Author: Amy Estrada (Page 1 of 28)

Hi! This is Amy with Go Places English and today I want to talk about the pronunciation of THE FINAL M SOUND in American English.

Words that end with an M sound, like SOME or TIME, are sometimes mispronounced by students, so I want to spend a little time today focusing on the final M sound.

To make the M sound, close your mouth and lips. M is a voiced sound, so while your mouth and lips are closed, vibrate your vocal chords. Like this. MMMMM.

For some students, it may not feel natural to close the mouth and lips after a vowel sound. But this is important because if you leave the mouth open, you will produce an N sound.

Mispronouncing the M can sometimes change the meaning of the word!

Listen to the difference between these word pairs. Try saying them with me.

them

then

some

son

Let’s practice some words with a final M sound. Listen and repeat aloud with me. Record yourself saying the words and compare your pronunciation to mine.

time

some

problem

premium

worm

warm

museum

foam

dumb

charm

broom

denim

exam

film

calm

poem

from

them

room

item

mom

plum

You can instantly improve your English and sound more like a native speaker by practicing and speaking the final M sound correctly.

If this lesson was helpful, give it a thumbs up, share it with your friends on social media, and subscribe to Go Places English. Thanks!

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Hi, this is Amy with Go Places English. And today I want to talk about the cadence, reduction and linking of “SOME OF” in American English.

SOME OF is commonly reduced and linked to sound like a single word, “summa.” The O in SOME is pronounced UH. SOME.

OF is reduced to sound like UH. SOME OF. SOME OF.

Notice the reduction and linking, and how the words and sounds blend together.

SOME OF

SOME OF

Good. Repeat with me.

some of

some of

some of

some of

some of

some of

Great. Now let’s practice in some sentences.

Some of the students are late.

I think some of the people are waiting.

She answers my calls some of the time.

Some of my friends speak English.

Some of the money is hers.

Some of the men are handsome.

She knows some of the answers.

Some of the work was done yesterday.

Would you like some of this pie?

Please have some of this dessert.

Good. It is also important to note that when SOME OF is followed by a vowel sound, we do not reduced the word OF to sound like UH.

For example. I like some of it.

Because the word IT starts with a vowel sound, we must pronounce the V sound in OF. SOME OF IT. Notice in this case we link OF and IT to sound like one word. UH-VIT. Some UH-VIT.

Say it with me.

I like some of it.

I want some of it.

Please take some of it.

Some of it is already broken.

Do you want some of it?

Good. Keep practicing SOME OF in your own sentences, and write them in the comments for other students to practice, too.

If you learned something in this video, please let my know by giving it a thumbs up, sharing it on social media and if you haven’t already, subscribe to the Go Places English YouTube channel.

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Hi! This is Amy, with Go Places English and today I want to talk about TO BE BIG ON in American English.

TO BE BIG ON something is another way to say you like or enjoy something.

For example: I’m really big on hiking.

This means I really like and enjoy hiking.

The sentence structure is the verb BE plus BIG ON plus the object.

We don’t use TO BE BIG ON a person. For example, if I want to say, I like you, I can’t say I’m big on you. That just sounds weird. So use TO BE BIG ON for things and places.

To make it negative we can say, TO NOT BE BIG ON something.

For example: I’m not big on camping.

Let’s practice some sentences together. Repeat after me.

She’s big on science fiction movies.

I’m big on chocolate, especially dark chocolate.

He’s big on astrology.

I’m not big on amusement parks.

They’re big on language learning.

We’re really big on gift giving in our family.

A lot of people aren’t big on exercise.

She’s big on books and reading.

We are really big on art.

I’m really big on teaching you English.

Good. Try making some sentences using TO BE BIG ON and write them in the comments.

Are you big on my videos? Are you big on learning English? Let me know by giving me a thumbs up on this video, and share it with your friends on social media.

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Hi! This is Amy with Go Places English, and today I want to talk about the SH & CH sounds in American English.

You asked me to make a video about the difference between the SH & CH sounds, so here it is! Both of these sounds are unvoiced consonants. But they are slightly different.

When you make the SH sound, you round the lips. Don’t let the tongue touch the roof of your mouth. The air should flow around the tongue. It should sound like this. SH.

Try practicing with me.

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

sh

Good. Now, let’s say the SH sound in some words.

should

show

blush

wash

shine

shallow

shoes

push

Nice. Now for the CH sound.

To make the CH sound, round the lips and lightly touch the tip of the tongue to roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth to briefly stop the air as it flows out. It should sound like this. CH.

Practice with me.

ch

ch

ch

ch

ch

ch

ch

ch

ch

ch

Good. Are you getting the hang of it? Let’s practice with some words.

beach

chair

children

watch

crunch

cheese

achieve

lunch

Great. Record yourself saying the SH & CH sounds, and compare your pronunciation to mine.

