English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /wɪl/, [wɪɫ]
- Rhymes: -ɪl
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English willen, wullen, wollen, from Old English willan (“to want”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjan, from Proto-Germanic *wiljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”).
Cognate with Dutch willen, Low German willen, German wollen, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk vilja, Norwegian Bokmål ville, Latin velle (“wish”, verb) and Albanian vel (“to satisfy, be stuffed”). The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 3, below.
Alternative forms[edit]
- ‘ll (contraction)
- vill, weel (pronunciation spelling)
- wil, wille, woll, wyll (obsolete)
Verb[edit]
will (third-person singular simple present will, present participle willing, simple past would, no past participle)
- (auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall. [from 10th c.]
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One of our salesmen will visit you tomorrow.
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I will pass this exam.
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c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:
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Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well at my hand, help me to a candle, and pen, ink and paper : as I am a gentleman, I will live to be thankful to thee for’t.
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1859, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:
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“I will, with your leave, relate to you, miss, the story of one of our customers.”
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- (auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to. [from 14th c.]
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Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.
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- (auxiliary) Expressing a present tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: «will turn out to», «must by inference». [from 15th c.]
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He will be home by now. He always gets home before 6 o’clock.
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I can’t find my umbrella. I will have forgotten it home this morning.
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2007, Edward Jesko, The Polish:
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“That will be five zloty.” I reached into my pocket and came up with some coins.
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- 2012, Penny Freedman, All The Daughters:
- Unless she diverted on the ten minute walk home, she’ll have got home at about half past.
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- (auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action). [from 9th c.]
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Boys will be boys.
- 2009, Stephen Bayley, The Telegraph, 24 Sep 09:
- How telling is it that many women will volunteer for temporary disablement by wearing high heeled shoes that hobble them?
- 2011, «Connubial bliss in America», The Economist:
- So far neither side has scored a decisive victory, though each will occasionally claim one.
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- (auxiliary) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive), often in questions and negation. [from 10th c.]
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Will you marry me?
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I’ve told him three times, but he won’t take his medicine.
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- (now uncommon or literary, transitive) To wish, desire (something). [chiefly 9th–19th c.]
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Do what you will.
- c. 1450, The Macro Plays:
- If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal, come and follow me.
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1601, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, or What You Will:
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Twelfe Night, Or what you will (original spelling)
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1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 8:2:
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And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
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- 1944, FJ Sheed, translating St. Augustine, Confessions:
- Grant what Thou dost command, and command what Thou wilt.
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- (now rare, intransitive) To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that). [9th–19th c.]
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1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
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see God’s goodwill toward men, hear how generally his grace is proposed, to him, and him, and them, each man in particular, and to all. 1 Tim. ii. 4. «God will that all men be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.»
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- (archaic) Implying will go.
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c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
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I’ll to England.
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Usage notes[edit]
- Historically, will was used in the simple future sense only in the second and third person, while shall was used in the first person. Today, that distinction is almost entirely lost, and the verb takes the same form in all persons and both numbers. Similarly, in the intent sense, will was historically used with the second and third person, while shall was reserved for the first person.
- The present tense is will and the past tense is would. Early Modern English had a past participle would which is now obsolete.
- Malory: ‘Many tymes he myghte haue had her and he had wold’. John Done: ‘If hee had would, hee might easily […] occupied the Monarchy.’
- Formerly, will could be used elliptically for «will go» — e.g. «I’ll to her lodgings» (Marlowe).
- See the usage note at shall.
- The present participle does not apply to the uses of will as an auxiliary verb.
- The form of will with the enclitic -n’t (or the present tense negative form of will in the analysis in which -n’t is an inflectional suffix) is won’t (“will not”) (rather than the form that would be expected based on a regular application of -n’t, willn’t), while the corresponding form of the past tense would is wouldn’t.
Translations[edit]
- Ancient Greek: ἐθέλω (ethélō), θέλω (thélō) (later), βούλομαι (boúlomai)
- Armenian: ցանկանալ (hy) (cʿankanal)
- Bulgarian: искам (bg) (iskam), желая (bg) (želaja)
- Catalan: desitjar (ca)
- Cornish: mynnes
- Dutch: willen (nl)
- Esperanto: voli (eo)
- Finnish: aikoa (fi)
- French: vouloir (fr)
- German: wollen (de)
- Hungarian: akar (hu), kíván (hu), óhajt (hu), rendel (hu)
- Italian: volere (it)
- Japanese: 望む (ja) (のぞむ, nozomu), 希望する (ja) (きぼうする, kibō suru), 願う (ja) (ねがう, negau)
- Macedonian: посакува impf (posakuva), посака pf (posaka), пожелува impf (poželuva), пожели pf (poželi)
- Norwegian: ville (no)
- Portuguese: desejar (pt)
- Russian: жела́ть (ru) impf (želátʹ), пожела́ть (ru) pf (poželátʹ)
- Spanish: desear (es), anhelar (es)
- Swedish: vilja (sv)
- Turkish: istek (tr)
indicating future action
- American Sign Language: OpenB@NearSideNosehigh-FingerUp OpenB@SideNosehigh-FingerForward
- Arabic: سَوْفَ (ar) (sawfa) + present tense, سَـ (ar) (sa-) + present tense
- Egyptian Arabic: prefix حـ (ḥa-) + present tense
- North Levantine Arabic: رح (raḥ)
- Tunisian Arabic: باش (bēš)
- Belarusian: Use the future perfective or use the future of быць (bycʹ) + imperfective infinitive
- Belizean Creole: wahn
- Bulgarian: ще (bg) (šte) (+ present form)
- Burmese: နောင် (my) (naung), မည် (my) (many), အံ့ (my) (am.)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 會/会 (wui5, wui3)
- Mandarin: 將/将 (zh) (jiāng), 要 (zh) (yào), 將要/将要 (zh) (jiāngyào), 會/会 (zh) (huì)
- Czech: Use the future perfective or use the future of být + imperfective infinitive
- Danish: vil, skal (da)
- Dutch: zullen (nl)
- Esperanto: -os (eo) Use the future tense
- Finnish: Use the present tense, tulla (fi), aikoa (fi)
- French: Use the future tense -rai, -ras, -ra, -rons, -rez, -ront, e.g. J’irai au magasin.; (colloquial) aller (fr)
- German: werden (de), present tense form is often used
- Greek: Use θα + subjunctive verb form (future simple) or present verb form (future continuous e.g. θα δω or θα βλέπω
- Ancient: Use the future tense
- Hebrew: עָתִיד (he) m (‘atíd)
- Hindi: होंगे (hoṅge) (hoṅge)
- Hungarian: (emphatically, cf. «going to») fog (hu), (the present tense may suffice when the meaning is clear)
- Ido: suffix -os after verbal roots
- Indonesian: akan (id)
- Italian: Use the future tense -rò, -rai, -rà, -remo, -rete, -ranno, e.g. Andrò al negozio.
- Japanese: present/future tense form is usually used
- Khmer: នឹង (km) (nɨng) (prefix)
- Korean: ᆯ 것이다 (l geosida), ᆯ게 (lge)
- Lao: ຈະ (cha), ຈິ (chi), ຊິ (si), ຈັກ (chak) (obsolete)
- Latin: Use the future tense
- Lithuanian: Use the future tense
- Luxembourgish: wäerten
- Macedonian: ќе (ḱe) (+ present form)
- Malay: akan (ms)
- Navajo: dooleeł
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: vil (no), kommer til å, skal (no)
- Old English: Use the present tense; (more rarely) willan (ang), sċulan
- Persian: خواستن (fa) (xâstan)
- Polish: Use the future perfective or use the future of być + imperfective infinitive
- Portuguese: Use the future tense; (colloquial) use present indicative forms of ir (pt)
- Russian: Use the future perfective or use the future of быть (bytʹ) + imperfective infinitive
- I will be going back and forth to the post office — Я буду ходи́ть на по́чту
- I will be going to the post office — Я бу́ду идти́ на по́чту
- I will go to the post office — Я пойду́ на по́чту
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: хтети, хтјети
- Roman: hteti, htjeti (sh)
- Slovak: Use the future perfective or use the future of byť + imperfective infinitive
- Slovene: biti (sl)
- Spanish: future tense, ir a
- Swahili: -ta-
- Swedish: komma till att, komma att, skola (sv), vilja (sv), tänka (sv)
- I will go to the store — Jag ska gå till affären or Jag kommer att gå till affären
- Thai: จะ (th) (jà)
- Turkish: (2): suffix for all verbs: -ecek (if the last vowel of a verb is e,i,ö or ü) or -acak (if the vowel is a,ı,o or u).
- Ukrainian: Use the future perfective or use the future of бу́ти (búty) + imperfective infinitive; special endings, e.g. «I will walk»: ходи́тиму (ходи́ти (xodýty) + иму)
- Vietnamese: sẽ (vi)
- West Frisian: sille, gean (fy)
- Yapese: ra
- Yiddish: וועלן (veln)
See also[edit]
- Appendix:English modal verbs
- Appendix:English tag questions
Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle English wille, from Old English willa (compare verb willian), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“desire, will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja, Norwegian vilje.
Alternative forms[edit]
- wille (obsolete)
Noun[edit]
will (plural wills)
- One’s independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one’s choice or intention. [from 9th c.]
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Of course, man’s will is often regulated by his reason.
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- The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition. [from 10th c.]
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Most creatures have a will to live.
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2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club[1]:
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The episode’s unwillingness to fully commit to the pathos of the Bart-and-Laura subplot is all the more frustrating considering its laugh quota is more than filled by a rollicking B-story that finds Homer, he of the iron stomach and insatiable appetite, filing a lawsuit against The Frying Dutchman when he’s hauled out of the eatery against his will after consuming all of the restaurant’s shrimp (plus two plastic lobsters).
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- One’s intention or decision; someone’s orders or commands. [from 9th c.]
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Eventually I submitted to my parents’ will.
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- Firmity of purpose, fixity of intent
- Synonyms: determination, firmness, resoluteness, resolve
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1998, John Skorupski, , Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Mill, John Stuart (1806–73):
- Thus Mill’s case for the claim that happiness is the sole human end, put more carefully, is this: ‘Whatever is desired otherwise than as a means to some end beyond itself, and ultimately to happiness, is desired as itself a part of happiness, and is not desired for itself until has become so’ (1861a: 237). Nothing here assumed Hume’s view that every action must ultimately flow from an underived desire. That is a quite separate issue, and Mill’s view of it is closer to that of Kant or Reid than to that of Hume. He insists ‘positively and emphatically’ that the will is a different thing from desire; that a person of confirmed virtue, or any other person whose purposes are fixed, carries out his purposes without any thought of the pleasure he has in contemplating them, or expects to derive from their fulfilment. (1861a: 238) This distinction between purpose and desire is central to Mill’s conception of the will. When we develop purposes we can will against mere likings or aversions: ‘In the case of an habitual purpose, instead of willing the thing because we desire it, we often desire it only because we will it’ (1861a: 238). Every action is caused by a motive, but not every motive is a liking or aversion: When the will is said to be determined by motives, a motive does not mean always, or solely, the anticipation of a pleasure or of a pain…. A habit of willing is commonly called a purpose; and among the causes of our volitions, and of the actions which flow from them, must be reckoned not only likings and aversions, but also purposes. (1843: 842) The formation of purposes from desires is the evolution of will; it is also the development of character. Mill quotes Novalis: ‘a character is a completely fashioned will’ (1843: 843).
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2015, Dr. Harlan K. Ullman, Huffington Post 31 May 2015., «Winston Spencer Ghani»:
- …surely the link could not have been with Churchill the brilliant, gallant and steadfast wartime leader who, by dint of character, will and language, turned near defeat into victory.
- (law) A formal declaration of one’s intent concerning the disposal of one’s property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes. [from 14th c.]
- Synonyms: testament, last will, last will and testament
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1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well Tackled![2]:
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“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”
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- (archaic) That which is desired; one’s wish. [from 10th c.]
- (archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.) [from 9th c.]
