Long & Short Sounds: Pronunciation Practice - Part 1

How good is your pronunciation of English? In each of the following sentences the vowels in bold have the same sound. 

Practise reading them out loud:

Long Sounds

• The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.
• The leaves of the trees shook in the breeze.
  
• How bright the moonlight shines.
  
• Cold, cold is the stony floor.
  
• The duke duly paid the money due to the Jew before the dew was off the ground on Tuesday.
  
• How far and fast the ship recedes.
  
• Her tall and stalwart pillars falling down.
  
• The noise of many waters and the voice of thunder.
  
• The howl of the wolves as they prowled around.
  
• How cool is this gloomy pool.

Short Sounds

• A glad batch of lads standing with a man at the match.
  
• A red thread well stretched.
  
• I sit and knit, while the birds flit and twit. 
  
• A hot spot on the grass plot.
  
• She took and shook her good book.

David Hurley

Succeed-In-English.com