a child to do each chore. Put the chores into 4 categories: 4-6 years old, 7-10 years old, 10-12 years old, and older than 12.

Record:
​Imagine you are part of a radio program that gives advice to parents. In your recording, explain which chores are appropriate for children in each age group.

©2024, Christine Wingate

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