English pronunciation guide
How to link words in English
Native speakers do not pause between words. They move the last sound of one word onto the next, so “pick it up” comes out as one smooth “pi-ki-tup” and “an apple” as “a-napple”. Learners who say every word separately sound careful and slow, even when every single word is right. Four patterns cover most of it.
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Consonant to vowel
A word that ends in a consonant hands it to the next word when that word starts with a vowel.
pick it up, an apple, turn off, look at
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Vowel to vowel
Between two vowels, a light y or w sound slips in so the voice never stops.
I am (I-yam), go out (go-wout), the end (the-yend)
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T or D plus you
A t or d before “you” blends into ch or j.
don’t you (don-chu), did you (di-ju), meet you (mee-chu)
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The same sound twice
When one word ends with the sound the next begins with, say it once, a little longer.
black coffee, bad dog, some more
How to make the sounds
- Read the sentence and mark every place where a word ends in a consonant and the next one begins with a vowel.
- Say each of those pairs as if it were one word: “pi-ki-tup”.
- Where two vowels meet, let a small y or w slip in: “I-yam”, “go-wout”.
- Say the whole sentence on one breath, stressing only the important words. Small words like a, of, to and and shrink and join their neighbours.
Linking is about rhythm, not speed. You can speak slowly and still link every word.
How it sounds
Left: the words as written. Right: roughly how they sound when a native speaker links them.
- pick it up pi-ki-tup
- an apple a-napple
- I am I-yam
- go out go-wout
- did you di-ju
- don’t you don-chu
- black coffee bla-coffee
- some more su-more
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it. Scored against the US English model.
Common mistakes
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A pause after every word
Common among speakers of German, where words that start with a vowel begin with a small catch in the throat, and among speakers of Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. “I, am, an, engineer” sounds robotic; “I-ya-ma-nengineer” sounds natural.
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An extra vowel after the consonant
Speakers of Japanese, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese sometimes add a vowel after a final consonant (“look-u at”), which blocks the link. End the word on the consonant and let it run into the next vowel.