Practice Your English Pronunciation /p/ vs /b/ Sounds | Course #9

In this video ,we are going to focus on the two consonant sounds /b/ and /p/.

I know they sound very similar but they are actually different.

And they are very important sounds in English so I want you to be able to hear the difference

and pronounce them differently.

So let's take two example words.

The first example word is ‘bin’.

Now can you hear the /b/ sound?

‘bin’

Now, the second example word is ‘pin’.

Can you hear the difference - the /p/ sound?

‘pin’

‘bin’

‘pin’

I know they sound very similar but they are different.

And with practice, you will hear the difference.

And you will be able to pronounce them differently.

I promise you that.

So let's get started.

The first step is to know how to make these /b/ and /p/ sounds in English

so you can pronounce them correctly.

And you know the difference between the two sounds.

And I'm going to teach you that.

Also guys, if you're serious about pronunciation, it's very important to know about the IPA spelling.

You can also watch how I move my mouth,

and of course always try to repeat after me in this video.

I'm sure you can master these sounds, so let's do this.

Okay, guys.

Let's now practice producing the sound /b/ in English.

So what you're going to do, the first thing is,

that this /b/ sound is voiced which means that you're going to use your voice.

So when you produce the sound, you are going to feel a vibration in your throat.

And what you're going to do is basically push out the air with your lips.

They should touch each other so

/b/

Okay, please repeat the sound after me.

/b/

Let's now practice with the word ‘bin’.

Please repeat after me.

‘bin’

‘bin’

‘bin’

Good.

And now let's practice producing the sound /p/ in English.

So /p/ is basically going to be the exact same thing as the /b/ sound,

but it's unvoiced

which means that you are not going to use your voice.

No vibration in the throat.

You're just going to push out the air with your lips.

No sound.

So /p/

Can you repeat after me?

/p/

Let's now practice with the word /pin/.

Repeat after me.

'pin'

Good job.

Ok students, let's now practice with minimal pairs.

Words that sound very similar where the actual sounds are different.

They are very useful to help you hear the difference between the two sounds.

So first let's practice just the sounds.

Okay and I want you to repeat after me.

First the /b/ sound.

/b/

And now the /p/ sound.

Remember unvoiced.

Okay watch my mouth.

Repeat after me.

/p/

Good.

Let's now practice both.

Please repeat after me.

/b/

/p/

/b/

/p/

/b/

/p/

Good.

And let's now take our words.

Please repeat after me.

‘bin’

‘pin’

‘bin’

‘pin’

‘bin’

‘pin’

Excellent, guys.

Moving on.

Let's now go through minimal pairs together.

Remember to watch how I move my mouth.

And to repeat after me.

Let's do this.

bare

pare

base

pace

bat

pat

batty

patty

bay

pay

bead

peed

beak

peak

bear

pear

beat

peat

bee

pee

beep

peep

beer

peer

belt

pelt

best

pest

bet

pet

big

pig

bill

pill

bit

pit

bitch

pitch

blade

played

bland

planned

blank

plank

blaster

plaster

blaze

plays

bleat

pleat

bleed

plead

bloom

plume

blot

plot

blunder

plunder

blush

plush

braise

praise

brat

prat

brawn

prawn

breach

preach

breast

pressed

brick

prick

bride

pride

boo

poo

bore

pore

bull

pull

burr

per

but

putt

butter

putter

bye

pie

cab

cap

cub

cup

lib

lip

pub

pup

rib

rip

robe

rope

tab

tap

Very good, guys.

Let's now practice with a few sentences using these consonant sounds.

The first sentence is, ‘The bear cub plundered pairs and butter.’

Can you repeat after me, guys?

‘The bear cub plundered pairs and butter.’

The second sentence is, ‘The bride blushed at the proud preacher.’

Please repeat after me.

‘The bride blushed at the proud preacher.’

Good.

And finally, ‘Please pet the big pig.’

Repeat after me please.

‘Please pet the big pig.’

Great job, guys.

Moving on.

Let's now move on to listening practice.

I'm now going to show you two words.

I will say one of the two words and I want you to listen very carefully

and to tell me if this word is ‘a’ or ‘b’.

Let's get started.

Let's start with our first two words.

Now, which one do I say ‘a’ or ‘b’?

Listen very carefully.

‘rope’

'a' or 'b'?

one more time

‘rope’

Now what do you think guys?

It's ‘b’ – ‘rope’.

‘a’ would be pronounced ‘robe’.

Okay. What about now?

‘bride’

Is it ‘a’ or ‘b’?

It's ‘a’ - ‘bride’.

‘b’ is ‘pride’.

And then,

‘beak’

It's ‘a’ - ‘beak’.

‘b’ is ‘peak’.

‘breast’

Which one is it?

It's ‘a’ – ‘breast’.

‘b’ is ‘pressed’.

‘preach’

‘preach’

‘b’ of course – ‘preach’.

‘a’ is ‘breach’.

Then I have...

‘bare’.

‘bare’

‘a’ or ‘b’?

It's ‘a’ – ‘bear’.

‘b’ is ‘pear’.

Now...

‘cap’.

‘cap’

It's ‘b’.

‘a’ would be ‘cab’.

What about now?

‘cup’

‘cup’

Is it ‘a’ or is it ‘b’?

It's ‘b’ – ‘cup’.

‘a’ is cub.

Then I have...

‘plays’.

‘plays’

Now what do you think?

It's ‘b’ ‘plays’.

‘a’ is ‘blaze’.

And finally,

‘rib’

‘rib’

It's ‘a’- ‘rib’.

‘b’ is ‘rip’.

I'm sure you did a great job.

Excellent, students.

Well I know you now have a better understanding of the consonant

sounds /b/ and /p/ in English.

Please don't stop there.

Keep practicing.

It takes a lot of practice to master these sounds

but you can do it.

And by practicing you also train your ear

to hear the difference between these consonant sounds.

Please make sure to watch the next English pronunciation video

as I keep talking about the different sounds in English

so you can improve your skills.

See you next time.