I really enjoy creating videos for you, so consider joining me on Patreon to gain early access to all my videos and extra goodies and bonus learning materials. The link to my Patreon page in in the transcript of this video.

https://www.patreon.com/goplacesenglish

If this video was helpful, give it a thumbs up and say hello in the comments. Subscribe to the Go Places English YouTube channel. Thanks!

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Hi! This is Amy with Go Places English, and today I want to talk the linking and reduction of COME ON in American English.

COME ON is a common expression and has several meanings, depending on the context and tone of the speaker.

It can mean, “come here” or “let’s go” and even “I don’t believe you.” It can be used to plead. Of course there are even more meanings, but for the purpose of this video, we will look at how we use COME ON as an imperative.

In speaking we link the words COME ON to sound like a single word. C’mon. Notice the stress is in the second syllable. MON. The first syllable is reduced to sound like Kuh.Kuh.

C’mon.

Practice saying it with me.

come on

come on

come on

come on

come on

come on

Let’s practice saying C’mon in some sentences.

Come on, let’s get going.

Come on, give me a bite.

Do you want to go with me? Come on, you’ll have fun!

Come on now, you can’t be serious.

Come on, I’m in a hurry!

Let’s go. Come on!

Oh come on! I never said that.

Come on, get your act together!

Come on you guys, our bus is about to leave.

Good job. Record yourself saying the practice sentences and compare your pronunciation to mine.

If you learned something in this lesson, give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends on social media. And thank you for subscribing to the Go Places English YouTube channel.

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Hi! This is Amy with Go Places English, and today I want to talk about the T & D sounds in American English.

I had a student ask me to create a lesson on these sounds, so here it is!

Both the T and D sounds are consonants. Let’s take a closer look at their differences.

The T sound is unvoiced, and it’s created by placing the tip of your tongue against the tooth ridge and the sides of the tongue against the upper side teeth. The mouth is open just enough for the aspirated air to come out.

Let’s practice this sound together.

t

t

t

t

t

t

t

t

t

t

Now, let’s say some words with a T sound. Remember, the letter T has a few different pronunciations, depending on the word. For the purpose of this lesson, we will focus on the /t/ sound.

time

tickle

tell

table

telephone

tongue

two

Twitter

Good. Now let’s look at the D sound. This is a voiced sound. The mouth shape and tongue placement are the same as in the T sound. But when you say the D sound, you are going to engage your vocal chords. If you touch your throat area, you should be able to feel the vibration when you say the D sound.

Let’s try it.

d

d

d

d

d

d

d

d

d

d

Nice. Let’s say some words with the D sound.

dog

dimple

door

ditch

delicious

does

down

decide

Good. Keep practicing until you get it right. I’ll be making another video about the SH & CH sounds, so keep an eye out for that.

I really love creating videos for you, so consider joining me on Patreon to gain early access to all my videos and extra goodies and bonus learning materials. The link to my Patreon page in in the transcript of this video.

https://www.patreon.com/goplacesenglish

If this video was helpful, give it a thumbs up and leave me a comment. Subscribe to the Go Places English YouTube channel. Thanks!

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Hi! This is Amy, with Go Places English and today I want to talk about SOME & ANY in American English.

Recently a student asked me to explain the difference between these two words. Let’s first start with SOME.

When it comes to the pronunciation, SOME is pronounced with a short U sound. UH. SOME. It is pronounced exactly the same as the word SUM. Of course the meaning is different. SOME means an unspecified amount or quantity, in other words, a general amount.

It is usually used as an adjective, but it can also be used as a pronoun and an adverb. For today’s lesson, we will look at the most common usage, as an adjective to describe nouns.

For example:

I want some ice cream.

I have some friends.

Notice we can use SOME for both countable and uncountable nouns when we want to describe an unspecified amount of that noun.

More examples:

There are some books on the shelf.

Do you want some ice in your water?

We can use SOME in both questions and affirmative statements. However, we do not use SOME for negative sentences. For negative sentences we use ANY.

ANY is pronounced with an EH sound. EH. ANY. ANY can also mean a general amount, but it has other meanings too. It can also mean whatever or whichever, and every or all.

It is usually used as an adjective, but it can also be used as a pronoun or adverb. Today we are going to look at the most common usage, as an adjective.

We use the word ANY much like we use the word SOME. The main difference being that we only use ANY in questions and negative statements.

For example:

He doesn’t have any money.

I don’t want any coffee.

We can use ANY for countable and uncountable nouns.

More examples:

Do you want any lemonade?

There aren’t any cars on the road.

Both SOME & ANY can be used in questions.

For example:

Do you want some apples?

Do you want any apples?

These sentences have the same meaning. You choose which you’d prefer to use, SOME or ANY; they are both correct. Isn’t it nice to have options?

