So, you know a lot of words but you can’t understand native speakers.

You can tell me all the “rules” for using the present perfect but you get confused when someone says take a photo instead of make a photo. (Tip: don’t say make a photo!)

What happened?!

It’s not you!

Do you know why you can’t understand spoken English? It’s not because your listening skills are bad! You can listen fine in your own language.

No one told you that English is more than single words and grammar rules!

No one told you that words are used in groups and that sometimes a group of words has a different meaning than the individual words. No one taught you the words that go together. (Those are called collocations, like take a photo.)

No one taught you the right words! No one told you that some words are more important than others, and you should spend your time learning core vocabulary.

No one taught you how to understand fast, natural spoken English! Did you now that has a rhymes with plaza, or that passed away sounds like pasta way?

How are you going to learn all that?

_____

English in the real word is messy, but I make it easy for you to understand!

This lesson takes a story about the real world and breaks it into small pieces so you can understand the story.

You think this is a story about a photo, but it’s really a story about …
• 78 core vocabulary words
• 20 collocations
• 3 phrases
• 4 phrasal verbs
• the idiom leave no stone unturned
• when to use I and when to use me
• using the sentence structure so ______ that _____ to sound more natural
• how to say the T in photo

PLUS! You get extra listening files!

Choose your speed: very slow, slow or normal, whichever speed is best for you to understand the story and still listen to natural spoken English!

You think this a lesson to help you learn all that, but really it’s a way to remember everything because it also includes vocabulary activities and comprehension questions. I know! It’s awesome.

All this information gets stuck in your brain and one day you realize you’re not scared to speak to a native speaker and you can understand what a native speaker is saying!

Stop feeling sad and frustrated. Get the lesson. Take it with you wherever you go.

Get ready to be awesome.

This lesson is a digital download.

• The lesson is PDF document. It is a digital file that can you read on your computer, laptop, tablet or phone or you can print it.
• Your download also includes 4 mp3 files (digital listening files)
• The lesson + mp3 files will come in a .zip file

Have you struggled to understand something you read or listened to in English, even though you know lots of grammar rules and vocabulary?

Do you feel sad and discouraged when you can’t understand something you read or listening to in English, even though you know lots of grammar rules and vocabulary?

Are you ready to FINALLY understand & speak English like a native speaker?

English learners need to know 90-98% of a text to understand it completely.

Master English by learning the right words:
• core vocabulary
• collocations
• phrases
• phrasal verbs
• idioms
• sentence structure
… and learn how to say them like a native speaker!

Learn how to understand fast, natural spoken English.

Remember everything you have learned.

What’s inside listening guide 23?
• a digital PDF file that can be read on any device
• extra audio files so you can choose the speed to listen to (very slow, slow & normal)
• 81 core vocabulary words
• 6 phrasal verbs
• 18 collocations + 4 phrases (fixed expressions)
• when to use so far instead of until now
• how to link to same consonant sounds in spoken English
• comprehension questions
• vocabulary activities

How to use your credit card:

1. Click on the PayPal button:

2. Click on “Don’t have a PayPal account?”

3. Choose your country and type your credit card information:

Episode32

The original recording of this episode was lost. This version was rebuilt with an AI voice from Melanie's own transcript, so the words are hers and the voice is not.

Listen to a story about a car accident I had many years ago!

You’ll also learn how to say the modal verb phrases “should have” and “should not have” in fast, natural spoken English.

 

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

 

THE STORY

I consider myself a good driver. I’ve been driving for over 20 years. I’ve only been in one accident and I’ve only gotten one speeding ticket. Still, I hate making left turns, because I got in an accident once making a left-hand turn. We drive on the right-hand side of the road in North America, so when you make a left turn, you’re driving in front of cars coming in the opposite direction.

Learn more: Use the present perfect to talk about your life experiences

The accident happened at a busy intersection. I’d been waiting a while in the left-hand turn lane at the traffic lights, and there was one car in front of me. The light turned amber and the car in front of me turned left. I followed the car hoping to beat the red light. I’d just assumed that the cars in the other direction had already stopped since the car in front of me was turning left.

Learn more: How to use I, me, myself, and my

I saw too late that a car had sped up and was trying to beat the red light. I was hit in the middle of the intersection. The car slammed into my passenger-side door. I completed the left-hand turn and pulled over to the side of the road. There was an off-duty police officer in the car behind me who witnessed the accident. I don’t remember who called the police, but an officer arrived at the scene. He explained that both drivers were at fault and he gave both of us tickets. I shouldn’t have tried to rush through the amber light. I should have checked that all the cars had stopped before I started the left turn.

