Lessons Unit 1, lesson 33

v as in vet

One consonant, on its own page. Hear it, watch where it sits in each word's sheet, then say the words yourself.

What do the marks mean?
ˈriːdread Stressed part — say it louder & longer.
to Weak word — say it quickly & softly.
e Silent letter — don’t pronounce it.
θth Underline — these letters spell one sound.
wa·ter Dot · — a syllable break.
goon Linked — blend the words together.
?↗︎↘︎ Arrows — voice rises ↗︎ or falls ↘︎.
ˈsɛvən7 Number — how to say it aloud.
read² ² mark — has a second pronunciation.
guess? ? mark — a best guess; double-check it.

Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.

vthe v in seven

Top teeth rest gently on your bottom lip, voice on: vvv. If it comes out as f, add your voice — f is the same shape with the voice off.

ˈv v ɛ e t t
vet
ˈv v æ a n n
van
ˈs s ɛ e v v e ən n
seven
ˈv v ɛ e ɹ r i y
very

Now say it yourself

Read each word from its sheet, out loud, three times. Where there's a play button, listen first and copy what you hear. Slow is fine — speaking clearly matters more than speaking fast. Tap a word's microphone to record yourself and see which sounds landed.

ˈf f i v v e
five
ˈl l ʌ o v v e
love
ˈɡ g ɪ i v v e
give
ˈm m o v v e
move
ˈn n ɛ e v v ɚ er
never
ˈoʊ o v v ɚ er
over

V's quiet twin: f

v and f share the same teeth-on-lip position; v just adds your voice. Say vet with a hand on your throat and feel the buzz — say its f-twin and the buzz should vanish.

In the middle of a word, like seven or very, don't let the voicing weaken. That steady buzz is what keeps it from drifting toward f.

V is not W

The other common mix-up is with w: v needs real contact between your top teeth and bottom lip, while w only rounds the lips with no teeth involved. vet and its w-twin wet make a perfect test pair.

At the end of a word, as in five, love, or give, keep the teeth-lip contact and the buzz going right to the end — don't let the sound fade into silent air.

An unhandled error has occurred. Reload 🗙

Rejoining the server...

Rejoin failed... trying again in seconds.

Failed to rejoin.
Please retry or reload the page.

The session has been paused by the server.

Failed to resume the session.
Please reload the page.