Fix these basic English pronunciation mistakes!

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on

"Commonly Mispronounced Words".

So, these are some of the common pronunciation mistakes that I have heard in my experience

as an English teacher from new English learners.

Now, it doesn't matter if you're Russian, if you're a Spanish speaker,

if you're Korean, if you're Japanese, if you're Arabic

- I've heard these mistakes come from all over the place. So, today, I'm going to look at some

of the most common pronunciation mistakes, the most common mispronounced words so that

you can fix these mistakes and never make them again, and you'll sound more fluent,

more natural. So, let's do it.

First word: "ask". Okay, so you were supposed to repeat, there. All right? Did you do it?

So, again, it's not: "axe", but "ask". So repeat after me: "ask".

Good. Now, repeat this question, repeat this sentence: "Ask him a question." Okay, good.

Next, not: "boos", but "bus". Repeat it one more time, one more time. "Bus". Okay, so

it's "uh", right? It's an "uh" sound. It's not "oo", but "uh", "bus".

Now, there's a trick here because the next word is "busy", and some students confuse

this, because they actually know how to pronounce "bus", but then they try adding the same pronunciation

rule from "bus" to "busy", and they say "busy", which is not correct. So, the correct word...

The correct pronunciation of this word is "busy".

So, repeat after me one more time:

"busy". Excellent.

Next, very common mistake, especially when students try to say it in a weird, plural

way. So, I had a Korean student who was reading Edgar Allan Poe, and the word "clothes" is

in the book a couple of times, like 2-3 times on one page. And she's reading, and she keeps

saying: "closes", "closes", "closes", as if it's plural. It's not "closes", it is "clothes".

Think of "open", "close", same pronunciation. All right? So, one more time, repeat: "clothes".

Perfect.

Next: "comfortable". Not: "com-fort-able". Okay? But: "comftrabull", so repeat after

me one more time: "comfortable".

All right, let's take it apart. This one is a little longer:

"com-ftra, ftra, bull", "comfortable". All right. It's tough.

Next, not "edu", but "edju", "edjucation", so there's a "je", "je", "je", "je", "je"

sound. Si... Excuse me. Such as: "judge". Right? So, "education." Repeat after me. "Education".

All right.

Next, not "famoos", but "famous". Repeat it one more time, faster this time. "Famous".

All right. So, the second part is a "miss" not "famoos", a "miss", "miss",

like: "I miss you", okay?

And next, same thing, not "lettoos", but "lettuce". "Lettuce".

Okay? So, it's "lettuce". Good.

Next, not "prevate", "private", so "i". "Private". Exaggerate it a little bit, it makes it a

little bit more fun. So, one more time: "private". Now, in a normal conversation, you would just

say: "private". Okay? Now, that second part "vit", "private".

Next, the opposite of "private" is not "pooblic", but "pu-, public". Repeat it one more time.

"Public". It's kind of like you're just letting a puff of air let go from your mouth, "pu",

"public". Okay, good.

And next, not "salmon". The "l" is silent in this word, so a salmon is a fish, the most

delicious fish in my opinion, and it is pronounced: "samon",

"salmon". Okay, very good.

And next, not "stoody", but "study". "Stu-dy". Okay. So, it is not "stoo", but "stu", it's

an "uh", "uh" sound. So, repeat it after me very quickly, here: "study".

And finally, the name of our website.

Whew, now, this is a mistake that I make. Go back,

listen to my videos, guys, I say "angVid" a lot, especially in like 2011, 2012, I say:

"Thanks for clicking on angVid.com, angVid.com." I have made a mistake, everyone. It is "eng".

We don't say "Anglish", we say "English". The name of our site is engVid.com. I'm sorry.

Even I make mistakes.

So, one more time we're going to go through the words from the top to the bottom, from

the top again to the bottom again, and I'm going to ask you to repeat after me, so let's do it.

"Ask",

"bus",

"busy",

"clothes",

"comfortable",

"education",

"famous",

"lettuce",

"private",

"public",

"salmon",

"study",

"engVid".

Okay, so if you'd like to test your understanding of this material, it's a pronunciation lesson,

so unfortunately, there is no quiz.

However, I recommend: Go back, listen to the video,

repeat the words after me, see if you can use them in context.

And if you would like to support the website,

you could always donate to www.engvid.com.

And if you enjoyed this video, don't forget to comment on it, like it, subscribe to the channel,

check me out on Twitter and Facebook. And until next time,

thanks for clicking. Bye.