Lessons Unit 3, lesson 4
p + vowels
The p beginning opening into every vowel it starts words with. Get the mouth ready for p, release straight into the vowel — no gap, no extra sound between them.
What do the marks mean?
Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.
pp as in put
Press your lips together, build a little air, then pop: p. In English the pop comes with a small puff of breath.
p + every vowel
One row per combination. Tap any word to hear it — every sheet comes straight from the tool.
| p æ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| p ɪ | |||
| p ɛ | |||
| p ʌ | |||
| p ʊ | |||
| p ɑ | |||
| p iː | |||
| p uː | |||
| p ɔː | |||
| p eɪ | |||
| p aɪ | |||
| p aʊ | |||
| p oʊ | |||
| p ɝ |
The same puff as t, at the lips
Like t, an initial p carries a puff of breath when the vowel that follows is stressed — say put, pay, and pass and feel the small burst of air right after your lips pop open. Skipping that puff is one of the fastest ways a p starts to sound like a b to a native listener.
Rounding before the release
Before uː, your lips are already rounding while they're still pressed shut, so poor and pool ask your mouth to do two things at once — hold the seal and shape the vowel. Compare pool and pipe back to back and notice the lips staying looser and more spread for pipe's aɪ.
Go column by column, say each word aloud, then repeat the column without reading, checking that the puff of air stays constant across every vowel, from the short pit in pick to the long ah in part.