Unit 1 in 30 seconds: Phonetics studies the sounds of English — how they are produced (vowels, consonants, diphthongs), how they are written with IPA symbols, where the stress falls in a word, and how voice pitch rises or falls (intonation). Morphology studies the structure of words — prefixes, suffixes, and the 8 parts of speech. This unit is mostly objective-friendly (IPA symbols, stress marking, prefix/suffix formation) but word stress and intonation rules also make good short-answer questions.
1. Introduction to Phonetics
Phonetics is the scientific study of the sounds of human speech. It answers three questions: how sounds are produced by our speech organs (articulatory phonetics), what the physical properties of those sounds are (acoustic phonetics), and how listeners hear them (auditory phonetics). In this course we focus mainly on articulatory phonetics — how the tongue, lips, teeth and vocal cords shape each English sound.
Phonetics — the study of speech sounds: their production, physical properties and perception.
Morphology — the study of the internal structure of words and how words are formed.
Phonetics matlab sounds ka science. Hamara mouth, tongue, lips milke jo awaaz banate hain, usko samjhna hi phonetics hai. Aur morphology matlab words kaise bante hain — jaise "un-happy-ness" me un- prefix hai, happy root hai, -ness suffix hai. Dono milke spelling se aage, actual English ki awaaz aur shakal samjhate hain.
2. Phonetic Symbols — The IPA
English spelling is unreliable: though, through, tough, cough all end in "ough" but sound different. To fix this, phoneticians use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) — one symbol = one sound. In Indian university exams, the commonly used transcription is the RP (Received Pronunciation) set of 44 sounds: 20 vowels + 24 consonants.
IPA — a system of symbols in which each symbol represents exactly one speech sound. Phonetic transcription is written inside slash brackets / /.
| Word | Phonetic transcription | Word | Phonetic transcription |
|---|---|---|---|
| see | /si:/ | ship | /ʃɪp/ |
| cat | /kæt/ | go | /ɡəʊ/ |
| think | /θɪŋk/ | this | /ðɪs/ |
| pen | /pen/ | photo | /ˈfəʊtəʊ/ |
Exam Tip: Remember the colon : marks a long vowel — /i:/ (sheep) is longer than /ɪ/ (ship). And ˈ (a small tick before a syllable) marks the stressed syllable — /ˈfəʊtəʊ/ means stress is on "pho". Examiners love asking you to transcribe 5–10 common words.
3. Speech Sounds: Vowels
Vowels are sounds made with a free, open passage of air — the tongue and lips shape the sound but never block the air. English has 20 vowel sounds: 12 pure vowels (monophthongs) and 8 diphthongs.
3.1 Pure Vowels (Monophthongs) — 12
| Symbol | Example words | Length |
|---|---|---|
| /i:/ | see, meat, key | Long |
| /ɪ/ | sit, big, city | Short |
| /e/ | pen, bed, head | Short |
| /æ/ | cat, man, apple | Short |
| /ɑ:/ | car, father, heart | Long |
| /ɒ/ | hot, dog, shop | Short |
| /ɔ:/ | ball, door, law | Long |
| /ʊ/ | book, put, good | Short |
| /u:/ | food, blue, two | Long |
| /ʌ/ | cup, sun, love | Short |
| /ɜ:/ | bird, work, first | Long |
| /ə/ | about, sofa, teacher (schwa) | Short |
Schwa /ə/ — the most common sound in English. It is the weak, relaxed "uh" sound in unstressed syllables: about, sofa, teacher. If a syllable is unstressed, its vowel usually becomes schwa.
Short aur long vowels ka difference pakdo: ship (chhota /ɪ/) vs sheep (lamba /i:/). Ye chhota sa farak sentence ka matlab badal deta hai! Aur schwa /ə/ English ka sabse aalsi sound hai — jahan stress nahi hota, wahan vowel "uh" ban jata hai. Teacher ko /ˈti:tʃə/ bolo, "tea-cher" mat kheecho.
3.2 Diphthongs — 8
Diphthongs are gliding sounds — the tongue moves from one vowel position to another within a single syllable.
| Symbol | Example words | Glide |
|---|---|---|
| /eɪ/ | day, say, eight | e → ɪ |
| /aɪ/ | my, time, light | a → ɪ |
| /ɔɪ/ | boy, voice, oil | ɔ → ɪ |
| /əʊ/ | go, home, no | ə → ʊ |
| /aʊ/ | now, house, cow | a → ʊ |
| /ɪə/ | here, near, dear | ɪ → ə |
| /eə/ | there, care, hair | e → ə |
| /ʊə/ | tour, pure, cure | ʊ → ə |
Exam Tip: Common trap — /eɪ/ in day is a diphthong (two sounds gliding), but /i:/ in see is a single long vowel (no glide). If the question asks "identify the diphthong", look for the glide.
4. Speech Sounds: Consonants
Consonants are sounds made when the airflow is partly or fully blocked — by the lips, teeth, tongue or throat. English has 24 consonant sounds. They are classified by place of articulation (where the blockage happens) and manner of articulation (how the air escapes).