I wasn’t hurt. The other driver wasn’t hurt, either. There was damage to the passenger-side door and it cost me a lot of money to repair the door! I didn’t fight the ticket in court. I paid the fine. Now, I avoid making left-hand turns as much as possible, especially at a busy intersection!

Listen:
My Car Died | Episode 19
My License Plate | Episode 08

 

 

PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW TO SAY “SHOULD HAVE” AND “SHOULD NOT HAVE” IN FAST NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

Listen to a sentence from the story:

I should have checked that all the cars had stopped

Did you hear the modal verb phrase should have in that sentence? In fast, natural spoken English, should have is pronounced /ʃʊɾəv/.

Should
The modal verb should is only 3 sounds: ʃ ʊ d

The L is silent. Don’t say the L. Should rhymes with good, wood/would, and hood.

Click here to see if your language has the vowel sound [ʊ]: (Wikipedia)

Have
Have, in this phrase, is an auxiliary verb. It’s a helping verb. The main verb is the verb after have.

To make the verb phrase easier to say, should and have are contracted. They form the spoken contraction “should’ve.”

“Should’ve” is an informal written contraction. In formal writing, like in an essay or in a report for work, it is better to write out should have. Both Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary list “should’ve” as a contraction of should and have. However, one of the grammar books that I use, Practical English Usage by Michael Swan, does not list “should’ve” as an accepted written contraction.

The helping verb have is reduced in this contraction. It becomes the sound /əv/. Yes, it sounds the same as the preposition of. There is no H sound and the vowel sound becomes the reduced vowel schwa sound [ə].

Learn more: The reduced form of the preposition of | Episode 09

The D is between two vowel sounds, and it’s at the beginning of an unstressed syllable. It becomes the alveolar flap sound. I talk about this sound in a few pronunciation tips, because it’s a common sound in American English.

Listen: Pronunciation tips that explain the alveolar flap sound
episode 31
episode 30
episode 26
episode 24

The T and D consonant sounds have the same mouth position. T is voiceless and D is voiced. However, both become the same alveolar flap sound when they’re at the beginning of an unstressed syllable and between two vowel sounds.

The alveolar flap sound is not a T or a D sound. It’s a quick tongue tap. The tip of your tongue quickly hits or taps the gum ridge behind your top teeth.

Listen carefully:
/ʃʊɾəv/ -or- /ʃʊt̬əv/

Notice that I’m not saying /ʃʊdəv/ with a hard D sound.

I should have checked that all the cars had stopped …

In very fast, informal speech, some speakers will shorten have even more and just say the reduced vowel schwa sound [ə]:
/ʃʊɾə/ -or- /ʃʊt̬ə/
Shouldn’t have
Listen to another sentence from the story:

I shouldn’t have tried to rush through the amber light.

Did you hear the modal verb phrase should not have in that sentence? In fast, natural spoken English, shouldn’t have is pronounced /ʃʊdnəv/.

Shouldn’t is a contraction of the words should and not. The contraction ends with the letters D, N, T. I’ve already told you that the D and T have the same mouth position. Both sounds start with the tip of your tongue pressed against the gum ridge behind your top teeth. This is ALSO the starting mouth position for the N consonant sound. The difference is that the N consonant sound is continuous and it comes out of your nose. Try it: [n]

When you say the first part should, don’t finish the D sound. Stop the sound, but keep the tip of your tongue pressed up against the gum ridge behind your top teeth. Without moving your tongue, go straight into the N sound. Listen:

/ʃʊdn/

The N and T have the same mouth position, they are both in the unstressed syllable, and the T is followed by a vowel sound. When that happens, American English speakers skip the T sound and go straight into the next sound. The next sound is the reduced form of have.

Put those sounds together: ʃʊd n əv

/ʃʊdnəv/

I shouldn’t have tried …

Again, in very fast, informal speech, some speakers will shorten have even more and just say the reduced vowel schwa sound [ə]:
/ʃʊdnə/

When American English speakers are speaking slowly or when they want to speak clearly, they may say should have or should not have very clearly. It’s not wrong to fully pronounce these modal verb phrases. It’s important that you know all the ways of saying these phrases so that you can hear all the ways of saying them.
Note: the IPA symbol for the alveolar flap is [ɾ]. However, none of the dictionaries for English learners use this symbol, maybe because it looks too much like an r. Some dictionaries do not use any symbol to represent the flap sound. They use use the regular [t] symbol. Other dictionaries use the symbol [ t̬ ]. I have chosen to use both in this pronunciation tip.