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He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
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Derived terms[edit]
- at will
- military will
- nuncupative will
- where there is a will there is a way
- wilful, willful
- will to power
- willpower
- with a will
Collocations[edit]
(conscious intent or volition):
- a strong will
Descendants[edit]
- → Bengali: উইল (uil)
Translations[edit]
one’s independent faculty of choice
- Arabic: إرَادَة (ar) f (ʔirāda)
- Bashkir: ихтыяр (ixtıyar)
- Belarusian: во́ля f (vólja)
- Bulgarian: во́ля (bg) f (vólja)
- Catalan: lliure albir (ca) m
- Finnish: tahto (fi)
- German: Wille (de) m
- Hungarian: akarat (hu)
- Latin: arbitrium
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: vilje (no) m
- Polish: wola (pl) f
- Portuguese: arbítrio (pt) m
- Russian: во́ля (ru) f (vólja)
- Slovene: volja (sl) f
- Turkish: irade (tr)
- Ukrainian: во́ля (uk) f (vólja)
- Welsh: ewyllys (cy) f
intention or decision
- Arabic: إرَادَة (ar) f (ʔirāda)
- Bulgarian: намерение (bg) n (namerenie)
- Catalan: voluntat (ca) f
- Finnish: tahto (fi)
- German: Wille (de) m
- Hungarian: szándék (hu), döntés (hu), kívánság (hu), óhaj (hu)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: vilje (no) m, krav n
- Polish: wola (pl) f
- Russian: во́ля (ru) f (vólja)
- Slovene: volja (sl) f
- Turkish: irade (tr)
act of choosing to do something; conscious intent or volition
- Albanian: vullnet (sq) m
- Arabic: رَغْبَة f (raḡba), إرَادَة (ar) f (ʔirāda)
- Armenian: կամք (hy) (kamkʿ)
- Azerbaijani: iradə (az), ixtiyar (az)
- Bashkir: ихтыяр (ixtıyar)
- Basque: gogo, nahi
- Belarusian: во́ля f (vólja)
- Bulgarian: во́ля (bg) f (vólja)
- Catalan: voluntat (ca) f, albir (ca) m
- Cebuano: buot, pagbuot
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 意志 (zh) (yìzhì)
- Czech: vůle (cs) f
- Dalmatian: voluntuot
- Danish: vilje c
- Dutch: wil (nl) m, wens (nl) m
- Esperanto: volo
- Estonian: tahe
- Ewe: lɔ̃lɔ̃nu
- Faroese: vilji m
- Finnish: tahto (fi), halu (fi)
- French: volonté (fr) f
- Friulian: volontât f
- Galician: vontade (gl) f, albidro m
- Georgian: ნება (neba), სურვილი (survili)
- German: Wille (de) m
- Gothic: 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰 m (wilja)
- Greek: βούληση (el) f (voúlisi), θέληση (el) f (thélisi)
- Ancient: θέλημα n (thélēma)
- Hebrew: רָצוֹן (he) m (ratsón), אָבָה (he) (ava)
- Hindi: इच्छा (hi) f (icchā)
- Hungarian: szándék (hu), akarat (hu)
- Indonesian: hendak (id)
- Irish: deoin f
- Italian: volontà (it) f
- Japanese: 意志 (ja) (いし, ishi)
- Kazakh: ерік (kk) (erık), ықтияр (yqtiär)
- Korean: 의지(意志) (ko) (uiji)
- Kyrgyz: ыктыяр (ky) (ıktıyar)
- Latin: voluntas
- Lithuanian: valia, noras (lt)
- Luxembourgish: Wëllen m
- Macedonian: волја f (volja)
- Maori: takune, whakaaro, e (before verb), ka (mi) (before verb)
- Ngazidja Comorian: nyandzo class 9/10
- Nogai: эрк (érk)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: vilje (no) m, ønske (no) n
- Occitan: volontat (oc)
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: волꙗ f (volja)
- Old Norse: vili m
- Persian: آرزو (fa) (ârezu), خواسته (fa) (xâste), اختیار (fa) (extiyâr)
- Plautdietsch: Wellen m
- Polish: wola (pl) f
- Portuguese: vontade (pt) f
- Romanian: voință (ro) f
- Romansch: voluntad, volunted, voluntà
- Russian: во́ля (ru) f (vólja)
- Sanskrit: इच्छा (sa) f (icchā)
- Sardinian: bolontade, boluntadi, volontade
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: во̏ља f
- Roman: vȍlja (sh) f
- Slovak: vôľa f
- Slovene: volja (sl) f
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: wóla f
- Upper Sorbian: wola f
- Spanish: voluntad (es) f, albedrío (es) m
- Swedish: vilja (sv) c, önskan (sv) c
- Tajik: ихтиёр (tg) (ixtiyor), ирода (iroda), орзу (tg) (orzu)
- Tatar: ихтыяр (tt) (ixtıyar)
- Tocharian A: kri
- Turkish: irade (tr)
- Ukrainian: во́ля (uk) f (vólja)
- Uzbek: iroda (uz), ixtiyor (uz)
- Welsh: ewyllys (cy) f
Etymology 3[edit]
From Middle English willen, from Old English willian (“to will”), from Proto-West Germanic *willjōn (“to will”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”). Cognate with German Low German willen, German willen. The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.
Verb[edit]
will (third-person singular simple present wills, present participle willing, simple past and past participle willed or (rare) would)
- (transitive, intransitive) To instruct (that something be done) in one’s will. [from 9th c.]
- (transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one’s will (legal document). [from 15th c.]
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He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.
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- (transitive) To exert one’s force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something. [from 10th c.]
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All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
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1613 (date written), William Shakespeare; [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
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They willed me say so, madam.
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c. 1612–1615?, John Fletcher; Francis Beaumont; revised by Philip Massinger, “Loves Cure or, The Martial Maid”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii:
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Send for music, / And will the cooks to use their best of cunning / To please the palate.
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Synonyms[edit]
- (bequeath): bequeath, leave
Translations[edit]
to bequeath
- Armenian: կտակել (hy) (ktakel)
- Bulgarian: завещавам (bg) (zaveštavam)
- Catalan: llegar (ca)
- Czech: odkázat
- Danish: testamentere
- Dutch: vermaken (nl), nalaten (nl), legateren (nl)
- Esperanto: testamenti
- Finnish: testamentata
- French: léguer (fr)
- Georgian: სურს (surs)
- German: vermachen (de)
- Hungarian: (örökül) hagy, ráhagy (hu), rátestál
- Italian: legare (it), lasciare in eredità
- Luxembourgish: verierwen
- Macedonian: заветува (zavetuva), остава во наследство (ostava vo nasledstvo)
- Maori: wira
- Norwegian: testamentere
- Portuguese: legar (pt)
- Russian: завеща́ть (ru) (zaveščátʹ)
- Slovene: zapustiti (sl), voliti
- Spanish: legar (es)
- Swedish: testamentera (sv)
See also[edit]
- bequeath
- going to
- modal verb
- testament
- volition
- voluntary
Cahuilla[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Uto-Aztecan *wip.
Noun[edit]
wíll
- fat, grease
German[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /vɪl/
Verb[edit]
will
- first/third-person singular present of wollen
Yola[edit]
Verb[edit]
will
- Alternative form of woul (“will”)
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1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
-
Note will wee dra aaght to-die?
- I don’t know will we draw any to-day?
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Noun[edit]
will
- Alternative form of woul (“will”)
-
1867, “ABOUT AN OLD SOW GOING TO BE KILLED”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1:
-
Ich aam goan maake mee will.
- I am going to make my will.
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References[edit]
- Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 59
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#1
I wonder if native speakers are able to differentiate between these two sounds when hearing a conversation.
For example:
Question: Hey, how your work at the Airport is going?
Answer: Not sure, we’ll/will see… ask me tomorrow.
I know that surely it hasn’t to be correct to say will see without the pronoun, but despite that, I would like to know if, in some situation, there is a need to differenciate between them both, and if it’s possible to hear a difference in the sound of each of them for some well trained hearing.
Thanks in advance.
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#2
Argentum said:
For example:
Hey, how’s (how is) your work at the airport
isgoing?
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#3
Hi Argentum,
I would definitely be able to tell the difference, but in spoken English you would get as much from the context as the pronounciation. Like you said «not sure, will see..ask me..» is not correct. We’ll is just the contracted version of we will. Does that answer your question?
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#4
I would have difficulty recalling anyone speaking (here in Ireland, at any rate) and omitting the ‘I’ of an ‘I will …’ construction.
If I heard «Not sure, w?ll see… ask me tomorrow» I’d know for a certainty that it was «we’ll», if for no other reason than the contraction for an «I will see» would be «I’ll see».
My ears are attuned to pick up rather rapidly on the pronunciations I am likely to come across here in Ireland of either an «e» or an «i». No Irish accent I can think of would cause me to confuse «we’ll» and «will» in any context, not just the one given. I think the same is likely to apply to most English speakers in respect of their own regions.
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#5
As far as I know, there’s never a need to differentiate. I pronounce «we’ll» and «will» the same way. If I use a personal pronoun before «will», I always contract it (e.g. «he’ll (hill)», «they’ll (thell)», «you’ll (yul)») so there probably wouldn’t be a time when I’d need to differentiate.
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#6
Argentum said:
I wonder if native speakers are able to differentiate between these two sounds when hearing a conversation.
Will is pronounced with short i in the middle, while we’ll has a long i in the middle. Am I right?
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#7
Pronunciation — «We’ll» = wheel
«Will» = [hill, bill, fill — short «i»]
You will hear both pronunciations for «We’ll».
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#8
Le Pamplemousse said:
Le Pamplemousse, don’t you pronounce it with a diphthong in the middle? (theill)
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#9
It is pronounced both ways, depending on regional variation. I am not sure what the standard English version is, but I would bet there are a couple of options. It is not something for a native or a non native speaker to worry about.
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#10
majlo said:
Le Pamplemousse, don’t you pronounce it with a diphthong in the middle? (theill)
Nope. It’s probably a regional thing, but I don’t hear «wheel» or «theill» (in Southern Wisconsin).
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#11
wow, those were really quick answers indeed, thanks you all for your corrections and answers. Very interesting to read about this.
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#12
I’m confused here.
It appears that people are assuming that the «will see» option is missing a «we». I would have to query that. In my experience «we’ll see» is something said in response to a question — when either (a) the respondant is speaking for a group of people, or — and I think this case doesn’t fit this situation — the questioner is part of the process…
Child: «Mammy, can we go to the zoo next week?»
Mammy: «I don’t know, we’ll see»
(you and I will discuss this at some future time — maybe)
In this case A asks B a question to which only B can be involved in the ‘seeing’ — it must be an «I’ll see» answer, as there is no reference to a «we», A doesn’t work at the airport, that’s obvious.
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#13
Yes, it wasn’t a good example, may be another person could find a better one, «will see». Despite the grammar improperness of the «will see», my doubt was its pronunciation merely, sorry for the bad example I gave.
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#15
Thanks, french4beth, that is a superb link.
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#16
emma42 said:
Thanks, french4beth, that is a superb link.
I have been told by Spanish friends of mine that they find it almost impossible to hear the difference between the English (BE at least) short and long «i» sound, I assume because they don’t have the short sound in Spanish.
Sheep and ship sound the same to them and they tend to pronounce them with the long i sound. The sound of the letter «i» in Spanish is «ee».
It is almost impossible to explain the sound on a forum as the sound cannot be heard. To say one rhymes with hill or pill makes no difference if they pronounce thos words as heel and peel anyway.
Will see is incorrect, but I can understand (because of pronunciation problems) why the error is made.
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#17
Even a native could not tell the difference in my own pronunciations of we’ll and will — there is no difference. The funny thing is that here in the north we use the short vowel for both; my relatives in the south use the long vowel for both. You determine the one you are hearing from the context.
Yôn
Senior Member
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#18
Kelly B said:
Even a native could not tell the difference in my own pronunciations of we’ll and will — there is no difference. The funny thing is that here in the north we use the short vowel for both; my relatives in the south use the long vowel for both. You determine the one you are hearing from the context.
What part of the north are you from? I pronounce WE’LL as «weel». I pronounce WILL as «will». Long E for the first, short I for the second.
As for this pronoun thing: I find no problem with omitting the pronoun. It sounds quite natural to my ears. I admit it’s probably not proper, but to say it’s not done at all… well, you know.
As long as someone was pronouncing these words like I would, I would be able to tell them apart. But even if they pronounced the two the exact same, I would have no difficulty whatsoever in telling them apart given the contexts of the sentence.
Jon
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#19
Kelly B said:
Even a native could not tell the difference in my own pronunciations of we’ll and will — there is no difference. The funny thing is that here in the north we use the short vowel for both; my relatives in the south use the long vowel for both. You determine the one you are hearing from the context.
In the versions of English spoken in Australia and New Zealand,
the sounds of we’ll and will are distinctly different. /i:/ v /i/
Most Australians don’t aspirate wh, so we’ll and wheel sound the same, but wheel and will would never be confused — anymore than peal and pill.
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#20
Brioche said:
Most Australians don’t aspirate wh,
Do you aspirate /w/ sound at all?
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#21
majlo said:
Do you aspirate /w/ sound at all?
I don’t understand the question.
In some forms of English the wh is pronouced exactly the same as w,
so world and whirled and weather and whether are homophones.
In other forms the wh is pronounced with a puff of air — aspirated = /hw/
and thus whirled is different from world, and weather different from whether.
Yôn
Senior Member
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#22
Brioche said:
I don’t understand the question.
In some forms of English the wh is pronouced exactly the same as w,
so world and whirled and weather and whether are homophones.In other forms the wh is pronounced with a puff of air — aspirated = /hw/
and thus whirled is different from world, and weather different from whether.
In fact, I’d say this can even vary from person to person.
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#23
Brioche said:
In some forms of English the wh is pronouced exactly the same as w,
so world and whirled and weather and whether are homophones.
I know, Brioche. But I’m learning RP in which only voiceless plosives are aspirated and that’s why aspirating the /w/ sound seemed really bizarre to me. I’d like to hear aspirated /w/ I tried to pronounce (I understand that in the pairs you’ve given world and weather are aspirated, right?) them but barely does it work.
Brioche said:
In other forms the wh is pronounced with a puff of air — aspirated = /hw/
and thus whirled is different from world, and weather different from whether.
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#24
Aspirating the «wh» is optional in RP. However, it is rare. I would advise not to do it — sounds strange. In Scottish English it is very very common.
