This is a common minimal pair for Chinese speakers.
Exercise 1: Listen and repeat
| /i:/ | /ei/ | Listen to the pairs contrasted |
|---|---|---|
| grease | Grace | |
| peace | pace | |
| lease | lace | |
| heat | hate | |
| sheep | shape | |
| please | plays | |
| feet | fate | |
| greet | great | |
| eat | ate | |
| green | grain |
Exercise 2: Listening
This will help you learn to distinguish the two sounds.
- Listen to the recording.
- Choose the word you hear.
- You can listen as many times as you want.
Exercise 3: Listening
This is more difficult activity to improve your ability to distinguish the /i:/ and /eɪ/ sounds.
- Listen to the recording.
- Choose the line you hear.
- You can listen as many times as you want.
Exercise 4: Practice and record
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© Paul Smit 2006-2020