 

QUESTIONS

• Have you ever been in an accident?
• Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?

Leave me a comment below!

 

Episode31

Listen to a story about my first job!

You’ll also learn how how to say the phrase “a lot of.”

 

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

 

THE STORY

Summer is a time when a lot of teenagers have their first jobs. The school year ends in the spring and kids have a couple months off before the next school year begins in the fall. During the school year some kids have an after-school job a couple nights a week and on weekends, but in the summer, kids can work longer hours. A summer job is a way to earn spending money and get experience.

I didn’t have my first job until I was 17. I worked as a character at an amusement park outside of Toronto for the summer. I had done some babysitting and I’d had a paper route before that, but this was my first real job. I didn’t make a ton of money because I was under 18, so I didn’t even qualify for minimum wage. I made the student minimum wage, which at that time was something like $6.50 an hour.

I worked in the children’s area of the park, where the rides and characters were based on American cartoons. I was a shark. It was the best job I’ve ever had. I spent my time hugging children, posing for photos and signing autographs as my character. I also got free entry to the park on my days off and free tickets for my family & friends. It was a fun way to spend a summer!

I’ve had a number of jobs since then, but my first job is still my favorite job! I enjoyed the 5 years I spent as a tour guide in Europe, and I’ve enjoyed the 9 years I’ve been teaching English, but nothing compares to being young in the summer and working at an amusement park! If I could do it all over again, I would!

 

 

PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW TO SAY THE PHRASE “A LOT OF“

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

Listen to a sentence from the story:

Summer is a time when a lot of teenagers have their first jobs.

Did you hear the words a lot of in that sentence? In fast, natural spoken English, the three words together are said /əˈlɑɾəv/ -or- /əˈlɑt̬əv/.

The phrase a lot of means a large amount of something. Let’s look at how to pronounce each word individually and how to say them together.

The indefinite article a is almost never pronounced [eɪ]. It’s almost always the sound [ə].

Lot is the stressed word in this phrase. It’s said louder and longer than the other words.

Did you hear the T at the end of lot in the phrase /əˈlɑɾəv/ -or- /əˈlɑt̬əv/

Lot ends with a T consonant sound and the preposition of begins with the vowel sound [ə]. The T at the end of lot is linked or connected to the preposition of, and it becomes the first sound of the syllable.

Listen: ə ˈlɑ təv

When the T is between two vowel sounds and at the beginning of an unstressed syllable, it becomes the tapped T or alveolar flap sound. It’s not a T or a D sound. It’s quick tongue tap. There is no stop or pause in the middle of the sound.

ə ˈlɑ təv becomes /əˈlɑɾəv/ -or- /əˈlɑt̬əv/

The preposition of is also sometimes reduced to the sound [ə], so you may also hear a lot of pronounced /əˈlɑt̬ə/ with no V consonant at the end: /əˈlɑɾə/ -or- /əˈlɑt̬ə/

Note: the IPA symbol for the alveolar flap is [ɾ]. However, none of the dictionaries for English learners use this symbol, maybe because it looks too much like an r. Some dictionaries do not use any symbol to represent the flap sound. They use use the regular [t] symbol. Other dictionaries use the symbol [ t̬ ]. I have chosen to use both in this pronunciation tip.

Learn more: The reduced form of the preposition of | Episode 09

In the story, I also used a synonym of a lot of. Listen to another sentence from the story:

I didn’t make a ton of money …

The phrase a ton of also means a large amount of something, but it’s more informal than a lot of.

The word ton ends with the N consonant sound. The N consonant sound is linked to the [ə] sound at the beginning of the preposition of, and it becomes the first sound of the syllable.

Listen: ə ˈtə nəv

It’s the same vowel sound [ə] in all three syllables.

/əˈtənəv/

It can also be pronounced /əˈtənə/ with no V sound at the end.

 

QUESTIONS

• What was your first job?
• If you haven’t had a job, what is your dream job?

 
Leave me a comment below!

 

Episode9

The original recording of this episode was lost. This version was rebuilt with an AI voice from Melanie's own transcript, so the words are hers and the voice is not.