The sound of the aspirated «wh» is just like blowing a little bit. Like you would blow out a match.
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#25
emma42 said:
Aspirating the «wh» is optional in RP. However, it is rare. I would advise not to do it — sounds strange. In Scottish English it is very very common.
Never in my whole life have I read a textbook on phonetics which would mention a bit about aspirating the /w/ sound.
emma42 said:
The sound of the aspirated «wh» is just like blowing a little bit. Like you would blow out a match.
I’ll really have to talk to someone from Scotland on Skype hehe I’d love to hear it say by a native speaker.
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#26
Never in my whole life have I read a textbook on phonetics which would mention a bit about aspirating the /w/ sound.
Phoneticians label this sound a voiceless labio-velar approximant and its symbol is [ʍ]. So it’s a voiceless (not «aspirated») version of [w], just like [t] is a voiceless version of [d]. It is not a feature of standard English, but it’s still present in many varieties of English including Scottish English, as was previously mentioned.
Here’s a link, if you’re into your phonetics geekery too…
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#27
Panj is jumping up and down excitedly waving his arms from our wee corner.
It’s not just the Scots who distinguish carefully between w and wh. The Irish do it too.
So do lots of others, according to the Oxford Companion to the English Language. It seems that the English have lost the ability, which once they had, to pronounce w and wh distinctively. Older speakers of RP can still do it. We and the Scots still do it, and it is widespread in AE and CanE.
OCEL describes wh as the voiceless equivalent of /w/ (confirming kertek).
Back to we’ll and will.
As always seems to be the case, the Irish English make a clear distinction between these NORMALLY.
In more casual speech, when the vowels darken and the articulation becomes more clumsy, we’ll and will coalesce on something that others might hear as wull.
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#28
Yes, «wull», too, in that situation in English English.
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#29
I feel that many of the natives here may not be aware of how they really pronounce these words in a sentence. If someone asks you, of course you´ll say that «will» is a short «i» and «we´ll» is pronounced like «wheel». But try putting them in a sentence.»First we´re having dinner and then we´ll go to see the show». Probably, like me, you´ll pronounce this very, very similarly to «will», something like «wul». I think this is what argentum is driving at. As an English teacher, it´s something I´m very aware of, and these strong («wheel») and weak ( «wul») pronunciations are a big problem for many language learners. There isn’t that much written on it, as far as I know, it seems to be a very neglected area. There is a book, I think it´s called «Whaddaya know?», or something like that, but it´s American English, I’ve never come across a book on this in BE, though textbooks have some short sections on specific words.
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#30
Ever listened to «White Christmas», a song by Bing Crosby? You´ll hear some good «wh» sounds there, majlo.
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#31
moirag, pet, if you read all the posts, you will see that all those pronunication choices have been dealt with.
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#32
Yôn said:
What part of the north are you from? I pronounce WE’LL as «weel». I pronounce WILL as «will». Long E for the first, short I for the second.
As for this pronoun thing: I find no problem with omitting the pronoun. It sounds quite natural to my ears. I admit it’s probably not proper, but to say it’s not done at all… well, you know.
As long as someone was pronouncing these words like I would, I would be able to tell them apart. But even if they pronounced the two the exact same, I would have no difficulty whatsoever in telling them apart given the contexts of the sentence.
Jon
I’m (often pronounced «um,» even on Minnesota Public Radio) living in Minneapolis, where I rarely hear a difference between «we’ll» and «will.» Since I was an opera singer for many years, I needed to make such distinctions when singing but I doubt I’ve carried them over into my speech.
Nick
EDIT: Removed incorrectly placed comma.
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#33
Just to add my two cents, I’m pretty sure I do distinguish «we’ll» and «will.» My «we’ll,» though, is never like «wheel» but rhymes with «pull» (I think that’s what people mean by «wull»), while I’m pretty sure my «will» rhymes with «hill.» I came up with a pair of sentences that I think (although I agree self-analysis is not very accurate) are not the same in normal speech:
I don’t know who will visit.
I don’t know who we’ll visit.
Argentum said:
For example:
Question: Hey, how your work at the Airport is going?
Answer: Not sure, we’ll/will see… ask me tomorrow.I know that surely it hasn’t to be correct to say will see without the pronoun
About this, I think it depends what you mean by correct . It’s pretty common around here at least to drop pronouns (esp. I and you), e.g. «Can do.», «Will do.», «See it?», although in this context it does seem unlikely.
Thymios
Yôn
Senior Member
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#34
nickditoro said:
I’m (often pronounced «um,» even on Minnesota Public Radio) living in Minneapolis, where I rarely hear a difference between «we’ll» and «will.» Since I was an opera singer for many years, I needed to make such distinctions when singing but I doubt I’ve carried them over into my speech.
Nick
EDIT: Removed incorrectly placed comma.
I don’t listen to enough MPR to have heard that, but I don’t believe it happens around here (mid-west of the state). I do here «AHM» for I’M occasionally, but I can remember one person from work who pronounces it «EYEM» very clearly and nasaly.
So, how do you talk down there? Is it closer or farther from those people on that movie North Country? I thought their accents were down-right ridiculous.
Jon
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#35
Yôn said:
I don’t listen to enough MPR to have heard that, but I don’t believe it happens around here (mid-west of the state). I do here «AHM» for I’M occasionally, but I can remember one person from work who pronounces it «EYEM» very clearly and nasaly.
So, how do you talk down there? Is it closer or farther from those people on that movie North Country? I thought their accents were down-right ridiculous.
Jon
Jon, it’s a mixed bag here. I’ve noticed that folks originally from around St. Cloud sound a bit like the cast from «Fargo» (I haven’t seen «North Country» — should I? ). But overall, certain vowels that on the East Coast are rather distinct (for example in Mary, marry, merry) are one and the same here. I think the strangest thing for me to get used to (I moved here from NYC) is hearing the first, normally unstressed syllable in a mutli-syllabic word become stressed, like PREE-cipitation (for precipitation), or LOS Angeles, MAN-hattan, LAS Vegas. Perhaps these are carry-overs from Scandanavian tongues.
Nick
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#36
modus.irrealis said:
I don’t know who will visit.
I don’t know who we’ll visit.
These are excellent examples. As a southern AE speakers, in theory, I would say that «will» is pronounced with a short i, and «we’ll» long (like «wheel».) However, in fast-paced conversation, either of these can change.
For example, «we’ll» often sounds midway between «wool» and «will» (short i). This makes sense since it takes the mouth and tongue much more time and energy (if you count the number of long i‘s shortned to short i‘s in regular speech, it adds up) to fully pronounce long vowels. This leads to slurs and drawls which are regional/dialectical/colloquial.
As for «will,» that, too, sometimes comes out like «wool,» but never like «wheel.»
If I were speaking the above examples, the first sentence would contract in speech to «who’ll,» with pronounciation «HOO-ull» (with that second syllable rhyming with «wool»).
In this second sentence, I would probably pronounce «we’ll» like «wool.»
The words preceding and following «will»/»we’ll» really impact the pronunciation. It’s all about where your tongue is and will be positioned so as to subconsciously minimize the amount of time and energy it takes to say the sentence.
Amazing how the brain works.
Brian
Yôn
Senior Member
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#37
nickditoro said:
Jon, it’s a mixed bag here. I’ve noticed that folks originally from around St. Cloud sound a bit like the cast from «Fargo» (I haven’t seen «North Country» — should I? ). But overall, certain vowels that on the East Coast are rather distinct (for example in Mary, marry, merry) are one and the same here. I think the strangest thing for me to get used to (I moved here from NYC) is hearing the first, normally unstressed syllable in a mutli-syllabic word become stressed, like PREE-cipitation (for precipitation), or LOS Angeles, MAN-hattan, LAS Vegas. Perhaps these are carry-overs from Scandanavian tongues.
Nick
I’ve never heard any of those words stressed like that. I did have a teacher once who would always say «video TAPE»… he also wouldn’t buy anything that wasn’t sold at Fleet Farm .
EDIT:I’m not sure what you mean with mary/merry I live about an hour and 1/2 north of St. Cloud. I do know that many people around here don’t talk a lot with that North Country accent, except for the police—they always sound that way. I had a Chemistry teacher with that real «Minnesotan» accent, but you just don’t see it often where I’m from.
I’ve never seen Fargo, but my brother told me that the accents there were worse than those in North Country. I would recommend the movie, if only to hear the accents.
I will listen more closely to Paul Douglas next time he says «precipitation.» I know I put that stress on the A.
Jon
Edit: Okay, so I just checked a dictionary for MERRY, and it turns out it’s supposed to be pronounced with a short E sound and not a long A. I do not think I’ve ever heard this word pronounced with a short E in my life. I just cannot imagine Santa Claus saying «Ho ho ho, mErry Christmas.*» The Santas I’ve all heard say «mArry Christmas.*»
———-
* The spelling’s been toyed with
here in order to show pronunciation.
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#38
majlo said:
Never in my whole life have I read a textbook on phonetics which would mention a bit about aspirating the /w/ sound.
Quote from Daniel Jones «English Pronouncing Dictionary» (1967)
The pronuciation with /hw/ in the case of many words having ‘wh’ in the spelling, e.g. which, white, when, etc., must be regarded as increasingly rare among RP speakers. …… it may still be heard ….. especially in more formal styles of speech.
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#39
Yôn said:
I’ve never heard any of those words stressed like that. I did have a teacher once who would always say «video TAPE»… he also wouldn’t buy anything that wasn’t sold at Fleet Farm .
EDIT:I’m not sure what you mean with mary/merry I live about an hour and 1/2 north of St. Cloud. I do know that many people around here don’t talk a lot with that North Country accent, except for the police—they always sound that way. I had a Chemistry teacher with that real «Minnesotan» accent, but you just don’t see it often where I’m from.
I’ve never seen Fargo, but my brother told me that the accents there were worse than those in North Country. I would recommend the movie, if only to hear the accents.
I will listen more closely to Paul Douglas next time he says «precipitation.» I know I put that stress on the A.
Jon
Edit: Okay, so I just checked a dictionary for MERRY, and it turns out it’s supposed to be pronounced with a short E sound and not a long A. I do not think I’ve ever heard this word pronounced with a short E in my life. I just cannot imagine Santa Claus saying «Ho ho ho, mErry Christmas.*» The Santas I’ve all heard say «mArry Christmas.*»
———-
* The spelling’s been toyed with
here in order to show pronunciation.
Not Paul; he’s from back east somewhere. Try Kare-11 and Belinda Jensen.
Nick
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#40
@Argentum, I think I’ve found another (dumb) example where a distinction has to be done. There is a song («One day» by Asaf Avidan & The Mojos) that says «One day, baby, we’ll be old». Or are they referring to their baby? «One day Baby will be old».
(Please feel free to correct any grammar or vocabulary mistakes I’ve made)
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#41
I agree with Brioche that I’d always distinguish between we’ll and will, and we’ll sounds like wheel to me.
For the song, baby is a term of endearment for your lover, and surely that should be we’ll.
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#42
In north London, UK, «will» is often pronounced «wiw», and a region of N.London called Mill Hill becomes «Miwiw». Hilarious!
«Will you?» becomes «Wiwyer?» Combine that with the glottal stops frequent in the same part of London (also Glasgow in Scotland, incidentally) and you’ve got a dialect completely impenetrable to the rest of humanity.
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#43
«We’ll» uses the vowel /i/, which is used in Spanish and other languages.
«Will» uses the vowel /ɪ/, which is used in English (but not in Spanish).
In Engish the «ɪ/i» difference is common, and distinguishes very many word-pairs: hit/heat, bit/beat, hill/heal, etc.
The US has many fluent Spanish speakers who speak imperfect English. Traditionally they use /i/ when they should use /ɪ/.
Although that isn’t perfect, it is almost always understood. And who cares about being perfect, if we’re just talking?
For example, I might say: «I will get it later». But a Spanish-accented speaker says «I weel get eet later.»
There is a song («One day» by Asaf Avidan & The Mojos) that says «One day, baby, we’ll be old». Or are they referring to their baby? «One day Baby will be old».
Those are two different correct written sentences. But I checked the song lyrics. It is «we’ll», not «will».
lyrics one day asaf avidan & the mojos — Google Search
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#44
It’s very hard to hear a difference in two sounds when there is no difference in your own language or one of the two doesn’t even exist. But we can easily hear the difference since we’ve been practicing hearing and saying those separate sounds since we were babies. It’s one of the hardest parts about learning to speak and listen in a different language. How can you pick the correct option when you can’t even hear two options?
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#45
Hearing/speaking training starts very young. One of an American child’s first phrases is «gimme» (give me!),
which has both vowel sounds in it: /gɪmi/. So an American child that only know a few words already knows that these 2 vowel sounds are different.
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воля, желание, завещание, волеизъявление, хотеть, желать, завещать, проявлять волю
вспомогательный глагол ↓
- выражает желание, стремление, намерение, склонность
- выражает решимость
I can and I will learn it — я могу выучить это и обязательно /непременно/ выучу
I have made up my mind to go and go I will — я решил пойти, и ничто меня не остановит
I will be obeyed — я заставлю делать по-моему
- выражает просьбу, приглашение или предложение (в вежливой форме)
will you have a cup of tea? — не хотите ли чашку чая?
