Practice exercises:------------------------Index | Home | Back | Next
beginning with voiceless bilabial plosive---- / p /
013---------pθ (final)--------depth
| depth | His opponent was clearly out of his depth. | |
| depth | You need to examine their problems of pronunciation in greater depth. |
014---------pθs (final)-------depths
| depths | Two explorers were lost in the depths of the jungle in the middle of the night. | |
| depths | Foraging for food in the depths of winter often means travelling through deep snow. |
015---------pθr (medial)------upthrust
| upthrust | Archimedes' principle, or the law of upthrust, is: Any body wholly or partially immersed in a fluid experiences an upthrust equal to, but opposite in sense to, the weight of the fluid displaced. |
016---------pt (final) --------abrupt, Egypt, except, harped, kept, opt
| abrupt | His abrupt departure left her close to collapse. | |
| Egypt | On the walls of tombs throughout Egypt are boats sailing the Nile. | |
| except | I did not see Jordi again, except for one brief encounter in Salamanca. | |
| harped | For years before becoming president, Reagan had harped on conservative economic themes. | |
| kept | They just kept clicking away with their cameras. | |
| opt | He says to shower for at least 10 minutes and not to opt for a bath. |
017---------pt (medial)-------abruptly, absorption, acceptable
| abruptly | She began a reassuring smile and then stopped abruptly. | |
| absorption | Fruits and vegetables contain acids that aid the absorption of calcium. | |
| acceptable | For many people in the UK, cohabitation as a prelude to marriage is now an acceptable option. |
018---------pts (final) -------accepts, adopts, opts
| accepts | At least everyone now accepts that there is a problem. | |
| adopts | To help students learn this system, Project English adopts the cognitive approach. | |
| opts | Ukraine opts for wind farms. |
019---------ps (final) --------cups, equips, jumps, perhaps, steps
| cups | Chrissie came in with a tray of coffee, biscuits and cups. | |
| equips | When God selects individuals for a particular job he also equips them to do it. | |
| jumps | How many jumps each of 3�cm would a frog have to make to travel 7cm? | |
| perhaps | I think he was, perhaps, interested. | |
| steps | Get Ready! has two levels, each divided into 60 steps. |
020---------ps (medial) ------Epsom, Ipswich, lopsided, upside down
| Epsom | The 1980 Epsom Derby was won in fast time by the horse Henbit. | |
| Ipswich | Ipswich Town are running away with the championship. | |
| lopsided | His mouth was full and slightly lopsided, which gave him a crooked grin. | |
| upside down | My world was thrown upside down. |
021---------pst (final) -------lapsed
| lapsed | The old woman lapsed into a semi-trance. |
| / m / | / p / | / b / | / f / | / v / | / θ / | / ð / | / n / | / t / | / d / | |||
| / s / | / z / | / l / | / ʧ / | / ʤ / | / ʃ / | / ʒ / | / ŋ / | / k / | / g / | |||
Practice in use------------------------Index | Home | Back | Next
Paste words containing consonant clusters into the search engine
of The British National Corpus [opens search engine window ].
/ *pt / (final) -------abrupt accept adapt adept adopt apt attempt bankrupt concept conscript contempt corrupt crept crypt disrupt Egypt encrypt erupt except exempt inapt inept intercept interrupt kept leapt manuscript nondescript opt overslept postscript precept preempt prescript prompt script sculpt slept subscript swept tempt transcript typescript wept windswept
/ *pt* / (medial) -------abruptly abruptness acceptability acceptable acceptably acceptance accepted accepting
/ *ps / (final) -------airships airstrips alps amps apprenticeships archbishops backdrops backups baps barbershops battleships beeps biceps bishops bleeps bookshops bumps burps buttercups camps caps carps championships chaps checkups chimps chips chops claps clips closeups cockups coops cops creeps crops cups curatorships deeps develops dips drips drops dumps eavesdrops equips filmstrips fingertips flips flops footsteps friendships gallops gaps gossips grips groups gulps handicaps hardships harps headlamps headships heaps helps hiccups hips hoops hops humps icecaps imps insteps jumps keeps kidnaps lamps laps leaps limps lips lollipops loops lops lumps maps microchips mishaps mops mousetraps mumps naps nightcaps oops oversteps paratroops parsnips partnerships peeps perhaps pips pops props pumps ramps reaps relationships reps revamps rips romps rooftops scoops scraps seeps ships shops shrimps sips skimps skips slaps sleeps slips slumps snaps snips snowdrops soaps soups stamps steamships steps stoops stops straps strips swamps swaps sweeps swoops swops taps teacups teardrops teashops temps tips tops tramps traps trips troops warships wasps weeps worships wraps yaps yelps zips zaps
False Friends
Note that the letter "p" is silent in "excerpts" and "receipts"
Look out for words like "absorption", where there is no / t / sound. The ending is pronounced / ʃən / or / ʃn' /