Listen to a story about a dilemma I had at Thanksgiving dinner this year!

You’ll also learn how to hear and make the reduced form of the preposition “of.”

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

 

THE STORY

Every year on the 2nd Monday in October, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving. This is not to be confused with the American Thanksgiving, which happens in November. Thanksgiving began as a special day to thank God at the end of the harvest, when the farmers had finished collecting all the crops from their fields. Even though most Canadians aren’t farmers anymore, Thanksgiving is still an important holiday. We celebrate the day with a big family dinner.

We had our family over for dinner on the Sunday so everyone could relax on the Monday before they had to go back to work. The house was full of fun and lively conversations. There were 9 of us around the dining room table. I don’t know how my mother cooks such a large meal. Every year, she makes such a delicious dinner! We had turkey with stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce, as well as fall vegetables like potatoes, squash, turnip, and carrots.

I had a real dilemma this year! Everyone who came to dinner brought a dessert: We had cupcakes, 3 different kinds of pie and an apple dessert! Dessert is my favourite part of the meal. How could I possibly eat dinner AND all the desserts? Do I eat a big dinner and choose only one dessert? Or do I eat a little less at dinner, so I can save room for more of the desserts? This was my dilemma.

In the end, I compromised. I ate some turkey and vegetables, but not too much. I attempted to eat a little bit of all the desserts, but I only had room for 1 cupcake, some apple crisp and a slice of pie. We put one of the pies in the freezer to save it for later, and during the week after Thanksgiving we ate one of the other pies.

I was so full after dinner, but it was a very happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW TO HEAR AND SAY THE REDUCED FORM OF THE PREPOSITION OF IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

Listen to some things I said in the story:

3 different kinds of pie
a slice of pie
one of the pies

Did you hear the word of in those phrases?

Of is a preposition. It’s a function word so it’s unstressed in a sentence. It’s reduced to just the sound /ə/ before a consonant sound.

So, instead of 3 different kinds of pie, you’ll hear:
/kaɪnzə/
/kaɪnzə/ pie
3 different /kaɪnzə/ pie

Instead of a slice of pie, you’ll hear:
/slaɪsə/
A /slaɪsə/ pie

Instead of one of the pies, you’ll hear
/wʌnə/
/wʌnə/ the pies

It’s not wrong to fully pronounce of and pronounce the /v/ sound at the end. Also, when of is before a vowel sound, the final /v/ sound is usually pronounced. You should learn to recognize both the fully pronounced and the reduced form of of.

 
NOTE: This is why you will sometimes see native speakers write a slice a pie or kinda. They say [ə] and forget that the sound actually represents of.

 

Episode30

Listen to a story about Halloween!

You’ll also learn how to link the American T sound in natural spoken English.

 

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

 

THE STORY

I really enjoy Halloween. I’m too old to go trick-or-treating, but I love seeing all the kids in their costumes, especially the really young kids who are trick-or-treating for the first time. I love how the entire neighborhood gets involved. My parents still give out candy every year, even though their own kids stopped trick-or-treating more than 25 years ago!

Learn more: Episode 17: How to say the reduced form of “or” in trick-or-treating

We count the number of kids that come to the door on Halloween, because that helps us know how many kids to expect next year and how much candy to buy next time. Two years ago, only 18 kids came to our door. Eighteen! That’s the lowest number of kids we’ve ever had on Halloween. We lived in an older neighborhood and there weren’t a lot of children, but I knew there were more than 18!

Learn more: The Story of Halloween

There were 3 possible reasons why we had so few kids. Our neighbors on either side of our house were party poopers and didn’t participate in Halloween. They turned off all the lights inside and outside and pretended they weren’t home. We had landscaping in our front yard and there was a large plant that blocked the view of the front door from the street. And, we didn’t have a sidewalk on our side of the street. The sidewalk was on the other side. Maybe kids couldn’t tell if we were home and decided it wasn’t worth it to cross the street.

Learn more: Episode 12: How to say the reduced form of “our”

The next year, I came up with the perfect solution. I handed out candy from our garage. Everyone could see me and know it was worth it to cross the street to get some candy. I played Halloween music and I wore my Minnie Mouse ears [photo], and I got to see so many kids in their costumes. We had 50 kids, which was a big increase over the previous year! It was a fun Halloween.