+2 will you tell me the time? — скажите, пожалуйста, который час?
Won’t you sit down? — Присаживайтесь, пожалуйста.
will you come in? — входите, пожалуйста
- выражает распоряжение или приказание
ещё 5 вариантов
глагол ↓
- завещать
to will one’s money to charities — завещать деньги благотворительным учреждениям
to will away from smb. — лишать законного наследника наследства
- заставлять; внушать
to will oneself to fall asleep — заставить себя заснуть
to will smb. to do /into doing/ smth. — заставить кого-л. сделать что-л.
- книжн. возвыш. проявлять волю, желание; хотеть, желать
whatever he wills he may accomplish — что бы он ни задумал, он всё может сделать
+2 he who wills success is half-way to it — ≅ воля к победе
God has willed it so — на то была воля божья
fate willed it that he should die young — ему было на роду написано умереть молодым
существительное ↓
- воля; сила воли
strong [weak, iron] will — сильная [слабая, железная] воля
+2 lack of will — недостаток силы воли
a will of one’s own — своеволие, своенравие; упрямство
by force of will — силой воли
- желание, воля
- энергия, энтузиазм; интерес
they set to work with a will — они горячо принялись за дело
- завещание, последняя воля (тж. юр. last will and testament)
beneficiary under the will — бенефициарий по завещанию
to inherit by will — наследовать по завещанию
to make /to draw up/ a will — составить завещание
- диал. блуждающий огонёк
- арх. просьба; приказ
прилагательное
- диал. заблудившийся, сбившийся с пути
- растерянный, запутавшийся
Наиболее часто слово will используется в виде вспомогательного (модального) глагола. Для него существуют следующие формы:
Формы слова для простого глагола приведены в нижней части страницы.
Мои примеры
В выражениях, идиомах и прочем
of one’s own free will — добровольно, по собственному желанию, волеизъявлению
at will! — воен. одиночный огонь! (команда)
to take the will for the deed — быть благодарным за одно только желание помочь; довольствоваться чьими-л. обещаниями /посулами/
where there’s a will, there’s a way — посл. где хотение, там и умение
to work /to have/ one’s will — делать по-своему
to work one’s will upon smb. — навязать кому-л. свою волю
to be at smb.’s will — быть в чьём-л. распоряжении /в чьих-л. руках/
with the best will (in the world) — как бы нам этого ни хотелось
such is our will and pleasure — возвыш. такова наша воля и приказание
Примеры с переводом
The King wills it.
Такова воля короля.
Where there is a will there is a way.
Было бы желание, а возможность найдётся. (посл.)
He has no will of his own.
У него нет своей воли. / Он не имеет собственного мнения. / Он безвольный человек.
All shall be as God wills.
Всё будет так, как хочет Бог.
He made a will only days before his death.
Он составил завещание лишь за несколько дней до смерти.
In her will, she asked that her money be donated to the church.
В своём завещании она попросила, чтобы её деньги были пожертвованы церкви.
She was willing herself not to cry.
Она изо всех сил старалась не заплакать.
God wills our existence.
Бог желает нашего существования. / Мы существуем по воле Божией.
He willed his entire estate to her.
Он завещал ей всё своё состояние.
Where there’s a will there’s a way.
Было бы желание, а способ найдётся. (поговорка)
This action was willed and intended.
Этот поступок был обдуманным и преднамеренным.
Mr. Lake had certainly a will to enter into arrangements with him.
У мистера Лэйка явно было желание с ним договориться.
Однокоренные слова
willful — умышленный, преднамеренный, своевольный, своенравный, упрямый
willed — волевой, завещанный, добровольный
Формы слова
verb
I/you/we/they: will
he/she/it: wills
ing ф. (present participle): willing
2-я ф. (past tense): willed
3-я ф. (past participle): willed
noun
ед. ч.(singular): will
мн. ч.(plural): wills
Vowel reading rules in English
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Today let’s talk about rules for reading vowels in Englishyou need to know in order to successfully master both the oral and written aspects.
First, let’s review the English alphabet and do it using a nursery rhyme. I think rap style fans will especially like it! It is great if you add some of the typical movements that are typical of this style of music during your performance.
Alphabet song
AA, B, C, D, E
stand up and look at me.
F, G, H, I, J
I play football every day.
K, L, M, N, O
I Cake of All.
P, Q, R, S, T
Hey people, listen to me.
U, V, W, X, Y, Z
The alphabet is in my head!
recording: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or higher) is required to play this audio recording. Download the latest version here. In addition, JavaScript must be enabled in your browser.
As you may have noticed, in the English alphabet 26 letters: 6 vowels и 20 consonants.
They form 44 sound: 20 vowels and 24 consonants.
Vowel sounds are divided into:
- short [i], [e], [ɔ], [u], [ʌ], [æ], [ǝ]
- long [i:], [ɜ:], [ɔ:], [u:], [a:]
- diphthongs [ei], [ai], [ɔi], [iǝ], [ǝu], [au], [ɛǝ], [aiǝ], [auǝ]
The difficulty is that vowels are read differently, depending on which syllable the vowel occurs in.
It is generally accepted that in English there is 4 types of syllables.
Let’s analyze each of them, noting the characteristic features.
French Alphabet
I type of syllable (vowel + consonant + vowel):
open, vowel reads like this, how is shecalled in the alphabet… We consider only the striking position.
In words like bake, smile, Rope, tube— final «e» not pronounced, it is called dumb (mute buttonletter).
Monosyllabic words like we, go, hi, my are also of the first type.
Samples
a[ei] — name, face, cake, make, bake, take, mistake, lake, snake, lazy, crazy, nature, cage, potato
e [i:] — Egypt, Greece, tree, free, three, street, green, sleep, meter, fever, emu, lemur, he, she, we
i [ai] — five, nine,, ride a bike, drive, smile, time, nice, kite, diving, pine, spider, tiger, white
o [ǝu] — nose, rose, home, hope, rope, stone, sofa, notebook, October, composer, phone, model
u [ju:] — Pupil, Student, Tulip, Computer, Cucumber, Excuse, Music, Cuba, Future, Huge, Tube, Blue
y [ai] — why, sky, cry, spy, dry, fly, butterfly, my, shy, type, style, to rely on, July, xylophone by
IIsyllable type (vowel + consonant + consonant):
closed, vowel readable briefly. We consider only the striking position. The lexical meaning of the word depends on the length and brevity of the pronunciation of the sound in English. For example, take words like sheep (I type of syllable [ʃi: p]) and ship (II type of syllable [ʃip]).
Correct
There is a sheep On the meadow.
There is a ship in the sea
Incorrect
There is a ship On the meadow.
There is a sheep in the sea
(The poor lamb got it!)
Samples
a [æ] — black, happy, cabbage, carrot, rabbit, daddy, granny, gallery, Africa, hand, cap, cat, map
e [e] — red, December, letter, kettle, pen, pencil, desk, address, left, cherry, chess, egg, hen, ten
i [i] — Pink, Six, Fifty, Little, Big, Pig, Spring, Winter, King, Finger, Kitchen, Milk, Fish, Children
o [ɔ] — golden, fox, dolphin, dog, hospital, doctor, bottle, box, clock, hobby, coffee, concert
u[ʌ] — summer, butter, hundred, number, brush, duck, club, jump, lunch, plum, mushroom, cup
y [i] — gym, gymnastics, lynx, myth, mystery, symbol, symphony, symptom, syllable, system
IIIsyllable type (vowel + r + consonant):
vowel is read long… Long sounds are indicated by two dots «:» to the right of the sound sign. We consider only the striking position.
Letter «r« in this type of syllable is not pronounced.
Monosyllabic words like jar, bar, here , sir, fur are also of the third type.
Samples
ar [a:] — farmer, garden, party, car, scar, bar, barber, marmalade, shark, garlic, parsley, starling
er [ɜ:] — Advertisement, Person, Perfect, University, To Prefer, Dessert, Germany, Term, Interpreter
ir [ɜ:] — bird, girl, the first, the third, thirteen, thirty, birthday, shirt, T-shirt, circus, skirt, sir, fir
or [ɔ:] — pork, orchard, orchestra, order, orchid, (un) fortunately, divorce, enormous, immortal
ur [ɜ:] — curl (y), curds, curtain, to disturb, purple, Thursday, turnip, windsurfing, surface, hurt
yr [ɜ:] — martyr (martyr), myrrh (myrrh), Kyrgyz, Kyrgyzstan
IVsyllable type (vowel + r + vowel):
reading like diphthongs. Diphthongs are combinations of two vowel sounds, the first of which is pronounced more energetically than the second. We consider only the striking position. In some words, the letter «r» is not pronounced, while in others it makes the sound [r].
Samples
are [ɛǝ] — parents, care, rarely, various, to compare, scarecrow, canary, malaria, square, share
ere [iǝ] — Here, Imperial, Serious, Mysterious, Nigeria, Serial, Sincere, Zero, Hero, Cereal, Interfere
ire [aiǝ] — tired, retired, to admire, desire, Ireland, iron, environment, requirement, biro, virus
or [ɔ:] — Ore, Store, Snore, Score, Bore, BORING, Shore, To IGNORE, To Explore, Story, Storey, Glory
ure [juǝ] — pure, cure, curable, incurable, during, Europe, euro, curious, mural (fresco), security
yre [aiǝ] — lyre (lyre), tire (US — tire tire), tyrant (tyrant), papyrus (papyrus)
Important! Research shows that total 30% words English can be read using the rules above; rest 70% words — historically developed vocabulary. Therefore, I strongly recommend actively using dictionaries in the process of learning English.
I think the article is about rules for reading vowels in English will be useful for those who plan to take the exam in English. In the oral part of the exam there is a task in which you need to read the proposed passage of text (1.5 minutes), observing all the rules for reading vowels and consonants.
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Source: http://smashtrash.ru/pravila-chteniya/pravila-chteniya-glasnykh-v-angliyskom-ya.html
Rules for reading vowels in English in tables with examples
It is believed that reading in English is a rather difficult skill for the simple reason that there is no rigid system of reading rules in English and letters, in particular vowels, can be read differently depending on their position in a word or in a syllable. In this post, I will cover the rules for reading vowels in English with examples.
English vowels and reading features
There are 6 vowels in the English alphabet. But the sounds they transmit are many times more — there are 20 of them in total (including long vowels).
Vowels:
- A — hey
- E — and
- I — ay
- O — oh
- U — u
- Y — wye
The English language is characterized by the presence of diphthongs.
Diphthongs — these are sounds, when pronounced, one vowel sound passes into another, that is, in fact, they are pronounced as two sounds.
For example, the word in the word home, the vowel o is read as «oh», that is, in fact, it forms two sounds [əʊ]. The same with the word house, where the combination of letters «ou» reads «ay» and gives a double sound [aʊ].
Do not confuse diphthongs with two letter combinations. For example, in the word head there are two vowels in a row, but the combination of letters «ea» is read as «e», that is, we get a single sound [e].
Thus, vowels in English can be read as in the alphabet, and convey a number of other sounds.
Rules for reading English vowels and vowel combinations
For convenience, I will give tables for each letter with examples, descriptions and reading in Russian. In Russian, of course, it is impossible to convey the exact reading of this or that sound, but I will write approximately.
For correct reading, it is important to know such concepts as closed and open syllables.
Closed syllable in English, this is the syllable that ends in a consonant a letter… For example maponn, fatherg, bead and so on.
Open syllable — a syllable that ends in a vowel a letter… For example, take, py, bike and so on.
Please note that the syllable must end with a vowel or consonant, not a sound. That is, if in English at the end of a word there is e mute, then the syllable is considered open.
Letter A
Sound in transcription and its reading in Russian | Examples |
In a closed syllable — [æ] — э | Map, cap, pack, black, flag |
In an open syllable — [ei] — heyreading as in the alphabet | Name, game, flame, table, lake, pay |
In a closed syllable followed by r — sound [a:] like russian а, long | Car, bar, jar, start, farmer |
In an open syllable followed by r — diphthong [eǝ] — ea | Care, rare, prepare |
Letter E
Sound in transcription and its reading in Russian | Examples |
In a closed syllable — [e] — e | Red, vet, set, tell |
In an open syllable — [i:] — and long | Meter, complete |
At the end of words e is not readable in English, but affects the reading of the word | Table, plate, take For example, the words cap and cape — in the first case we read «cap», since the syllable is closed, in the second case, «cap», since the syllable is open |
In short, monosyllabic words, these are mainly service parts of speech, e at the end of a word is read if it is the only vowel in the word and gives [i:] i.e и long | He, she, we, me, be |
In an open syllable followed by r — diphthong [iǝ] — ia | Here, sphere, severe |
Letter I
Sound in transcription and its reading in Russian | Examples |
In a closed syllable — [i] — and | Sick, tip, limp, kit, trick |
In an open syllable — [ai] — aylike in the alphabet | Life, mine, line, pipe, time, kite |
In a closed syllable followed by the letter r — [ə:] — similar to Russian ё, long sound | Girl, bird, third, dirty, sir, first |
In an open syllable followed by a letter r — [aiǝ] — aye | Fire, tires |
Letter O
Sound in transcription and its reading in Russian | Examples |
In a closed syllable — [ɔ] — oh | Fog, nod, lock, log, got |
In an open syllable — [əu] — oh | Rope, nose, toe, vote |
In a closed and open syllable followed by a letter r — [ɔ:]—о long | Nor, born, corn, torn, more, core |
In an unstressed syllable — [ə] — uh, the sound is drop-out, therefore it sounds indistinct and short, fluently, for example, lemon is not a lemon or a lamen, but a lamn with a slightly audible «e» between «m» and «n» | lemon, melon |
In some cases, the letter «O» can be read like «A» [ʌ], for example, «love». And also like «U» [u], for example, in the word «move». These reading options do not lend themselves to specific rules and logic, so such words need to be memorized.
