English Pronunciation · Complete Guide

English Pronunciation Guide: Sounds, Stress and Intonation

Everything that makes English sound like English – in one overview, with links to the detailed pages.

Englische Aussprache im Überblick: Laute, Betonung, Rhythmus und Intonation.

Pronunciation covers individual sounds, stress, rhythm, intonation and connected speech – as well as the link between spelling and sound. Pronunciation on this site follows British English (RP / General British).

  • 8 areas
  • IPA examples
  • Common challenges
  • 10-question quiz

1 The Sounds of English

English sounds are divided into consonants and vowels, each described by a few simple features.

Consonants

Voicing, place, manner

  • Voicing: voiced /b/, /d/, /v/ · voiceless /p/, /t/, /f/
  • Place: bilabial /p, b, m/ · labiodental /f, v/ · alveolar /t, d, s, z/ · velar /k, g, ŋ/
  • Manner: plosives /p, k/ · fricatives /f, ʃ/ · nasals /m, n/ · affricates /tʃ, dʒ/ · approximants /w, r, l, j/
Consonants overview →
Vowels

Length, tongue, lips

  • Length: short /ɪ, æ, ʌ, ə/ · long /iː, uː, ɑː/
  • Tongue: front /iː, e, æ/ · central /ə, ɜː, ʌ/ · back /uː, ɑː, ɒ/
  • Lips: rounded /uː, ʊ/ · unrounded /iː, e, æ/
  • Diphthongs: /aɪ/ light · /eɪ/ say · /ɔɪ/ boy
Vowel sounds →Diphthongs
/ə/

The schwa

The most common sound in English, found in unstressed syllables: banana /bəˈnɑːnə/, sofa /ˈsəʊfə/, doctor /ˈdɒktə/.

The schwa →
Clusters

Consonant clusters

Groups of consonants with no vowel between them: street /str-/, texts /-ksts/.

Consonant clusters →
Go deeperVowel chartAll British sounds
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2 Stress

Stress marks the key syllables in words and the key words in sentences. It affects both pronunciation and meaning.

Word stress

Primary and secondary

  • Primary stress is the strongest syllable: a CONtest (noun) vs to conTEST (verb).
  • Secondary stress is weaker: ˌun-be-ˈLIEV-a-ble – secondary on un, primary on liev.
Word stress →Noun–verb stress
Patterns

Useful rules

  • Two-syllable nouns and adjectives often stress the first syllable: TAble, QUIet.
  • Two-syllable verbs often stress the second: reLAX, aDAPT.
  • -eer, -ette, -ique take the stress: volunTEER, casSETTE, uNIQUE.
Sentence stress

Content words are strong

Content words are stressed; function words are weak: I WANT to EAT an APple.

Sentence stress →Weak forms
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3 Rhythm

English is often described as stress-timed: stressed syllables come at fairly regular intervals, and the unstressed syllables between them are squeezed together.

The CAT chased the MOUSE.Two beats – the and chased the are fitted in between.
Languages such as French and Spanish are often described as syllable-timed: each syllable takes roughly the same time. Speakers of these languages often need extra practice with weak syllables.
Go deeperEnglish rhythmThought groups
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4 Intonation

Intonation is the rise and fall of pitch. It shapes meaning and shows attitude and emotion.

PatternUsed forExample
Rising ↗yes/no questions; uncertaintyAre you READy? ↗ · I think it’s RIGHT? ↗
Falling ↘statements; wh-questionsI’m going HOME. ↘ · What’s your NAME? ↘
Rise … then fallchoices and listsWould you like TEA ↗, COFfee ↗ or JUICE? ↘
Flat →can sound bored or uninterested—
Go deeperIntonationIntonation patternsIntonation practice
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5 Connected Speech

In natural speech, words blend together: sounds link, change or disappear.

FeatureExample
Linkingan apple → a‿napple · far away /fɑːr əˈweɪ/ (linking /r/)
Intrusionlaw and order /lɔːr ən ˈɔːdə/ · I saw it /aɪ ˈsɔːr ɪt/
Elisionfriendship /ˈfrenʃɪp/ · next week /neks wiːk/
Assimilationinput /ˈɪmpʊt/ · ten boys /tem bɔɪz/
Go deeperConnected speechLinking soundsAssimilation & elision
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6 Common Challenges

Some difficulties come from English spelling rather than from the sounds themselves.

Homophones

Same sound, different word

right – write · there – their – they’re

Silent letters

Letters you don’t say

knight, island, listen, debt

Silent letters →
Spelling vs sound

Same spelling, different sounds

though /ðəʊ/ · cough /kɒf/ · bough /baʊ/

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7 Improving Your Pronunciation

Combine a few proven techniques and focus on the areas that matter for your first language.

Techniques

What works

  • Phonemic chart: learn the sounds through IPA.
  • Shadowing: copy natural rhythm, stress and intonation.
  • Minimal pairs: ship – sheep.
  • Listening and imitation: podcasts, videos, conversations.
  • Recording and feedback: compare your speech with a model.
Shadowing →Minimal pairs
Focus areas

By first language

  • German speakers: /w/ vs /v/ (wine – vine), voiced endings (bad – bat).
  • French speakers: stress-timing, /h/ and aspiration of /p, t, k/.
  • Spanish speakers: final consonants, vowel length (ship – sheep) and diphthongs.
By first language →German speakers
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8 Tools and Resources

Useful outside tools, alongside the practice pages on this site.

Apps

Practise on your phone

ELSA Speak · Sounds: The Pronunciation App · Forvo (real speakers’ recordings)

Websites

Check a word

BBC Learning English · Cambridge Dictionary (with IPA and audio)

Practice types

What to do

Minimal pairs · stress marking · intonation drills · recording yourself

Pronunciation checklist →
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Quiz: The Pronunciation Guide

Choose the best answer. You’ll see the explanation straight away.

Score: 0 / 0
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Sounds, stress, rhythm, melody.
Work on all four – and focus first on whatever makes you hardest to understand.
Take the free pronunciation test →

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