Learn more: English Grammar: When NOT to use “the” (definite article)

 

 

PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW TO LINK THE AMERICAN T SOUND

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

In episode 24, I talked about the American T sound called the alveolar flap (or tap) that occurs in words like photo, or city.

Learn more: Episode 24: How to pronounce the alveolar flap (the American T sound)

It’s not a fully pronounced T sound, but it’s not a D sound either.

The tip of your tongue quickly taps, or hits, the gum ridge behind your top teeth.

This is the T sound that occurs when:

• the T is at the beginning of an unstressed syllable, and
• it’s between two vowel sounds.

 
In episode 13, I talked about linking a consonant sound to a vowel sound.

Learn more: Episode 13: Linking a consonant to a vowel sound

In spoken English, words are connected so that there is no pause between the words. When one word ends with a consonant sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound, the sounds are linked and the consonant sound becomes the first sound of the next syllable.

Listen to part of a sentence from the story:

… but I love seeing all the kids in their costumes, …

I linked the conjunction but with the pronoun I. When I linked them, the T at the end of but became the alveolar flap sound (or the tapped T sound), because:

• both but and I are not stressed in this sentence, so the the T is at the beginning of an unstressed syllable;
• the T is between two vowel sounds: the “uh” [ə] in but and the [aɪ] sound.

Listen again:

but I
/bəɾaɪ/ -or- /bət̬aɪ/

 
This alveolar flap linking occurs again in the story. Listen to part of a sentence from the story:

… there weren’t a lot of children, …

I linked the word lot with the preposition of.

a lot of
/əˈlɑɾəʌ/ -or- /əˈlɑt̬əʌ/

Note: the IPA symbol for the alveolar flap is [ɾ]. However, none of the dictionaries for English learners use this symbol, maybe because it looks too much like an r. Some dictionaries do not use any symbol to represent the flap sound. They use use the regular [t] symbol. Other dictionaries use the symbol [ t̬ ]. I have chosen to use both in this pronunciation tip.

 
The alveolar flap or tapped T sound is very common in American English. It’s important to know how to pronounce the sounds, and it’s important to be able to hear the sound so you can understand natural spoken English

 
Remember: This pronunciation tip is a guideline, not a “rule.” Americans don’t always link the alveolar flap. Sometimes they will pronounce the T at the end of but as a regular T, especially if they are speaking slowly or trying to speak clearly when they are giving a presentation.

 

QUESTION

• If you could dress up for Halloween, who or what would you dress up as?

 
Leave me a comment below!

 
Learn more:
English Grammar: “If you could … ?” (2nd conditional question)
English Vocabulary: How to use the verbs “wear” and “dress”

 

Episode29

Listen to a story about how each podcast episode is created!

You’ll also learn how to say and hear the reduced form of the preposition “for” in fast, natural spoken English.

 

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

 

THE STORY

I want to do something different with this story. I’m going to take you behind the scenes and explain how each podcast episode is created. Several weeks in advance I make a list of possible stories. Sometimes I think of a good idea quickly, other times it takes a while. Before I came up with the idea for this story, I made a list of 40 topics, most of which will never become stories.

Learn more: How to use the English verb “explain”

Next, I begin writing the story. I organize all my thoughts into paragraphs and then I edit the story sentence by sentence. I check all the words to make sure I’ve used mostly core vocabulary, and I make sure all the words are in the right order. I use four dictionaries and a thesaurus to make sure I choose the best words. I want the story to be challenging, but not too hard for you to understand. When I’m satisfied with the story, I look for something to explain in the pronunciation tip.

Listen: An Easier Way! | Episode 11

Recording each episode takes a while, because I record sentences and paragraphs multiple times until I’m satisfied with how they sound. I use a microphone and a small recording device, and then I put the episode together using audio editing software. I use another program to add metadata to the final mp3 file, so that when you play the episode in iTunes or your podcast app, you’ll see the title of the episode, my name, and my logo. I upload the finished mp3 file to my podcast host.

Learn more: Two ways to pronounce “the”

The final part of the process is publishing the episode on my website. I add the photo, the podcast player, and the transcript to a new post. I read the post a few times, but sometimes I miss a typo. Once the episode is published and live on my website, it’s time to tell people that it’s there. A process that started a few weeks ago ends with sending an email to my email list, and posting the episode on social media.

Learn more: English Vocabulary: Sometimes, sometime, and some time

 

 

PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW TO HEAR AND SAY THE REDUCED FORM OF THE PREPOSITION FOR IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

Listen carefully to some sentences from the story:

Before I came up with the idea for this story, …

… but not too hard for you to understand.