Letter U
Sound in transcription and its reading in Russian | Examples |
In a closed syllable — [ʌ] — a | Cut — «kat», rubber, but, mug, but put reads like «put» |
In a closed syllable followed by a letter r — [ə:] — similar to Russian ё, long sound | turn, burnt |
In an open syllable after two consonants — [u:] — у long, as well as in an open syllable after j and r | Blue, trueJuly, rule |
In an open syllable followed by a letter r —[juə] — yue | Cure, secure, mature |
In an open syllable after one consonant (except for j and r) — [ju:] — yu | Tube, mute, cute |
Letter Y
Sound in transcription and its reading in Russian | Examples |
In a closed syllable — [i] — and | System, sympathy, mystery |
In an open stressed syllable — [ai] — ay | Shy, cry, try, my, bye |
In an open syllable followed by a letter r —[aiə] — aye | Tire, byre |
In an unstressed syllable — [i] — and | Rainy, snowy, crispy |
At the beginning of a word before a vowel — [j] — th | Year, yellow, yet, yes |
These are the basic rules for reading vowels in English. But do not forget that there are many exceptions to each of these rules.
In subsequent publications, I will cover the rules for reading consonants and letter combinations of vowels and consonants.
Source: https://my-opinion.ru/inostrannye-yazyki/anglijskij/pravila-chteniya-glasnyh-v-tablitsah/
Lesson 8. Pronunciation of consonants [f] and [v]. Closed syllable in English
Hello! In this lesson, we again return to consonant sounds and now we learn to pronounce sounds [f] и [v] and accordingly read the English letters Ff [ef] and Vv [vi]. And let’s also remember what a closed syllable is in English, since this is one of the basic concepts in teaching reading.
So, from lesson number 8 you will learn:
- how to pronounce english consonants [f] и [v] correctly;
- what is a closed syllable in English;
- and repeat how the vowel is read y at the end of the word.
If you have just joined us, then here is a link to the section «Author’s English lessons for teaching reading and pronunciation at the same time»
* * *
Rules for reading letters f and v in English
So, let’s begin! English consonants f и v transmit sounds [f] и [v]. The sounds [f] and [v] are labiodental, that is, to pronounce them, you need bite the lower lip with the upper teeth.
At first glance, the English sounds [f] and [v] are similar to the Russian “f” and “v”. But there is also a significant difference: the English sounds [f] and [v] are long.
To pronounce the English sound [v] correctly, it is necessary to pronounce it for a long time, as, for example, the doubled «v» in the words «up», «introduction».
To pronounce the English sound [f] correctly, bite the lower lip and exhale vigorously. The English sound [f] is very long and strong. In the transcription [f] should be designated [fff].
Listen to how the sounds [f] and [v] are pronounced — HERE
As for the concept of «voiced» — «deaf», the British do not understand at all what it is. They have the concept of «weak» (we call this sound «voiced» in Russian) and the concept of «strong» (we call this sound «dull»).
Now we need to practice a little. Let’s get down to the exercises. After that we will repeat again, how words are divided into syllables, which syllable is in the word MAIN and what is a closed syllable in English.
Now we start working out English sounds [fff] and [vvv]
* * *
Phonetic exercises with audio recording (closed content no.19)
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Description: Access to a course of lessons on teaching reading in English and pronunciation at the same time. 50% discount until 01.01.2020/XNUMX/XNUMX. Author T.V. Nabeeva
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What is a closed syllable in English?
If you learn English from scratch on our website, then from lesson number 6 you learned what the third type of syllable is in English. Now we’ll talk about how words are divided into syllables. (1)which syllable in the word is the most important (2) и what is a closed syllable in English(3) (it was already mentioned in lesson 1)
(1) So, words are divided into syllables by the number of vowels… That is, how many vowels there are in a word, there are so many syllables in it. Take a word for example, happy Doubled consonant p divides a word into two syllables.
`hap — py
- hap — this syllable ends with a consonant sound, and is called closed;
- py — this syllable, ends in a vowel sound, and is called open.
(2) The main thing is the STRICT syllable. It is in it that the vowel sound is read according to the rules that you have already learned. By the way, I remind you that the unstressed letter y at the end of a word reads like [i], for example, party [`pa: ti]
(3) A closed syllable is a syllable that ends in a consonant.
Now let’s remember the passed rules for reading vowels in a closed syllable in English:
a is readAs [æ]. Examples. hat, happy
e readAs [e]. Examples. men, mental
i, y are readAs [i]. Examples. kit, kitty
u readAs [ʌ]. Examples. bud, buddy
0 is often read as [ʌ]. Examples. love, glove, lovely.
NOTE. How to read the vowel Oo in a closed syllable, you will learn further — Lesson number 9. Reading the English letter Oo in a closed syllable.
NOTE. Sonorous consonants m, n, l — also form a syllable, because they can be pulled. Try saying [mmmm], [nnnn], [llll]. Therefore, in the word apple there are two syllables: ap-ple (the second syllable is a sonor consonant — l).
Also, remember, in English vowel e at the end of a word NEVER readable.
Once there is closed syllable, then, accordingly, there is open syllable, but you will learn about it in the following lessons. For now, let’s figure out how unstressed vowels are read in English.
* * *
The rule of reading an unstressed vowel in English
So, as a rule, there is usually one stressed syllable in a word, in which the vowel is read according to the rules, then a logical question arises: how is an unstressed vowel read?
In English there is a universal sound similar to the Russian «e» — [ə]… This is the most common sound, as it is read in all unstressed syllables. This sound is called «Seam». Sometimes it is replaced by the sound [i], as, for example, in the words above.
Exercise 5. Read two-syllable words with learned sounds:
apple, badly, balcony, happy, garden, party, hardly, carpet, dummy, funny, muddy, puppy, lovely, kitty, ditty, mitten, kitten, affect, Betty, heaven [`hevən]
Exercise 6. Finally, memorize a few English phrases:
- Have fun! — Have fun!
- Have tea. — Have some tea.
- Keep fit. — Keep in shape.
- Be happy! — Be happy!
Let’s sum up the results of the eighth lesson from the cycle «Teaching reading in English and pronunciation at the same time», from which you learned and hopefully remembered that:
- words are divided into syllables by the number of vowels;
- closed is a syllable that ends in a consonant;
- in a closed stressed syllable, the vowel is read according to the rules that must be memorized;
- in unstressed syllables, the vowel reads like [ə] or [i]. So, for example, the unstressed letter y at the end of a word it reads like [i].
* * *
And of course you now know how to pronounce sounds [f] и [v] in english is correct.
Lesson 9. Pronunciation of the English vowel [ɒ]. Reading the English letter O in a closed syllable. You will learn how to pronounce the very English sound [ɒ] and how to read the vowel Oo in a closed syllable.
Source: http://englishstory.ru/urok-8-proiznoshenie-soglasnyih-zvukov-f-i-v-ponyatie-o-zakryitom-sloge.html
What are the syllables in English
The English alphabet has six vowels, but individually and in combination with each other, they form more than two dozen sounds, including diphthongs. The reading of a vowel depends on the letters adjacent to it and on the type of syllable in which it is located.
Open syllable
A syllable is considered open if it ends in a vowel (to-tal, ri-val, bi-ble, mo-tor). The vowel in this case gives a long sound — that is, it is read as in the alphabet. Words with a dumb «e» also belong to this type. For example:
- take [teɪk]
- Pete[pi:t]
- kite [kaɪt]
- nose [nəʊz]
- cute [kju: t]
Some monosyllabic words also represent open syllables. For example, me, she, he and no, so, go.
Closed syllable
The closed syllable is the most common spelling unit of the English language; it makes up about 50% of the syllables in the text. A closed syllable ends in one or more consonants, and the vowel is read briefly in this case.
In English, there are many closed-type monosyllabic words (cat, pin, hen). If a suffix starting with a vowel is added to them, the consonant in front of it is doubled. This is done in order to avoid changing the sound. For example:
- hat [hæt] — hatter
- pin [pɪn] — pinned
- hot [hɒt] — hottest
- red [red] — reddish
- cut [kʌt] — cutting
The syllable «vowel + r»
The third type of syllable is one in which the vowel is followed by the letter «r». The vowel makes a long sound, and the «r» itself is unreadable (in British English).
- car [kɑː]
- herb [hɜːb]
- girl [ɡɜːl]
- form [fɔːm]
- turn [tɜːn]
The doubled «r» does not affect the sound of the vowel. In this case, the syllable is read as closed. Compare:
- smirk [sməːk] — mirror [ˈmɪrə]
- curl [kəːl] — current [ˈkʌr (ə) nt]
- port [pɔːt] — torrent [ˈtɒr (ə) nt]
The syllable «vowel + re»
In a syllable of this type, the letter «r» is also not read, and the vowel forms a diphthong.
- dare [deə]
- mere [mɪə]
- hire [ˈhaɪə]
- core [kɔː]
- pure [pjʊə]
The syllable «consonant + le»
Sometimes this syllable stands out separately — it occurs only at the end of a word. If -le is preceded by one consonant, the syllable is read as open. If there are two consonants in front of -le, it is read as closed. Compare:
- table [ˈteɪbl] — dabble [dæbl], title [ˈtaɪtl] — little [ˈlɪtl]
- bugle [bju: gl] — struggle [ˈstrʌɡl], rifle [ˈraɪfl] — sniffle [ˈsnɪfl]
Not every consonant is found in combination with -Le… Here are the ones that are typical for the English language:
- -ble (bubble) -fle (rifle) -stle (whistle) -cle (cycle)
- -gle (bugle) -tle (brittle) -ckle (pickle) -kle (tinkle)
- -zle (dazzle) -dle (bridle) -ple (staple)
Vowel combinations (digraphs)
A digraph is a combination of two letters that are pronounced as one sound. In the case of vowels, it can be a long, short sound or a diphthong. Most often, digraphs are found in old Anglo-Saxon words, the pronunciation of which has undergone changes over hundreds of years: thief, boil, hay, boat, straw. They are read according to special rules, but there are many exceptions to them, so these words need to be learned gradually and systematically.
Basic vowel digraphs
Spelling | Pronunciation | Examples |
ai / ay | [eɪ] | bait, hay |
au / aw | [ɔː] | taunt, draw |
ea | [i:] | meat, deal |
[e] | bread, steady | |
ee | [i:] | feed, reel |
ei | [eɪ] | feint, vein |
[i:] (after c) | ceiling, receive | |
eu / ew | [ju:] | Feud, Strewn |
ie | [i:] | thief, priest |
oa | [əʊ] | coat, goal |
oi / oy | [ɔɪ] | coin, toy |
oo | [u:] | root, food |
[ʊ] (before k) | book, look | |
ou | [aʊ] | loud, noun |
[u:] | soup, ghoul | |
ow | [aʊ] | cow, howl |
[oʊ] | know, low |
Source: https://skyeng.ru/articles/kakie-byvayut-slogi-v-anglijskom-yazyke
Vowels in English: Reading and Sounds — English in 5 Steps
Before teaching you to read vowels in English, I should note that due to its history, English has a sufficient number of exception words from almost every reading rule.
It just doesn’t make sense to list them all, but I offer you, dear readers, the following interactive: remembered the word exception for a particular item — wrote it down in the comments with translation (the most advanced can write with transcription).
Let’s help each other know the language better!
And, of course, I cannot help but warn you: in this rule there will be many transcription icons. Realizing that you are just learning, I duplicate it in Russian letters, but I do not recommend doing this all the time, and in one of the following articles I will explain why. If transcription is still too much for you, here you can make sure it’s not that hard to remember.
Vowels in English: reading open and closed syllables
Syllables are open and closed. An open syllable ends in a vowel. Closed — to a consonant. In this case, consonants work as locks (close a syllable), and vowels as keys (open a syllable). Thus, if there is a vowel after the last consonant in a syllable, the syllable is still considered open.
cat — closed syllable — at the end the consonant letter Tt;
name is an open syllable, because after the consonant «Mm» (lock) there is a vowel «Ee» (key), which, as it were, opens the syllable to us.
Reading vowels
In an open syllable, the stressed vowel is read as in the alphabet, and in a closed syllable it is read short. Each vowel has its own sound for the stressed closed syllable.
If there are two vowels in a stressed syllable, read the first as in an open syllable.
hear — [hiə] — [hia] to hear: the letter Ee is read as in an open syllable, the sound ə gives the buva Rr.
Lean — [li: n] — [liin] — lean against:: the letter Ee is read as in an open syllable
boat — [bout] — [boat] boat: the letter Oo is read as in the alphabet.
