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They are percussive and use hard sounds. Once again, you can test if a consonant is voiceless by putting your finger on your throat. You will feel no vibration in your throat, just a short explosion of air as you pronounce. Pronounce each of these consonant sounds and feel NO vibration in your throat.

p
t
k
s
sh
ch
th (as in thing)

Careful! Some Consonants Voiced, but are Voiceless

When consonants are put in groups they can change the voiced or voiceless quality of the consonant that follows. A great example of this is the past simple form of regular verbs. As you know, regular verbs add -ed to the end of the verb in the past simple.

play – played
wash – washed
live – lived etc.

These past simple verbs all end in ‘-ed’. However, some of the verbs are pronounced with a voiceless ‘t’ sound and some are pronounced with the voiced ‘d’ sound. Why? Here are the rules:

• If -ed is preceded by a voiceless consonant sound (p, k, sh, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiceless ‘t’. Remember that the ‘e’ is silent.
• If -ed is preceded by a voiced consonant sound (d, b, v, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiced ‘d’. Remember that the ‘e’ is silent.
• If -ed is preceded by a vowel sound (often ‘ay’) -ed sounds as a voiced ‘d’ because vowels are always voiced. Remember that the ‘e’ is silent.
• Exception: If -ed is preceded by ‘t’ pronounce a voiced -id. In this case, the ‘e’ is pronounced.

This pattern can also be found with plural forms. If the consonant preceding the ’s’ is voiced, ’s’ will sound as voiced ‘z’:

chairs
machines
bags

If the consonant preceding the ’s’ is voiceless, ’s’ will sound as voiceless ’s’:

bats
parks
pipes

Connected Speech

Finally, when speaking in sentences the ending consonant sounds can change based on the following words. This is often referred to as ‘connected speech’. Here is an example of a change from a voiceless ’s’ plural to a voiced ‘z’ plural because of the vowel sound of the following word:

We went to some parties at school.

The ‘ae’ vowel sound changes the voiceless ’s’!

Here is an example of a change from a voiced ‘d’ past simple verb changed to voiceless ‘t’:

We played tennis yesterday afternoon.

Exercise:

Take this list of words and decide if the final consonants are voiced or voiceless. Once you have made your decision, click on the link to check the answers (or, if you are listening, I will provide the answers in the audio):

washed
traveled
coats
gloves
shells
watched
started
changed
books
wheels
lived
dreams
seats
dropped
exchanged
globes
phones
carts
listened
organized

washed – voiceless
traveled – voiced
coats – voiceless
gloves – voiced
shells – voiced
watched – voiceless
started – voiced
changed – voiced
books – voiceless
wheels – voiced
lived – voiced
dreams – voiced
seats – voiceless
dropped – voiceless
exchanged – voiced
globes – voiced
phones – voiced
carts – voiceless
listened – voiced
organized – voiced

 

In multi-syllable words the stress falls on one of the syllables while the other syllables tend to be spoken over quickly. This leads to sounds that are not clear (muted) on unstressed syllables. In order to improve your pronunciation, focus on pronouncing the stressed syllable clearly. However, don’t be afraid to “mute” (not say clearly) the other unstressed vowels. Listen to the examples by clicking on “listen”. Return to this page using the “back” button on your browser.

For example:

Listen to these specific examples:

PersonNEL
TOtally
InDUstrial
ToMAto
FanTAstic

Unstressed syllables keep the correct sound, but sound muted. Sometimes, unstressed vowels become a schwa sound – like a soft “uh” sound.

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For example:

Listen to these specific examples:

Little
Repeat
Tomato

At other times, the vowel is pronounced but not stressed.

For example:

Listen to these specific examples:

Industrial
Noisily

With this in mind, here are the eight common word stress patterns in English.

One Syllable – Stressed

All one syllable words have the stress on the one syllable. The intonation should go down. Listen to the general pattern.

EAT
DRINK
SIGN
WELL

Two Syllable – First Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

GIant
PICture
HEAting

Two Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

toDAY
aHEAD
aLLOW

Three Syllable – First Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

ENergy
Operate
ORganize

Three Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

meMORial
aSSUMPtion
caNAdian

Three Syllable – Third Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

employEE
japanESE
voluntEER

Four Syllable – Second Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

psyCHOLogy
eVAporate
cerTIficate

Four Syllable – Third Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

poliTIcian
indiVIdual
repuTAtion

More Help with Pronunciation

How to Improve Your PronunciationIntonation and Stress: Key to UnderstandingEnglish Pronunciation Practice

Lesson Plans focusing on Pronunciation for Teachers

Stress – Timed Language IStress – Timed Language IIStress – Timed Language III

 

Pronunciation – Speaking

Voiced and Voiceless ConsonantsHow to Improve your English via the InternetFirst Name, Last Name or Title?Pronunciation – Silent LettersSpeaking Strategies for English Learners