EE
EE is one of the
most difficult vowels to master. It
sounds a lot like I to many non-native speakers. The position of the tongue is very similar to where it is for the
I sound. The EE, however, is a “tense”
sound. That means the muscles of your
mouth are tense. And it tends to be a
little longer than the I. EE sounds
like the name of the letter “e.”
Instructions to
make this sound: Is your tongue very high and flat in the front of your
mouth? Are the muscles of your mouth
tense? Try smiling as you make this
sound—it helps to tense the muscles of your mouth and to keep your tongue high.
Common problems:
Using an I sound so “leave” sounds like “live.”
Common spellings: E
as in “she,” EA as in “easy,” EE as in “feet,” EO as in “people,” I as in
“visa,” IE as in “field,” Y as in “busy”
each keep each
piece
eat eat
dinner early
evening the evening
cheap very cheap
material
leave leave it
here
secretary Lee’s secretary is
busy
Isn’t he teaching
history at the university?
Take the freeway or Fifth Street directly to the beach.