Pronunciation · lesson 12 of 24 · free

Commonly mispronounced words — English pronunciation practice

Some words are often said the way they are spelt: “Wed-nes-day”, “sal-mon”, “vege-table”, “com-for-table”. The standard pronunciation is different. Here each word is shown by syllables, with the stressed syllable in CAPITALS — Wednesday is WENZ-day, vegetable is VEJ-tuh-bul, comfortable is KUMF-tuh-bul.

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How to say it

Say it by syllables — “break the word into beats, find the CAPITAL (stressed) beat and drop the silent letters”

  1. Say the word in beats and stress the CAPITAL beat: di-VEL-up (develop), hoh-TEL (hotel).
  2. Drop the silent letters: SAM-un (salmon), EYE-lund (island), ri-SEET (receipt).
  3. Do not add an extra beat at the start: SKOOL (school), STAY-shun (station), not is-KOOL.

Use it for: Speaking in class, interviews and presentations, and reading days, foods and common words aloud.

Worked example: How do you say “Wednesday”? (CAPITALS = stressed) → WENZ-day

  1. The first d and the second e are not said.
  2. Two beats, the first is strong: WENZ-day.

Check: Wednesday = WENZ-day (2 beats) ✓

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✏️ Practice

Listen (🔊) or read, then tap your choice. Say each word aloud after you check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.

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🏁 Lesson 12 test

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🖨️ Commonly Mispronounced Words Worksheet

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