I look for something to explain in the pronunciation tip.

Did you hear the preposition for in those sentences?

The preposition for is a function word. It’s a grammar word. It needs to be in the sentence to make the sentence grammatically correct, but it’s not an important word.

Learn more: How to say and hear more function words

Usually, in fast, natural speech, the vowel in a function word is reduced to the sound [ə]. That sound is called the schwa, and it’s the vowel sound in all reduced syllables and words.

However, there is an R after the vowel in the preposition for, so the vowel sound becomes the r-colored vowel sound [ɚ], the same sound at the end of words never or together. So, in fast natural speech, the preposition for is pronounced /fɚ/, like at the end of the words offer or prefer.

I didn’t say, “look /foɚ/ something.”

I said, “look /fɚ/ something.”

Can you hear the difference?

This is also the way that the syllable F-O-R is pronounced in the words, forget /fɚˈgɛt/, forgive /fɚˈgɪv/, and information /ˌɪnfɚˈmeɪʃən/.

Here are some more sentences to practice with the preposition for:

Wait for me.

This is for you.

Let’s go for a walk.

 

QUESTION

• This is episode 29. Which story is your favorite so far? Or, which story did you enjoy the most?

Leave me a comment below!

 

Episode28

The original recording of this episode was lost. This version was rebuilt with an AI voice from Melanie's own transcript, so the words are hers and the voice is not.

Listen to a story about a problem I had with my passport!

You’ll also learn how to say and hear the words “used to” in fast, natural spoken English.

 

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

 

THE STORY

I used to work as a tour guide in Europe. For five summers starting in 2002, I led tours all over Europe. I crossed a lot of borders during that time, so I had a lot of entry and exit stamps in my passport plus a few visas. By the middle of 2005, my passport was full and there was no room for more stamps. I went to the Canadian embassy in London to apply for a new passport. It was going to take too long to get a new passport and I couldn’t wait because I only had a few days before my next tour. The woman at the embassy added extra pages to my passport and told me to get a new one when I was back in Canada.

Learn more: How to use “used to”

I flew home a few weeks later. I arrived at the Toronto airport and went to customs & immigration as usual. The border agent didn’t say anything while he looked at my passport, but I don’t think he had ever seen a passport full of stamps with extra pages in it. He made a mark on my declaration card, but the agents always do that, so I didn’t think anything of it. Before I could leave the customs and immigration area to go get my bags, I had to hand my card to another agent, and that was when I discovered the mark on my card meant something.It meant that I had to go to the immigration office, where they decide who gets into the country and who doesn’t.

Learn more: How to talk about transportation

I didn’t know why I was there, and that made me nervous. The immigration officer didn’t say anything while he was looking through my passport. I guess he just wanted to make sure it was legitimate. He started asking me questions about Canada and my life, but the questions were hard and I couldn’t answer some of them! I started panicking thinking I wasn’t going to be allowed into the country! He ended the investigation with an easy question that I could answer, and then he smiled and told me to go get a new passport.

Learn more: Planning a trip

 

 

PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW TO HEAR AND SAY USED TO IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

In the first sentence in the story, I used the verb “used to.” Listen to the sentence:

I used to work as a tour guide in Europe.

Did you hear the words used or to in that sentence?

There are four things that you need to know to hear used to in a spoken English.

This is a different verb than the verb use, even though they are spelled the same.

The S in used to is pronounced with the S [s] sound. This is different from the verb use, where the S is pronounced with a Z [z] sound.

The -ed at the end of used is pronounced with a T sound.

Used ends with a T sound, and to begins with a T sound, so you can link these two words together, and you only need to say the T sound once:

used to /ˈjustu/

Learn more: Episode 23: Linking same consonant sounds

The preposition to is a function word. It’s a grammar word. It needs to be in the sentence to make the sentence grammatically correct, but it’s not an important word. In fast, natural speech, the vowel in to is reduced to the sound /ə/. That sound is called the schwa and it’s the vowel sound in reduced syllables.

The preposition to is pronounced /tə/.

In fast, natural speech, used to is pronounced /ˈjustə/

Listen to the first part of the sentence again:

I used to work …

Learn more: Episode 10: The reduced pronunciation of the preposition to

 

QUESTION

• Do you have a fun travel story? A story about something that happened to you when you traveled to another city or country?

Leave me a comment below!