Hi! This is Amy, with Go Places English and today I want to talk about the short and long U sound in American English.

Sometimes these sounds can be confused, so I want to take a minute to review.

The short U sound is found in words like BOOK and PULL.

The long U sound is found in words like MOON and POOL.

Can you hear the difference? PULL. POOL. PULL. POOL.

Try repeating with me.

PULL. POOL.

FULL. FOOL.

Let’s practice more short U words. Listen and repeat with me.

Wood

Book

Good

Foot

Cook

Hood

Hook

Look

Good. Now let’s practice more long U words. Listen and repeat with me.

Pool

Food

School

Moon

Tool

Balloon

Bamboo

Cartoon

There are also some OO words that don’t have short or long U sounds. Let’s look at those words. Listen and repeat.

Door

Floor

Poor

Moor

Blood

Good! Now, take out a notebook and a pencil and get ready for a pop quiz!

Write the word you hear me say, and next to it write if it is a short U, long U, or if it is neither.

Ready?

  1. Door
  2. Bamboo
  3. Cook
  4. Blood
  5. Cartoon
  6. Food
  7. Good
  8. Poor

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

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If you have questions or feedback about this lesson, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

Go Places English.

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