PTE Pronunciation: free practice questions

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1. Question 1

   Sound: v and w

   Vivek waved at the wet van while Wendy wove a violet veil.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: Top teeth touch your lower lip for v. For w, round your lips and keep the teeth away.

2. Question 2

   Sound: v and w

   Very wise wolves wander west of the village every winter.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: Say it slowly first. Feel the buzz on your lip for v and the lip rounding for w.

3. Question 3

   Sound: s and sh

   Sita shares six short shirts with her sister.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: For s, the tongue tip is behind the top teeth. For sh, pull it back and round your lips a little.

4. Question 4

   Sound: s and sh

   Shy Sam sat in the shade and sipped sweet sherbet.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: Hold the s and the sh sounds a moment longer than usual so you can hear the difference.

5. Question 5

   Sound: th

   Thin Theo thought of three thick thistles.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: Put the tongue tip lightly between your teeth and blow gently for th. It should not become t.

6. Question 6

   Sound: th

   This is the third thing that they thought about.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: 'This', 'the' and 'they' use a buzzing th; 'third', 'thing' and 'thought' use a quiet one.

7. Question 7

   Sound: p and f

   Fifty fresh peas fell from Pooja's full plate.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: For p, close both lips and release a puff of air. For f, top teeth on the lower lip.

8. Question 8

   Sound: p and f

   Pretty flowers and fresh plums filled the packed fruit fair.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: Hold a tissue in front of your mouth: it should move on p, and much less on f.

9. Question 9

   Sound: r and l

   Lucky Rita rolled a little red ball along the rail.

   I said it (0/3)

   How to say it: For l, the tongue tip touches behind the top teeth. For r, the tip does not touch anything.

10. Question 10

    Sound: r and l

    Rain fell lightly on the long road to the river.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Keep 'rain' and 'road' smooth, with the tongue pulled back and not tapping.

11. Question 11

    Sound: b and v

    Bina's best vest is very blue.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: For b, close both lips. For v, top teeth touch the lower lip and the sound can continue.

12. Question 12

    Sound: b and v

    Big vans brought bananas to the busy village.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Try saying 'van, ban, van, ban' first to warm up.

13. Question 13

    Sound: ch and j

    Jack chose a cheap jar of cherry jam.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: ch is quiet, j has your voice in it. Put a hand on your throat to feel the difference.

14. Question 14

    Sound: ch and j

    Children enjoy jumping on cheerful chairs.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Keep 'jumping' voiced and 'chairs' unvoiced. Do not let them sound the same.

15. Question 15

    Sound: final consonants

    Ask the cat to sit and wait.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Finish every last sound. Make the k in 'ask' and the t in 'sit' and 'wait' clear but short.

16. Question 16

    Sound: final consonants

    The kids packed hats, maps and gloves.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Say the final s on every plural. 'Hats' and 'maps' end in s; 'gloves' ends in a z sound.

17. Question 17

    Sound: word stress

    A photo, a photographer and a photographic memory.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: The stress moves: PHOto, phoTOgrapher, photoGRAPHic. Tap the table on each stressed part.

18. Question 18

    Sound: word stress

    Economy, economic and economical are close family words.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: eCONomy, ecoNOMic, ecoNOMical. Say each word alone before the full line.

19. Question 19

    Sound: z and j

    Zero zebras zigzag in the zoo.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Zero, zebras, zigzag and zoo start with z. Begin with a hiss, then add voice. Do not touch the roof of the mouth as you would for j.

    Nepali has no native z, so ja is often used for it in loanwords. Keep z as a long hiss with voice, with no stop.

20. Question 20

    Sound: z and j

    A lazy breeze froze the dozen roses.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Watch lazy, breeze, froze, dozen and roses. All carry a buzzing z, even where the spelling shows s.

    Many Nepali speakers say this spelled-s z as a plain s or as ja. Let the s buzz, as in zoo.

21. Question 21

    Sound: long and short vowels

    Sit on the seat and eat the beet.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Sit is short and loose; seat, eat and beet are long and smiley. Hold ee longer than i.

    Nepali writes short and long i (hrasva and dirgha), but speech rarely keeps them apart. English does: hold ee longer.

22. Question 22

    Sound: long and short vowels

    The ship and the sheep both sleep.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Ship is short; sheep and sleep are long. Smile and stretch the ee.

    Nepali writes short and long i (hrasva and dirgha), but speech rarely keeps them apart. English does: hold ee longer.

23. Question 23

    Sound: st, sp, sk

    Small snails slide slowly on the smooth stone.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Sm, sn and sl each start with a long hiss. Glide from s into m, n or l with no vowel between them.

    Nepali speakers often put a short i before an s-cluster, as in iskul for school. Start straight on the s with no vowel.

24. Question 24

    Sound: st, sp, sk

    Stop at the street stall and buy a snack.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Street has three consonants before the vowel: s, t, r. Practise backwards: reet, treet, street.

    In Nepali loanwords an extra vowel often goes before s, as in isteshan for station. Keep the s and the t together.

25. Question 25

    Sound: the weak "uh" sound

    A cup of tea and a piece of cake.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Say it as uh CUP uh TEA un uh PIECE uh CAKE. The small words a, of and and shrink to a quick uh.

26. Question 26

    Sound: the weak "uh" sound

    The doctor and the teacher arrived today.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Doctor and teacher end in a short uh. The a in arrived and the o in today are uh too.

27. Question 27

    Sound: t and d

    Ted tied ten tidy tents to the dock today.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Tap the tongue tip on the ridge behind your top teeth for every t and d. Keep the voice on for d in tied, tidy and dock.

    Nepali has a dental ta and a retroflex Ta. English t and d sit between them, on the ridge just behind the top teeth.

28. Question 28

    Sound: t and d

    Dan's dog dug down deep by the dark door.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Every d here starts a word. Switch your voice on before the tongue lets go, so dog does not sound like tog.

29. Question 29

    Sound: puffs of air (p, t, k)

    Pin the paper to the post, then spin around.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Pin, paper and post start with a puff of air. In spin the p comes after s, so there is almost no puff.

    Nepali has plain pa and ka and puffed pha and kha. English p and k after s, as in spin and skin, are plain; at the start of pin and kin they take a light puff.

30. Question 30

    Sound: puffs of air (p, t, k)

    Put the pot on the spot by the pale stove.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Pot and pale get a puff. Spot and stove have p and t after s, so keep them plain.

    Nepali has plain pa and ka and puffed pha and kha. English p and k after s, as in spin and skin, are plain; at the start of pin and kin they take a light puff.

31. Question 31

    Sound: sentence stress

    The results of the study were clear.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Hit reSULTS, STUdy and CLEAR. Say 'of the' and 'were' quickly and quietly, as one small beat.

32. Question 32

    Sound: sentence stress

    Most students prefer to study in the morning.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Stress MOST, STUdents, preFER, STUdy, MORNing. 'to' and 'in the' stay short and weak.

33. Question 33

    Sound: linking words

    Turn off the lights at eight.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Move the n across: tur-noff. Then join 'lights at eight' into one flow: light-sa-teight. No tiny stop between the words.

34. Question 34

    Sound: linking words

    Pick it up and put it away.

    I said it (0/3)

    How to say it: Consonant to vowel all the way: pi-ki-tu-pand, then pu-ti-taway. Say the whole line in one breath.