The Rr letter and vowels in English
The letter K affects the reading of vowels. So, in a closed syllable before Rr:
EUI vowels are read as [ɜ:] — a sound similar to [ё], only without the [th] overtones at the beginning.
girl — [gɜ: l] — [gol] — girl; burn [bɜ: n] — [ben] -burn; nerd [nɜ: d] — [nёd] -sound.
The vowels O and A stretch: read as [Ͻ:] and [a:]
car — [kа:] — [kаa] car; lord — [lϽ:d] — [lood] lord
All you need is love!
The vowel Aa before the letter Ll at the beginning of a word is often read as [Ͻ:]
always [Ͻ: lweiz] — [olways] -always, also [Ͻ: lsə] — [olso] — also, ball [bϽ: l] — [bol] — ball
Author of the material Kondratenko Anna
Source: https://eng5steps.ru/chtenie-na-angliyskom-glasniye/
Vowels and Sounds — Lesson 2 — English from scratch
Continuing the theme of the previous lesson about the alphabet about letters and sounds, it is worth deepening your knowledge of reading the vowels of the English alphabet. After all, they make up almost half of the total number of all sounds.
General concept of vowel sounds
As mentioned earlier, there are 20 vowel sounds, while there are only 6 vowel letters themselves. This is not easy to put into the understanding of a Russian-speaking person, because there is no such thing in Russian. Wider variety of vowels in the English alphabet — this is his distinguishing feature.
Namely, diphthongs, which are completely alien to Slavic languages, constitute difficulties in learning. But transcription comes to the aid of students — this is a recording of the reading of a word using phonetic symbols denoting a certain sound. That is, every English word in the dictionary is written with a transcription that will tell you exactly how it is read.
It remains only to learn to distinguish and read all sounds.
Reading vowels in open and closed syllables
The reading of vowels depends on their place in the word:
- in the first type of syllable (vowel at the end), the letter is read according to its name in the alphabet,
- in the second (consonant at the end) — as a short sound.
Consider reading all vowels of English letters with transcription:
LetterOpen syllableClosed syllable
Aa [ei] | [ei]
|
[ᴂ]
|
ee[i:] | [i:]
|
[e] |
Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/start/english-from-scratch/2-glasnyye
Reading vowels in English. Reduction. Reduction types
The stress in English falls on the root syllable. English stressed vowels are read depending on what type of syllable they are used in.
In English, there are four types of vowel reading in stressed syllables.
1 type of vowel reading
In this type of reading, the vowels are in open position, that is, the stressed syllable ends with this vowel. Vowels in this case are read in the same way as in the alphabet:
a [ei], o [əu], u [ju:] or [u:] if u is preceded by r or consonant combination + r.
e [i:], i [ai], y [ai]
Cases are possible:
1) The syllable ends with a stressed vowel. it completely open syllable… Examples: go [gəu], me [min ː].
2) After the stressed vowel, there is a consonant (not r), and then comes the «mute» e. It conditionally open syllable… Examples: home[həum], type [taɪp].
3) A stressed vowel is followed by a vowel including «mute» e… Examples: lie[lai], due [djuː].
2 type of vowel reading
In type 2 reading, the vowels are in closed position, that is, the syllable ends in a consonant. In this case, the vowels are read briefly, abruptly:
a [æ], o [ɔ], u [ʌ], e [e], i [i], y [i]
Cases are possible:
1) The vowel is between two consonants. it completely closed syllable… Example: man[mæn],hot[hɔt].
2) Cases completely closed syllablewhen there are two or more consonants after a vowel. Examples: lamp[læmp], rhy
Source: http://enjoy-eng.ru/chtenie-glasnykh-bukv-v-angliiskom-iazyke-reduktciia-tipy-reduktcii
Rules for reading English for beginners, table. Intonation and stress in English
At the initial stage of learning English, you inevitably have to deal with the differences between your native language and a foreign one. Reading in English for beginners, children and adults is usually one of the first steps in learning.
And the first such differences between Russian and English are revealed as soon as you start learning to read in English. You are faced with the transcription and reading rules of the English language.
These two concepts are related, since with the help of transcription we can record and read the sounds that vowels and consonants convey in various combinations. But the reading rules explain exactly how the letters are pronounced in different environments.
There are a lot of reading rules in English, and they relate to both vowels and consonants. In addition, a huge number of words are not read according to the rules, that is, they are exceptions. Therefore, it begins to seem that it is extremely difficult to learn all this.
In fact, the rules of reading need to be learned, but there is no need to memorize them. After doing a few exercises on reading rules, you will already know how exactly the same type of words are read.
In the learning process, when you read and listen to a variety of study materials, the spelling, pronunciation and meaning of new words will be memorized as a whole.
Features of English pronunciation
At first, reading in English for beginners presents some difficulties due to the peculiarities of pronunciation — words are very often pronounced differently than they are spelled. Linguists even have a saying — «We write — Manchester, we pronounce — Liverpool.»
This situation is due to the fact that historically in the English language there existed, and there are still many dialects in which the same letters and letter combinations were read in different ways, which eventually became entrenched in official English. An example is the combination of letters ough.
The words though, through, thought differ by only one letter, and the combination of letters ough is read differently in all words.
The role of transcription in teaching English reading
So, as we have already said, in addition to the numerous rules for reading in English, difficulties arise when mastering the transcription of the English language. Transcription is the recording of speech sounds using special characters.
You should not avoid it, as it is the best assistant in learning a language, which, firstly, will save you time when memorizing new words, and secondly, it will help to avoid mistakes in pronunciation. After all, when you write out or memorize new words, you definitely need to know how they are read correctly.
There are two options for how to do this. The first is to listen to it in some online resource, and the second is to watch the transcription.
Now in some tutorials, as well as on training sites, you can find «English transcription in Russian». It is believed that writing an English word in Russian letters is much easier than learning some incomprehensible phonetic symbols. In fact, this is a delusion.
English phonetics differs from Russian so much that Russian letters can only approximately convey the pronunciation of English words, and mostly the simplest ones, the reading of which even without this kind of «transcription» is not difficult.
Some English sounds in Russian simply do not exist, and the correct pronunciation of English and Russian sounds similar at first glance may have certain differences.
Therefore, we recommend that you take the time to study transcription icons and read sounds. This is one of the basic knowledge in mastering the rules of reading English for beginners. Knowledge of transcription will serve you faithfully at all stages of your learning.
We analyze the rules for reading English
There are different classifications of the rules for reading consonants and vowels in English. For vowels, as a rule, there are 4 types of syllables. These are the 4 types of environment a vowel can find itself in and which affects its pronunciation.
Some textbooks consider only the first two types of syllables — open and closed, but take into account whether the letter r is involved in these types of syllables — since it affects the reading of vowels. Consonants in different combinations can also be read differently.
I must say that the number of exceptions and variants of reading the same letter combinations in different words give reason to consider the reading rules rather general recommendations that should be studied before starting to read.
To familiarize yourself with the rules of reading in English, we suggest that you take as a basis the tables with options for reading letters, which are given in his textbook for children “English. 1-4 grades in diagrams and tables «N.Vakulenko.
These English reading rules for children cover almost every possible reading of vowels and consonants in English.
But before we go directly to the tables, we will deal with two more concepts that you will surely come across when you get acquainted with the reading rules. it open и closed syllable.
The syllable is called openWhen
- ends in a vowel and is the last in a word
- the vowel is followed by a consonant and then a vowel again
- the vowel is followed by another vowel
Examples of words with an open type of syllable (you can listen with sound):
age, blue, bye, fly, go
The syllable is called closedWhen
- ends in a consonant and is the last in a word
- the vowel is followed by several consonants
Examples of words with a closed type of syllable:
bed, big, box, hungry, stand
So, let’s formulate the rules for reading English for beginners: tables for reading vowels and consonants.
Vowel reading tables
A | |
A [ei] — in an open syllable | lake, make |
A [æ] — in a closed syllable | rat, map |
A [a:] — in a closed syllable on r | car, bar |
A [εə] — at the end of a word vowel + re | care, fare |
A [ɔ:] — combinations all, au | all, tall |
O | |
O [əu] — in an open syllable | no, home |
O [ɒ] — in a closed stressed syllable | lot, boss |
O [ɜ:] — in some words with «wor» | word, work |
O [ɔ:] — in a closed syllable with r | horse, door |
O [u:] — in combination «oo» | too, food |
O [u] — in combination «oo» | good look |
O [aʊ] — in combination «ow» in the stressed syllable | Now, CLOWN |
O [ɔɪ] — in combination «oy» | boy, joy |
U | |
U [yu:], [yu] — in an open syllable | blue, duty |
U [ʌ] — in a closed syllable | butter, cup |
U [u] — in a closed syllable | put, bull |
U [ɜ:] — in combination «ur» | Purse, hurt |
E | |
E [i:] — in an open syllable, a combination of «ee», «ea» | he, meet, leaf |
E [e] — in a closed syllable, combination «ead» | head, bread |
E [ɜ:] — in combinations «er», «ear» | her, pearl |
E [ɪə] — in ear combinations | near, dear |
I | |
i [aɪ] — in an open syllable | nice, fine |
i [aɪ] — in combination «igh» | high, night |
i [ɪ] — in a closed syllable | big, in |
i [ɜ:] — in combination «ir» | bird girl |
i [aɪə] — in combination «ire» | hire, tired |
Y | |
Y [aɪ] — at the end of a word under stress | my cry |
Y [ɪ] — at the end of a word without stress | happy family |
Y [j] — at the beginning of a word | yes, yellow |
Consonant reading tables
С | |
C [s] — before i, e, y | Place, Cinema |
C [tʃ] — in combinations ch, tch | children, catch |
C [k] — in other cases | cat, picnic |
Source: https://lim-english.com/posts/pravila-chteniya-angliiskogo-yazika-dlya-nachinaushih/
Open and closed syllables in English — vowel reading tables
Consider an open and closed syllable in English. As you already understood, the reading of vowels in English is closely related to this concept.
The main trick here is that vowels can be pronounced differently depending on which syllable they are in. In English, there are two syllables in total: open and closed.
Open syllable in English
What is open syllable? This is the syllable that ends in a vowel (more often this е, but it itself is not pronounced). In such a syllable, vowels are read only as they are named in the alphabet (see table 1).
Table # 1. Open syllable in English Vowel (listen) Transcription
A a | [eɪ] | Hey |
E e | [iː] | long and |
I and | [aɪ] | ouch |
The o | [əʊ] | OU |
U u | [ju:] | long y |
Y y y | [wai] | wye |
examples:
me [MAnd:] «to me»;
nice [HAIC] «pleasant»;
sky [SKAI] «sky»;
soda [COУDE] «carbonated drink».
Closed syllable in English
Finally, consider the vowels in a closed syllable… Here their pronunciation may seem more familiar to you, perhaps, with the exception of the letter uwhich is pronounced like a sound like [A]. A letter a — [E] (see table # 2).
Table 2. Closed syllable in English (listen in the examples below the table) Vowel letter Transcription Russian pronunciation
A a | [æ] | э |
E e | [e] | э |
I and | [ɪ] | и |
The o | [ɔ] | о |
U u | [ʌ] | а |
examples:
lip [LИP] «lip»;
but [BАT] «but»;
pet [PЭT] «pet»;
hot [XОT] «hot».
Note: Consonants at the end of words in a closed syllable are not stunned, as in Russian. So, we write «horn» and we say [ROCK]. There is no such thing in English, otherwise there would be confusion:
mad [MEД] «Crazy» — mat [MEТ] «rug».
Combinations of letters with the letter require special attention. r (see table # 3):
Table 3. Closed syllable. Letter combinations with rCombination vowel + r (listen) Transcription
ar | [ɑː] | long a |
er | [ɜː] | long yo |
urr | [ɜː] | long yo |
or | [ɔ:] | long about |
ur | [ɜː] | long yo |
yr | [ɜː] | long yo |
Examples of words with syllables from the table:
bar [BA:] «bar»;
her [Hyo:] «her»
fir [ФЁ:] «fir-tree»;
for [FO:] «for»;
fur [FOO:] «wool»;
Byrne [BYO: N] «Byrne» (proper name).
The letter itself r not pronounced, and the vowel in front of it is pronounced for a long time.
Source: https://englishforeducation.ru/otkrytyj-i-zakrytyj-slog-v-anglijskom-yazyke.html
English Sounds: The Complete Guide to Reading and Pronunciation
This article will help you understand the features of the pronunciation of English sounds, and what combinations of letters they can be expressed in writing.
For a more detailed study of the rules for reading words in English, use our «Reading Rules Guide».
English pronunciation
English often sounds more dynamic compared to smoother Russian. It is a little faster (about 10% — 15%, according to various studies), and sometimes it seems to us that not all words are pronounced in fast speech.
Despite the fact that the languages come from the same Indo-European family — which means that they are based on the same pronunciation system — there are a number of significant differences in the pronunciation of Russian and English sounds, words and phrases.
English has more vowel sounds than Russian. They are usually pronounced with less lip strain.
We have 6 of them: [a], [y], [o], [e], [and], [s], in English there are 12 of them: / ɪ /, / ɪː /, / ʌ /, / ɑː / , / æ /, / ɛ /, / ɜː /, / ɒ /, / ɔː /, / ʊ /, / ʊː /, / ə /.