That’s our class for today, let me know if you have any questions or feedback in the comments. Please like and share this video on social media, give me a thumbs up if you learned something and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I really appreciate it.

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Hi! This is Amy with Go Places English, and today I want to talk about the linking and reduction of GIVE ME in American English.

GIVE ME is commonly linked and reduced in spoken English to sound like GIMME. The V sound is omitted entirely.

Listen again. GIMME.

Say it with me.

give me

give me

give me

give me

give me

Nice.

Just a note, we only reduce GIVE ME. We can not omit the V sound in GIVE in when combined with other objects. For example, GIVE IT, GIVE HER, GIVE YOU, GIVE US, etc.

Let’s practice in some sentences.

Give me the small one.

Come here and give me a kiss.

Can you give me some advice?

Please give me the keys.

Give me some tips on how to improve my English.

Could you give me a break?

Give me your thoughts on this topic.

Please give me a time that works for you.

Could you give me some help with this?

Give me a hint.

Nice work. Now record yourself saying the practice sentences and compare your pronunciation to mine.

If you learned something in this video, consider joining my Patreon page. You can find a link to my Patreon page in the description of this video.

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Hi! This is Amy, with Go Places English and today I want to talk about A FEW & A LITTLE in American English.

A FEW & A LITTLE basically mean the same thing when they are used in their most common form, as adjectives.

Here is a simple way to determine which one to use.

Use A FEW for countable nouns and A LITTLE for uncountable nouns.

Let’s take a closer look.

A FEW is often linked to sound like a single word. A FEW. The stress is on the second syllable. The vowel sound in FEW is EW. FEW. A FEW.

A FEW means a small amount, or a small number of things. It is an adjective, used to describe nouns. We can only use A FEW with countable nouns.

For example:

We have a few minutes.

I want to buy a few books.

She needs a few things at the store.

We can also use A FEW in questions.

For example:

Can I ask you a few questions?

Do you have a few ideas?

Are you willing to wait a few days?

We don’t use A FEW in negative statements.

Now let’s look at A LITTLE.

A LITTLE is also linked to sound like a single word, A LITTLE. The stress is on the second syllable. The Ts in LITTLE are pronounced like a D, also known as Flap T. A LITTLE.

A LITTLE means a small amount, or a small number of things. Essentially the meaning is the same as A FEW. It also is an adjective used to describe nouns. But we can only use A LITTLE to describe uncountable nouns.

For example:

I have a little money.

I want to take a little vacation.

I need a little help.

We can also use A LITTLE in questions.

For example:

Do you want a little coffee?

Can you play a little tennis?

Do you need to do a little work?

We don’t really use A FEW or A LITTLE in negative statements. It’s not that it’s always grammatically incorrect, but most of the time we would just use ANY for negative statements. So to simplify things, I suggest you use A FEW and A LITTLE for questions and affirmative statements, and use ANY for negative statements.

Make your own example sentences using A FEW and A LITTLE and write them in the comments. It’s important to generate your own sentences and put your ideas and examples into writing if you want to be fluent in English.

Is this video helpful? If you learned something in this video, give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends on social media.

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Hi! This is Amy, with Go Places English, and today I want to compare the pronunciation of BITTER, BETTER, BATTER, & BUTTER in American English.

These four words have similar spellings, with the exception of the first vowel. Let’s take a closer look at these words and how to pronounce them correctly.

In all of these words the double T is pronounced like a D, also known as Flap T.

In the first word, BITTER, the I is pronounced like the I in IT, WITH, and IN. Bitter.

Say it a few times with me.

bitter

bitter

bitter

bitter

Good. In the next word, BETTER, the first E is pronounced like BED, EGG, and GET. Better.

Say it with me.

better

better

better

better

Nice. This next word, BATTER, has a short A sound, like APPLE, AT, and CAT. Batter.

Repeat with me.

batter

batter

batter

batter

Very nice. This last word, BUTTER, has a short U sound, like in COME, US, and NUT. Butter.

Practice with me.

butter

butter

butter

butter

Good. Now let’s say them together. Repeat with me.

bitter

better

batter

butter

bitter

better

batter

butter

Can you distinguish between the sounds? One more time.

bitter

better

batter

butter

bitter

better

batter

butter

Nice.

Record yourself saying all four words, and compare your pronunciation to mine. This will help you determine if your pronunciation is accurate.

Now, take out your notebook and a pen or pencil for a pop quiz. Write down the word you hear me say.

1. batter
2. butter
3. better
4. batter
5. bitter

Very good. Check your answers in the transcript, located in the description of this video. Let me know how many you got right in the comments.

If you learned something in this video, give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends on social media. Subscribe to the Go Places English YouTube channel and keep improving your English!

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