Pronunciation: V vs. W
Both V and W are voiced consonants. That means that our vocal cords vibrate when we say them. When we pronounce the letter V, our front top teeth rest lightly on our lower lip so that air can be released slowly and steadily. When we say W, our lips make a small circle as if we’re saying OO.
If you want to practice these two sounds, here are some sentences.
1/ Which variety of water do you have?
2/ Savannah, Georgia is a very warm place in the summer.
3/ They’ve been vague about whether they’ll take a vacation.
4/ Vincent and Wendy were never very close.
5/ The sidewalk cafe doesn’t deliver.
6/ Whenever we ask, Dwayne won’t give a firm answer.
7/ If you swap sweaters every other week you’ll avoid the problem.
If you want to learn more about the sounds V and W, here is a video from Clear English Corner with Keenyn Rhodes.
Practice using articles: a, an, the, or no article
Indefinite articles = a, an
Definite article = the
Sometimes, nouns don’t need either one in front of them.
Fill in the blanks before the nouns to complete the following sentences. Choose between a, an, the, or no article at all. The answers are at the bottom of this post.
1/ We saw ___ man walking down the street. ___ man was talking to ___ woman. ___ woman was tall, and she was wearing ___ hat. ___ color of ___ hat was brown.
2/ My sister and her family live in ___ apartment in ___ city. There is ___ nice yard behind ___ apartment building. I would like to have ___ yard like that.
3/ Melissa doesn’t like going to ___ dentist.
4/ There’s ___ post office at ___ end of ___ block we live on.
5/ Can you go to ___ store? We need ___ sugar and ___ flour if we’re going to bake ___ cake.
6/ Do you want to go to ___ art museum ___ downtown, or would you rather see ___ new house that Ronald is renovating?
7/ That kind of work requires ___ patience. It takes ___ certain kind of person.
8/ That kind of work requires ___ strength. It takes ___ right kind of person.
9/ What time do you wake up in ___ morning? Do you consider yourself ___ morning person?
10/ A: Where is ___ bus station?
B: ___ bus station is next to ___ bank. Go straight and turn right at ___ next set of lights. You’ll see them on ___ right.
If you want to read about the rules for using articles, Grammarly has a helpful post with examples.
Enrich Your Vocabulary | TOEFL Words: dearth
This week’s word comes from Middle English and means lack or scarcity. It’s almost always followed by the preposition “of” and can be used with count or noncount nouns.
There’s a dearth of good restaurants in this town.
The reports submitted are unconvincing due to the dearth of research.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dearth
The Britannica Dictionary: 100 Essential Words for the TOEFL
ANSWERS to nouns and articles practice:
1/ We saw a man walking down the street. The man was talking to a woman. The woman was tall, and she was wearing a hat. The color of the hat was brown.
2/ My sister and her family live in an apartment in the/a city. There is a nice yard behind the apartment building. I would like to have a yard like that.
3/ Melissa doesn’t like going to the dentist.
4/ There’s a post office at the end of the block we live on.
5/ Can you go to the/a store? We need sugar and flour if we’re going to bake a/the cake.
6/ Do you want to go to the/an art museum downtown, or would you rather see the new house that Ronald is renovating?
7/ That kind of work requires patience. It takes a certain kind of person.
8/ That kind of work requires strength. It takes the right kind of person.
9/ What time do you wake up in the morning? Do you consider yourself a morning person?
10/ A: Where is the bus station?
B: The bus station is next to the/a bank. Go straight and turn right at the next set of lights. You’ll see them on the right.