Saying every word correctly is not enough to sound natural. Learn which words get the stress, where to pause, how your voice goes up and down, and how words connect when you speak.
This is a sentence with all the marks. By the end of this page, you will be able to read every one of them.
About the audio
All the audio on this page comes from the American English voice of your device (text-to-speech). There are no audio files, so every example, line and exercise can play.
Listen as many times as you want. Play one example, one line of the dialogue, or the full dialogue.
See what is playing. The button that is playing turns coral with moving bars, and the line is highlighted. Tap it again to stop.
Change the speed. Use Slow to follow the marks and Normal for shadowing.
One voice for each character. Laura has a female voice and Marco has a male voice. If your device has no male English voice, Marco uses the same voice with a lower pitch.
Intonation and linking. The browser voice is a guide. Sometimes it rises, falls or links words less than a real person. If you are not sure, follow the arrows and marks on the page.
Works best in Chrome, Edge or Safari. The voice can be different on each device. No sound? Check the volume and the silent mode of your phone.
Your browser has no English voice available. Try Chrome, Edge or Safari to hear the audio.
Bold = content wordsLight = function wordsUnderline = main stress = thought group↘ falling→ neutral↗ rising‿ = linking
1
Content words and function words
In English, not all words have the same weight. Some carry the message and are strong. Others just connect the message and are quick and soft.
Content words: the message
Stronger, longer and clearer.
Nouns: client, report, meeting
Main verbs: call, send, need
Adjectives and adverbs: quick, great, tomorrow
Wh- words: what, where, why
Negatives: not, can't, don't
Function words: the glue
Quick and soft. Their vowel usually reduces to /ə/.
Articles: a, an, the
Prepositions: to, for, of, at, in
Pronouns: I, you, it, them
Auxiliary verbs: do, can, have, is, are
Conjunctions: and, but, or
The text message test: if you read only the content words, you still get the message: need, call, client, tomorrow. That is why native listeners focus on them.
Practice 1
Tap the content words in each sentence. Then tap Check.
2
Main stress: the word you hear the most
In every group of words, one word stands out: the main stress. Your voice goes up or changes on it, and the syllable gets longer.
Basic rule: it is usually the last content word in the group.
When it changes
When you correct or contrast something, the stress moves to the new information:
In compound nouns, the stress goes on the first word:
Practice 2
Listen and tap the word with the main stress.
3
Thought groups: speaking in chunks
Native speakers do not speak word by word. They speak in chunks of meaning. There is a short pause between chunks, and each chunk has its own main stress.
Groups usually break at commas, before a new idea (and, but, because, when, if) and around extra information.
Common mistake: breaking in the middle of a chunk (When I got | to the office the meeting…). It sounds choppy, even when every word is pronounced well.
Practice 3
Choose the most natural way to divide the sentence into thought groups.
4
Intonation: where your voice goes
At the end of each group, your voice falls, rises or stays up. This tells the listener if you are finished, asking a question, or going to continue.
↘ Falling
Statements, wh- questions and instructions. It sounds sure and finished.
↗ Rising
Yes/no questions, surprise, and checking information.
→ Neutral: it stays up
You are not finished yet: before another group, in lists, and after words like Honestly, Well, So.
Be careful: in Spanish, we often raise our voice at the end of everything. In English, a statement that rises sounds unsure or like a question.
Practice 4
Listen to each sentence and decide: does the voice fall or rise at the end?
5
Linking: words connect
When we speak, the end of one word connects to the start of the next. That is why you sometimes hear one long word where there are three. These are the five most common cases.
Consonant + vowel
The final consonant jumps to the next word.
sounds like: tur-ni-toff
sounds like: che-ki-tout
Same consonant
You say it only once, a little longer.
sounds like: nex-time
sounds like: a ba-day
Vowel + vowel
A bridge sound appears: /w/ or /y/.
sounds like: go-won
sounds like: ai-yagree
t / d + you
They blend into a /ch/ or /j/ sound.
sounds like: di-jyu finish
sounds like: wu-jyu like
Weak forms
Function words that almost disappear: to, for, and, of, can.
sounds like: salt-ən-pepper
sounds like: a cu-pə coffee
Practice 5
Listen and choose how it really sounds.
6
Putting it all together: the dialogue
Laura needs help with a presentation, so she asks Marco. Listen with the marks, repeat each line, and then hide the marks.
Bold = content wordsLight = function wordsUnderline = main stress = thought group↘ falling→ neutral↗ rising‿ = linking
How to practice
Listen to the full dialogue in Slow mode and follow the marks.
Play each line and repeat it out loud. Copy the stress, the pauses and the intonation.
Hide the marks and read the dialogue on your own, with the same pauses and linking.
Change to Normal speed and speak at the same time as the audio (shadowing).
7
Fill in and personalize
The missing words are content words: the words that carry the stress. Listen, fill in the blanks, and then create your own sentences.
Listen and fill in the blanks
Listen to each line from the dialogue and fill in the blank. Tap a word in the box to hear it and put it in the blank, or type it.
Vocabulary box
Tap a word to hear it and put it in a blank. There are two extra words.
Personalize
Complete the sentences with your own information. Choose an option from the box or write your own.
Hear your own sentences. When you finish, tap Listen to my version. Repeat 3 times. Stress the content words and let your voice fall at the end of each statement.
Vocabulary ideas
Choose one option for each blank, or write your own.
8
Final quiz
Twelve questions to review everything: content words, main stress, thought groups, intonation and linking. Listen to each one before you answer.
How much did you learn?
Tap the audio button, listen and choose your answer. You will see the explanation right away.
9
Consolidation: read and pronounce
Consolidate what you practiced. Listen to the model, tap Say it and say each item out loud. The app checks your pronunciation and marks any word it did not hear clearly. If it hears a homophone, like son for sun, it counts as correct, because both words sound the same.
Practiced: 0/8Correct: 0/8Works best in Chrome or Edge. The browser asks for the microphone the first time.
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