English sounds generally come in two flavors:
short and long: / ɪ / and / ɪː /, / ɒ / and / ɔː /, / ʊ / and / ʊː / light and deeper: / ʌ / and / ɑː /
open and closed: / æ / and / ɛ /
Unique English vowel sounds:
/ æ/ Is a cross between A and E
/ ɜː / (soft O) — a cross between O and Yo
/ Ə / — weak schwa (extremely weak sound, a cross between A, O, E — pronounced in most unstressed syllables).
In English, our compound vowel sounds e [ye], yo [yo], yu [yu], i [ya] are absent, but there are diphthongs
English diphthongs are double sounds / aɪ / (time), / eɪ / (space), / ɔɪ / (boil) / ɛə / (care), / əʊ / (know) / aʊ / (now) / ɪə / (fear), and / ʊə / (priest).
The first diphthong sound is pronounced more clearly than the second. That is why we often have a hard time hearing or confuse words with diphthongs when listening.
English consonants often differ in their pronunciation, even sounds similar to Russian
In Russian there are as many as 36 consonant sounds (with 21 letters), but in English there are only 24. It is important to remember that even such sounds (for example, / p / or / d / pronounced differently than in Russian — see the table below for details).
Unique English consonant sounds:
/ w / — semi-vowel sound, a cross between U and B
/ ð / и / θ / — interdental sound (voiceless and voiced variations), a cross between B and Z (F and C in a voiceless variation)
/ ŋ / — nasal H
The main difference between the pronunciation of Russian and English consonants is that in Russian we often deafen the final consonants (for example, year and goth may sound the same), but English doesn’t. It is important to remember this, as we can confuse pairs of words (for example, bed — bet) and it is difficult to hear final consonants.
Also, the so-called «Clusters» — combinations of several consonants inside or at the joints of words. Words like three, sixth and others can cause pronunciation problems.
I recommend using the interactive sound table or the Cambridge mobile app to practice pronunciation and accent.
The same letter can represent several sounds, depending on the position in the word
The biggest challenge in learning English is mastering its reading rules.
Despite the fact that there are only 26 letters in the English alphabet (in contrast to the Russian 33), learning to read words and phrases in English is not so easy.
1 / Vowel sounds in the alphabet have a so-called «open» pronunciation, which is different from other European languages.
How to read the sounds of the English alphabet
2 / Vowel sounds in stressed words are read differently, depending on the type of syllable in which they stand.
3 / Unstressed vowel sounds are pronounced with a very weak sound schwa / ə /.
This sound is so weak that we often simply cannot hear it. In our English pronunciation, we often pronounce it too intensely.
For example, a word vegetable pronounced not VEDGETABL with the same intensity of all sounds, but / vedʒt (ə) b (ə) l /, that is, after a clear stressed syllable VE, there are reduced syllables, all the sounds of which are read with schwa, and they are almost inaudible (and often not at all).
I will tell you more about this feature of English stress in the article «How to learn to understand English by ear».
4 / Many vowels and consonants in writing are indicated by letter combinations that need to be remembered.
Errors in pronunciation lead to problems with listening to fast English speech. I recommend purchasing our «The Complete Guide to Reading Rules»… It will help fill in the gaps in your knowledge of pronunciation rules and help you avoid common mistakes.
Pronunciation and reading of vowels
Sound | Pronunciation feature | Typical combinations | Exception words |
/ Ə / | A weak unstressed sound is a cross between a very weak A and E | Any vowel without stress, mostly a, o, u, e | |
/ ɪ / | «And short» Lips are slightly stretched in a semi-smile, tongue in front of the mouth. We pronounce light I. | i in a closed syllableif, film,hise in endingsdancees, started | owomeneEnglish, decideawantsage, chocolateate |
/ ɪː / | «And long» Lips are slightly stretched, tongue in front of the mouth. We pronounce a long I. We do not strain our lips. | eesee,sleepmost words with easea, RESPONSIVEead, eat,pleasee in open syllabletree, be,these | i under stress in borrowed wordsdoine, policeiefie |
Source: https://stordar.ru/angliiskie-zvuki/
How to quickly learn to read English from scratch on your own. Tips for English learners
When you study a foreign language, you learn not only a set of vocabulary and grammar, you in any case come across the culture and peculiarities of the mentality of the people who speak this language. The best way to learn language and culture is reading in original … And in order to read in a foreign language, you must first learn to read in that language.
You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. You can just get people to stop reading them.
~ Ray Bradbury
Does it exist an easy way to learn to read English ? If you studied English at school, you should have gotten an idea of how English letters are read, you know what transcription is and how basic letter combinations are read. If your level is not beginner, but for example intermediate, then you will be interested in the article «Books in English for intermediate level»
But, if at school or university you studied German or French, or your school base turned out to be smaller than you would like, and now you have decided to learn English, then let’s start with the very primary and basic and learn a few methods of where to start in order to master reading rules.
English alphabet
I think you know that English is different from Russian and German, in which we basically read and write. In English, the system is a little more complicated. The very first thing we need to do is learn the alphabet.
The English alphabet has 26 letters, including 21 consonants and 5 vowels. Knowledge of letters and the ability to pronounce them correctly is the key to successful and competent reading in English.
English alphabet with transcription of the names of letters.
A very easy way to memorize letters visually and by ear is with the help of a song. Watch the video and sing the song until you memorize the letters of the alphabet.
You can use the same method to teach the alphabet to your children and sing along with your little ones.
After studying the alphabet, let’s start learning the combination of letters and reading short words. There are a number of rules in English that you need to learn, practice and remember if you want to read English words correctly.
The same letter can be read in different ways, depending on the letters that surround it, as well as whether it is closed or open syllable.
Rules for reading English consonants
Many consonants read similarly to Russian consonants, such as letters m, n, l, b, f, z … You can see it in words like mom, lemon, finger, boy, zebra.
Letters such as t и d sound similar, but pronounced with aspirated… For example, the words table, teacher, dad, dirty.
Letter c has two reading options. Before letters i, e, y it reads like [s]— city, face, cyber. And before the rest of the vowels it reads like [k]— cat, cake, factory.
The vowel rule i, e, y works with the letter g… In front of them, it reads like [dʒ]— gym, George, giant. Before other consonants, the letter is read as [g].
Letter q always occurs in a combination of letters qu and reads like [kW]— quick, queen, square.
Letter j always reads like [dʒ]— jacket, jam, joy.
Table of the ratio of consonants and sounds in English.
How vowels are read in English
In English, a word can end in an open or closed syllable, which affects pronunciation. For example, the words cat, pot, sit end in a closed syllable and have vowels a, o, i give sounds [a, o, i].
Words such as name, home, five end with an open syllable, since there is a letter at the end of the word ewhich is not readable. But, thanks to her, the vowels in the middle of the word are read in the same way as they are pronounced in the alphabet, that is, the word name is read [neɪm].
Types of English vowel reading in stressed syllables.
Reading vowel combinations in English
There are certain combinations of letters that have well-established rules for reading, although English is the language of exceptions, and when reading more complex words, you should refer to the dictionary. The table below shows English vowel combinations with examples how they are read and how they sound.
Table of combinations of vowels in English.
And of course, there are exceptions to all the rules. However, do not worry and think that you will never be able to learn it. Everything can be understood, you just have to try a little and practice.
English diphthongs with transcription
When you learn the basic rules of reading, you will see that there are diphthong sounds that are quite difficult to reproduce in English, especially if you start learning the language not from childhood, but in adulthood.
Table of English diphthongs with transcription.
Transcription of sounds in English
Practice shows that when children learn a language, they must necessarily learn transcription, while adults do not want to learn it and it can be difficult for them.
If you still want to learn how to write and read the transcription, then great! And if not, then you can use online dictionaries where the word will be pronounced for you. One of the best dictionaries today is Multitran and the Lingvo online dictionary.
Remember to use dictionaries, not translators!
Here’s an example of reading short words with transcription:
English vowel table and transcription.
There are some advantages to being in the internet age. Sitting at home, you can learn a variety of knowledge online. For your attention video tutorial, which explains the basic principles of reading. Nevertheless, even having received knowledge through an online lesson, they need to be consolidated in order to form a skill.
In this section, we want to share with you the experience that was gained in practice, teaching students of different levels. These tips have proven their effectiveness and usefulness in language learning. They can be used for beginner to advanced levels. Use)
Learn English tongue twisters
Here tongue twisters, which are often aimed at practicing one sound, can help you. Here are some examples you can use.
English translation
Source: https://ienglish.ru/blog/interesno-ob-angliiskom/kak-viuchit-angliiskiy-bistro-samomu/kak-bistro-nauchitsia-chitat-po-angliiski
Vowel english letters
The phonetic system of many European languages is generally of the same type, has a certain structure.
Of course, intonation plays a big role in the pronunciation of vowels in English words. There are certain rules for running it up and down, as well as for individual turns, for example, there is and there are.
However, in the phonology of the English language, the presentation of the English letters and their corresponding phonemes is in order.
Let’s try to process and structure the existing extensive material for compact and easy assimilation, applying the principle of comparative studies — comparison with the phonetics of the Russian language where possible.
There are 6 vowels in English:
If you look closely at the uppercase and lowercase versions of the same letter, you will notice that vowels such as O and U have identical spellings.
Vowel transcription in English
Absolutely everyone who has come across the study of English phonetics has difficulty in correctly understanding the transcription of vowel sounds.
The fact is that in the transcriptional embodiment, the pronunciation of English vowels is not similar to the pronunciation of, for example, identical Russian vowels. This circumstance is primarily due to the different history of origin.
So, the system of English vowel phonemes goes back to diphthongic combinations of sounds.
For reference: diphthongic combinations (diphthongs) are a combination of two or more sounds. In this case, they can have different overtones and are designated by one letter.
Graphically transcribed sound is indicated by enclosing it either in square brackets ([]) or in oblique brackets (/ /)
Consider the transcription of English letters:
Letter | Designated sound |
— A a | [ei] |
— E e | [i:] * |
— I i | [ai] |
— O o | [Where] |
— U u | [ju:] |
— Y y | [wai] |
The sign «:», standing after the vowel sound, denotes the so-called longitude. This means that the sound needs to be pronounced continued, somewhat lingeringly.
Rules for reading vowels in English
However, the table above does not yet indicate that all sounds denoted by five English letters are transcribed in the same way.
As you know, there are only six vowels, but the sounds that can graphically represent these letters are much more — about 24.
To learn the rules for reading such sounds, scientists came to the conclusion that the reading of vowels depends on the type of syllable.
There are two types of syllables:
Speaking about the openness / closedness of a syllable, it should be understood that this is an organized phonetic system of phonemes in one word in a peculiar way.
A word can have from one to several syllables, and both open and closed can be present. According to statistics, almost all English words end with a closed syllable.
The theory of dividing a word into syllables in almost all languages is based precisely on vowels. When studying our native language, we always say to ourselves or out loud when we have to divide a word into syllables: «How many vowels there are in a word, so many syllables.» This really fits well with the division into syllables of English words.
So, to determine the number of syllables in a syllable:
- find vowels in the word,
- mentally or graphically draw vertical bars after each vowel. How many cut-off sectors will turn out — there are so many syllables in the word.
For example, let’s take the word independent:
- count the vowels: 4 (i, e, e, e)
- draw perpendicular lines: in-de-pen-dent
- there were also 4 segments, hence 4 syllables containing 4 vowels.
Vowel letters in open syllable type
An open syllable is a syllable that either consists of one vowel or ends in a vowel.
For example: in the word bar there is only one syllable, in the word ru-ler there are two syllables, the first of them is an open syllable, since it ends in the vowel u.
English vowels should be read in an open type of syllable as in the alphabet:
Letter | Designated sound |
— A a | [ei] |
— E e | [i:] |
— I i | [ai] |
— O o | [Where] |
— U u | [ju:] |
— Y y | [wai] |
Closed vowels
A closed syllable is a syllable ending in a consonant.
For example: in the word book — one syllable, ends with a consonant k, in the word dif-fi-cult — three syllables, the first and third of them are closed (in f and t), the second is open.
Features of the pronunciation of vowels in English
The vowels are read differently depending on the type of syllable. The letter R r stands apart in the reading rules. It greatly influences reading in both syllables.
For example, in the open type of syllable, the sound [r] seems to merge with the diphthong and sounds neutral — [ǝ]. And in the closed type, the so-called short vowels are combined with a semi-consonant sound [r].
It turns out this combination:
- [A] — [a:],
- [ɔ] — [ɔ:],
- [e], [I], [at] — [ǝ:].
That is, the short ones turn into long ones.
As for the rules for reading stressed vowels in a syllable, the letters u, a, o acquire the ability to reduce (that is, become super-short) and even drop out completely. The sound is neutral [ǝ].
For example: in words like sofa [‘soufǝ] or today [tǝ’dei]. Letters i, e, y, when reduced, pronounced as a sound [i]. For example: enemy [‘enimi].
If the vowel is unstressed, then the corresponding vowel sound can manifest itself in the fact that its length is shortened. Therefore, one can often observe (especially in colloquial speech) how pronouns she, he, we, me often not pronounced with a long [i:]and with a short [I].
Also, the absolute dropout of sounds (when it is not heard at all) can be observed in examples such as: lesson [‘lesn], open [‘ oupn], pencil [‘pensl].
