Monthly Archives: October 2020

• Dressed to kill

  The only time the past tense -ed ending is pronounced as a separate syllable “id” is when the verb ends in a “t” or “d” sound. Since “dress” does not end in a “t” or “d” sound, the past tense ending is not a separate syllable. The word “dressed” is pronounced “drest”. The expression “dressed […]

• The colors of fall

  Autumn brings colorful leaves. In American English, the letter “o” is often not an “o” sound. In the word color, the letter “o” is a schwa sound, pronounced “uh”, in both syllables. Color is pronounced “cuh-ler”. 

• Hello October!

  The “er” ending, as in “October”, is a common ending of words. In accents with a British English influence, this “r” sound is pronounced less sharply and sounds more like a vowel sound compared to that in American English. We use more tension in the tongue for a sharp “errr” sound.

• Autumn begins

  Autumn in the U.S. has begun! When the “t” sound is at the beginning of an unstressed syllable, it’s pronounced like a “d” sound. This frequently happens in the middle of a word. The word “autumn” is  pronounced “ah-dum”.