Unit 13: Cats and dogs /k/ and /g/
A. How to make the sound /k/
Look at the diagrams. Listen and say the sound.
Stop the air with the back of your tongue against the
top of your mouth.
Move your tongue to release the air. If you hold a pice
of paper in front of your mouth when you release the
air, the paper moves. Target sound: /kə/
B. Sound and spelling
/k/ is usually spelled c, k or ck, and sometimes ch. Listen and say these words.
- car: /kɑːr/
- cat: /kæt/
- careful: /ˈker.fəl/
- clean: /kliːn/
- close: /kloʊz/
- colour: /ˈkʌl.ər/
- fact: /fækt/
- keep: /kiːp/
- key: /kiː/
- kind: /kaɪnd/
- kitchen: /ˈkɪtʃ.ən/
- desk: /desk/
- like: /laɪk/
- talk: /tɔːk/
- walk: /wɔːk/
- back: /bæk/
- black: /blæk/
- check: /tʃek/
- pocket: /ˈpɑː.kɪt/
- tick: /tɪk/
- school: /skuːl/
- stomach: /ˈstʌm.ək/
- chemist: /ˈkem.ɪst/
- architect: /ˈɑːr.kə.tekt/
/kw/ is often spelled qu, /ks/ is often spelled x. Listen and say these words.
- quick: /kwɪk/
- quiet: /ˈkwaɪ.ət/
- quarter: /ˈkwɔːr.t̬ər/
- fax: /fæks/
- six: /sɪks/
- taxi: /ˈtæk.si/
Listen and say these sentences:
- Look in the kitchen cupboard. /lʊk ɪn ðə ˈkɪtʃ.ən ˈkʌb.ərd/
- Keep your keys in your pocket. /kiːp jər kiːz ɪn jər ˈpɑː.kɪt/
C. How to make the sound /g/
Look at the diagrams. Listen and say the sound.
Stop the air with the back of your tongue against the
top of your mouth.
Move your tongue to release the air.
/g/ is different from /K/ in two ways:
If you hold a piece of paper in front of your mouth when you release the air, the paper does not move.
There is voicing (vibration from the throat). Target sound: /gə/
D. Sound and spelling
/g/ is usually spelled g or gg. Listen and say these words.
- garden: /ˈɡɑːr.dən/
- girl: /ɡɜːrl/
- glass: /ɡlæs/
- go: /ɡoʊ/
- gold: /ɡoʊld/
- ago: /əˈɡoʊ/
- hungry: /ˈhʌŋ.ɡri/
- bag: /bæɡ/
- leg: /leɡ/
- egg: /eɡ/
- bigger: /ˈbɪɡ.ər/
/gz/ is sometimes spelled x. Listen and say these words.
- exam: /ɪɡˈzæm/
- exactly: /ɪɡˈzækt.li/
Listen and say these phrases and sentences:
- Can you guess the beginning of the dialogue? /kən ju ɡes ðə bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ əv ðə ˈdaɪ.ə.lɑːɡ/
- Are you going jogging again? /ər ju ˈɡoʊ.ɪŋ ˈdʒɑː.ɡɪŋ əˈɡen/