Short vowels in English, examples
Before characterizing short and long vowels, it should be noted that they differ from each other not only in the time of pronunciation, but in articulation — by the means of the oral cavity that are involved in their formation.
Under stress, vowel sounds are read in a truncated form, that is, they are closely adjacent to the consonant sound following them.
Brief sounds (otherwise — reduced sounds) may differ in quality and quantity. Basically, they manifest themselves in prepositions and other official parts of speech.
There they are usually unstressed, so theoretically they cannot assume longitude. But depending on the pronunciation situation, they can be pronounced lingeringly or when emphasized in a rhythmic manner (phrasal stress).
Qualitative reduction is a weakening of a vowel, accompanied by a change in its quality and transformation into a sound of a neutral type.
Quantitative reduction is accompanied by a reduction in the duration of the vowel sound.
There is also a reduction of zero (full) when the vowel drops out completely.
Thus, all reduced forms can be called weak.
For example:
weak forms — you [ju ·, ju], at [әt].
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Long vowels in English, examples
There are much more long vowel sounds in the language. For the most part, they are pronounced in monophthongs — the articulation does not change during the entire duration of the sound.
As already mentioned, in transcription such vowels are denoted by the «:» sign.
For example:
- Good [gu: d]
- Arduous [a: djues]
- Green [gri: n]
Diphthongs in English, examples
Diphthongs (or two-vowel sounds) are not peculiar to the Russian language, therefore it is not so easy to assimilate them.
They are such complex (composite) sounds that consist of two vowel sounds that must be pronounced as closely as possible. It turns out that the two sounds simply merge into one.
The percussive and syllabic sound is the first of the sounds to be merged. This is the core of the diphthong. The second vowel in the diphthong is called a glide. It complements the core, makes the combination more harmonious and easier to pronounce.
Due to the fact that the core is a long sound, and the glide is short, the pronunciation of the diphthong in terms of the degree of expenditure of pronunciation efforts and duration is approximately equal to the classical English monophthong. Although, in general, we can say that diphthongs are pronounced not long, but drawn out.
Affects the pronunciation of the diphthong and the position in the word in relation to the consonants. So, before voiced consonants, it is pronounced shortly, and if the consonant is voiceless, then very briefly
For example: sofa (influenced by a voiceless consonant f).
English diphthong table
So, there are 8 diphthongs: [ai] [ei] [iə] [eə] [ͻi] [ʊə] [əʊ] [aʊ].
They are read more than clearly — as in the above transcription. However, there are words, such as dear (dear) and deer (deer), in which the vowel combinations ea and ee are pronounced the same — [iə].
Such cases must be memorized. Thus, we see that phonemic difficulties in English lie in wait for the learner at every step.
There can be only one advice: compiling for yourself a «cheat sheet» with tables of English vowels, as well as tireless practice in the pronunciation of sounds. This can be achieved by reading texts aloud.
It is best to ask an experienced tutor about the correct pronunciation of certain vowels or diphthongs, who will carefully and painstakingly show how certain sounds are pronounced in various types of syllables.
Source: https://eng911.ru/rules/alphabet/glasnye-bukvy-v-anglijskom.html
I wrote this simple Python script to analyze the official Scrabble dictionary for words that contain each of the vowels and the letter ‘y’, as you requested:
vowels = set('aeiouy')
with open('TWL06.txt') as file:
for line in file:
word = line.strip().lower()
letters = set(word)
if vowels <= letters:
print word
The result is below, sorted alphabetically (156 words).
I did the same thing, but omitted ‘y’. You can see those results (1905 words) here: http://www.michaelfogleman.com/static/files/vowels.txt
abstemiously
actinomycetous
adventitiously
aeronautically
ambidextrously
aneuploidy
antiregulatory
audiometry
authoritatively
autoeciously
autotetraploidy
autotypies
basidiomycetous
bimolecularly
buoyancies
cleistogamously
coeducationally
coequality
coevolutionary
communicatively
conceptuality
consequentially
consuetudinary
corynebacterium
coulometrically
countercyclical
counterrallying
cyanobacterium
cytomegalovirus
daguerreotypies
daguerreotyping
daguerreotypist
delusionary
denunciatory
devolutionary
documentarily
educationally
efficaciously
elocutionary
encouragingly
equationally
equilibratory
equivocality
equivocally
eudiometrically
eugeosynclinal
eukaryotic
eulogistically
euphonically
euphorically
evolutionarily
evolutionary
exclusionary
facetiously
gelatinously
genitourinary
gesticulatory
grandiloquently
gregariously
hellaciously
heterosexuality
homosexuality
hyaluronidase
hyaluronidases
hypercautious
hyperfastidious
hyperfunctional
ichthyofaunae
immunoassayable
immunotherapy
importunately
incommensurably
inefficaciously
instantaneously
insubordinately
insurrectionary
intravenously
magniloquently
mendaciously
miscellaneously
monumentality
mouthwateringly
mycobacterium
nefariously
neurofibrillary
neurogenically
neurologically
neuropathically
neuropsychiatry
neuroradiology
neurotically
oleaginously
ostentatiously
outwearying
overmaturity
oxyuriases
paramyxoviruses
perspicaciously
pertinaciously
phenylketonuria
phenylthiourea
phenylthioureas
pneumatolytic
polybutadiene
polybutadienes
praseodymium
praseodymiums
precariously
precautionary
psychosexuality
questionably
questionary
radiolucency
renunciatory
revolutionarily
revolutionary
sacrilegiously
semidocumentary
sequaciously
simultaneously
subordinately
subventionary
subversionary
successionally
sulfinpyrazone
sulfinpyrazones
superloyalist
superloyalists
supermajority
supernormality
supersonically
tautonymies
temerariously
tenaciously
turbomachinery
uncomplimentary
uncongeniality
uncopyrightable
unemotionally
unemployability
unequivocably
unequivocally
unexceptionably
unextraordinary
uninformatively
unintentionally
unquestionably
unreasoningly
unrecognizably
unrevolutionary
ventriloquially
veraciously
vexatiously
vituperatory
volumetrically
voyeuristically
A vowel is a letter that represents a sound produced in a way. The vowels in English language are a, e, i, o, u and y few times. The list of vowel words for scrabble, words with friends and other word games is here. Players can obtain words as per their choices by using Word Finder and Unscramble Words Tools. Just give the required information and hit the search words button.
Short and Long Vowel Words in English
In general, people can get frustrated when they see all words with only vowels. Adding consonants to the vowels makes sense. The combination of vowels and consonants can make successful at crossword games. If you need ranks, then go for vowels and consonants combination.
The list of various Vowel Words are included here:
2 Letter Vowel Words
- Ay
- Oy
- Ya
- Ye
- Yi
- Yo
- Ou
- Aa
- Ae
- Ai
- Ee
- Eo
- Io
- Oe
- Oi
- Oo
3 Letter Words
- Yay
- You
- Aye
- Eye
- Yea
- Eau
4 Letter Words
- Yoyo
Short A Words
Short “a” words are pronounced like the “a” vowel is in “cat” or “tag”.
Short “a” words include:
- Ab
- Apt
- Fab
- Cab
- Tab
- Jab
- Gab
- Lab
- Nab
- Dab
- Crab
- Slab
- Fad
- Dad
- Lad
- Pad
- Sad
- Mad
- Rad
- Tad
- Bad
- Gas
- Cap
- Lap
- Tap
- Map
- Gap
- Rap
- Nap
- Zap
- App
- Slap
- Clap
- Fan
- Van
- Man
- Tan
- Ran
- Pan
- Ban
- Glass
- Mass
- Class
- Sass
- Fast
- Mast
- Past
- Ramp
- Stamp
- Lamp
- Damp
- Hand
- Band
- Stand
- Snack
- Shack
- Lack
- Knack
- Hack
- Slack
- Pack
- Rack
- Back
- Tack
- Stack
- Smack
- Quack
- Rat
- Mat
- Pat
- Fat
- Hat
- Cat
- Chat
- Slat
Short E Words
Short “e” words are pronounced like the “e” vowel is in “beg” or “led”.
Short “e” words include:
- Red
- Med
- Led
- Fed
- Sled
- Bed
- Head
- Tread
- Jet
- Met
- Net
- Wet
- Set
- Yet
- Tent
- Cent
- Pent
- Lent
- Rent
- Dent
- Scent
- Men
- Hen
- Ten
- Lense
- Sense
- Dense
- Defense
- Spend
- Lend
- Mend
- Tend
- End
- Defend
- Trend
- Send
- Fell
- Smell
- Tell
- Well
- Yell
- Hell
- Web
- Vest
- Test
- West
- Jest
- Rest
- Pest
- Chest
- Lest
Short I Words
Short “i” words are pronounced like the “i” vowel is in “bit” or “din”.
Short “i” words include:
- Rid
- Mid
- Lid
- Id
- Kid
- Hid
- Bid
- Lip
- Clip
- Sip
- Rip
- Tip
- Nip
- Dip
- Whip
- Big
- Wig
- Pig
- Hit
- Bit
- Writ
- Lit
- Fit
- Sit
- Pit
- Nit
- Mitt
- Silk
- Milk
- Win
- Tin
- Twin
- Pin
- Lint
- Glint
- Flint
- Mint
- Fill
- Pill
- Till
- Hill
- Gill
- Dill
- Mill
- Bill
- Chill
- Sill
- Will
- Nil
- Rim
- Dim
- Whim
- Trim
- Fib
- Rib
- Sib
- Whip
- Thick
- Quick
- Sick
- Stick
- Pick
- Lick
- Trick
- Slick
- Quit
Short O Words
Short “o” words are pronounced like the “o” vowel is in “hot” or “job”.
Short “o” words include:
- Cod
- Rod
- God
- Bod
- Pod
- Nod
- Odd
- Off
- Jot
- Pot
- Cot
- Rot
- Tot
- Dot
- Hot
- Not
- Lot
- Got
- Clot
- Trot
- Blot
- Nob
- Job
- Mob
- Rob
- Sob
- Lob
- Cob
- Box
- Ox
- Pox
- Rock
- Sock
- Mock
- Knock
- Lock
- Dock
- Log
- Dog
- Bog
- Hog
- Cog
- On
- Pond
- Con
- Don
- Stop
- Shop
- Drop
- Cop
- Mop
- Hop
- Bop
- Sop
- Top
- Plop
- Mom
Short U Words
Short “u” words are pronounced like the “u” vowel is in “bug” or “rut”.
Short “u” words include:
- Sub
- Tub
- Pub
- Rub
- Dub
- Cub
- Hub
- Nub
- Mud
- Dud
- Sud
- Bud
- Cut
- Rut
- But
- Gut
- Nut
- Jut
- Mutt
- Rum
- Chum
- Bum
- Gum
- Lump
- Jump
- Pump
- Plump
- Trump
- Rump
- Dump
- Bump
- Cuff
- puff
- Hug
- Mug
- Rug
- Tug
- Dug
- Bug
- Gun
- Bun
- Sun
- Fun
- Pun
- Run
- Crust
- Rust
- Dust
- Must
- Lust
- Trust
- Cuss
- Muss
- Fuss
- Bus
- Runt
- Punt
- Hunt
- Fund
FAQ’s on Vowel Words
1. What are the rules of vowels?
Every syllable of every word has at least 1 vowel sound. A vowel can stand alone in a syllable. It can also be surrounded by consonants.
2. Why vowels are important?
Vowels act as a basis for reading and writing English. Try to string a line of consonants and ask your friends to make sense of what they see. They will realize that vowels give meanings to words and generate patterns that assist their ability to read correctly.
3. Which word has all 6 vowels?
The unique word which has all 6 vowels is aeriously.
4. What are 5 vowels in English?
Five vowels in English are A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y.
Conclusion
We are hoping that the information enclosed here about Vowel Words is helpful for the students in some or another way. Keep in touch with our site to know more updates on Word Finder.
Vowel Words FAQ
1. What words use all five vowels?
Unfortunately, most of the words that contain all five vowels are too long to be useful in Scrabble and Words With Friends. They include unequivocally, abstemious, and unquestionably. Eulogia, miaoued, and miauos all use all five vowels and are eminently playable.
2. Are there five or seven vowels?
When it comes to speaking, there could be as many as 20! Even in writing, there could be more than A—E—I—O—U—Y—W. Archaeology, for example, could treat the ae as a single vowel similar to the ä in German. Generally, for crossword games, A—E—I—O—U are considered vowels, and the other letters are considered consonants.
3. What is the longest word that consists of only vowels?
The words with only A—E—I—O—U that are legal to play are all short vowel words of two or three letters. Examples include aa, ae, and eau. If you include Y, then you can get long vowel words like ayaya. You might read about other long vowel words, like a medieval musical term, euouae, but these are not legal in the Official Scrabble Players’ Dictionary.
So you got stuck with a rack of tiles with ONLY vowels?! Don’t fear! Learn this list of words with only vowels to help you out. A complete list of Scrabble and WWF words made with all vowels.
More Word Lists Here!
All vowel words
- AA
- AE
- AI
- AIA
- EA
- EAU
- EE
- EUOI
- EUOUAE
- IO
- OE
- OI
- OO
- OU
Please let us know if you think a word is missing! Occasionally new words are added to the official player dictionaries.