4.1 The 24 Consonants with Examples
| Symbol | Example | Symbol | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| /p/ | pen | /b/ | bat |
| /t/ | ten | /d/ | dog |
| /k/ | cat | /ɡ/ | go |
| /f/ | fan | /v/ | van |
| /θ/ | think | /ð/ | this |
| /s/ | sun | /z/ | zoo |
| /ʃ/ | ship | /ʒ/ | vision |
| /tʃ/ | chair | /dʒ/ | jug |
| /m/ | man | /n/ | no |
| /ŋ/ | sing | /h/ | hat |
| /l/ | leg | /r/ | red |
| /w/ | we | /j/ | yes |
Voiced vs voiceless: place your fingers on your throat. If it vibrates, the sound is voiced (/b, d, ɡ, v, ð, z, ʒ, dʒ, m, n, ŋ, l, r, w, j/); if not, it is voiceless (/p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ, tʃ, h/). Most consonants come in voiced–voiceless pairs: /p–b/, /t–d/, /k–ɡ/, /f–v/, /θ–ð/, /s–z/, /ʃ–ʒ/, /tʃ–dʒ/.
Exam Tip: The pairs /θ/ vs /ð/ are a classic trap: think /θɪŋk/ (voiceless, no vibration) vs this /ðɪs/ (voiced, vibration). Same for sing /sɪŋ/ — note there is no /g/ sound in "sing"; /ŋ/ alone does the job. Saying /sɪŋɡ/ is a common Indian-English error.
Consonants yaad karne ka best tarika: jodiyon me yaad karo. /p–b/, /t–d/, /k–ɡ/ — pehla bina awaaz (gala nahi kaanpta), dusra awaaz ke saath (gala kaanpta hai). Haath gale pe rakho aur "ssss" bolo, phir "zzzz" bolo — farak khud mehsoos hoga. Yehi voiced vs voiceless ka poora funda hai.
5. Word Stress
Word stress is the extra force or emphasis given to one syllable in a word. In English, stress is not fixed like in some other languages — it moves, and moving it can change meaning. The stressed syllable is spoken louder, slightly longer and with a higher pitch; the unstressed syllables are reduced (usually to schwa).
| Pattern | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 2-syllable nouns/adjectives | Stress the first syllable | TA-ble, HAP-py, DOC-tor |
| 2-syllable verbs | Stress the second syllable | be-GIN, pre-SENT, de-CIDE |
| Words ending in -tion, -sion, -cian | Stress the syllable before the ending | na-TION, de-CI-sion, mu-SI-cian |
| Words ending in -ic | Stress the syllable before -ic | sci-en-TI-fic, BA-sic |
| Words ending in -ee, -eer, -ese | Stress the ending itself | employ-EE, engin-EER, Chin-ESE |
| Compound nouns | Stress the first word | BLACK-board, FOOT-ball |
Stress shift changes meaning: RE-cord (noun — a music record) vs re-CORD (verb — to record a song). PRE-sent (noun — a gift) vs pre-SENT (verb — to present). Same spelling, different stress, different word class.
Exam Tip: If asked to "mark the stress", put the tick ˈ before the stressed syllable: /ˈtæbl/, /bɪˈɡɪn/. Never put it after. And in noun–verb pairs like record, present, object, conduct, the noun stresses syllable 1 and the verb stresses syllable 2 — a favourite exam question.
Stress matlab zor. English me zor galat syllable pe diya to word hi badal jata hai — "PHO-to" (tasveer) bolo, "pho-TO" mat bolo. Rule of thumb: noun/adjective me pehla tukda zor se, verb me dusra tukda. Bas "record, present, object" wale double-role words pe nazar rakho — wahi exam me aate hain.
6. Intonation
Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice pitch across a sentence. It carries meaning beyond the words: the same sentence can be a statement, a question, or a doubt depending on intonation.
| Intonation | Used in | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Falling (pitch goes down) | Statements, commands, wh-questions, exclamations | You are right. ↘ Sit down. ↘ Where do you live? ↘ |
| Rising (pitch goes up) | Yes/no questions, requests, lists (unfinished), showing doubt | Are you coming? ↗ Please help me. ↗ I bought apples, bananas ↗, and grapes. ↘ |
Rising intonation — voice goes up; used for yes/no questions and polite requests. Falling intonation — voice comes down; used for statements, wh-questions and commands.
Hindi me bhi ye hota hai — "tum aa rahe ho." (falling, bata rahe ho) vs "tum aa rahe ho?" (rising, poochh rahe ho). English me bhi same: Are you coming? me awaaz upar jati hai, Where are you going? me neeche aati hai. Wh-question (what, where, when) me awaaz neeche girti hai — ulta mat karna, yehi trap hai.
Exam Tip: The classic trap: "Where do you live?" is a question but takes falling intonation (it is a wh-question, not yes/no). If the exam asks you to mark intonation on 5 sentences, first check the sentence type, then apply the rule.
7. Prefixes and Suffixes
Morphology studies how words are built. The smallest meaningful unit of a word is a morpheme. A root carries the core meaning; affixes attach to it — a prefix before the root, a suffix after it.
Root — the core of the word (happy). Prefix — added before the root (un + happy = unhappy). Suffix — added after the root (happy + ness = happiness). Prefixes usually change meaning; suffixes usually change the word class.
7.1 Common Prefixes
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, non- | Not / opposite | unhappy, incorrect, impossible, illegal, irregular, disagree, nonstop |
| re- | Again | rewrite, replay, rebuild |
| pre- | Before | preview, prefix, prepay |
| post- | After | postpone, postwar |
| mis- | Wrongly | misunderstand, misplace |
| over- | Too much | overconfident, overeat |
| under- | Too little / below | underpaid, underground |
| sub- | Under / below | subway, subtitle |
| super- | Above / beyond | supermarket, superstar |
| inter- | Between | international, interact |
| anti- | Against | antisocial, antibiotic |
| auto- | Self | autobiography, automatic |
| bi- | Two | bicycle, bilingual |
| multi- | Many | multimedia, multinational |
7.2 Common Suffixes
| Suffix | Makes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ness, -tion/-sion, -ment, -ity, -ance | Noun | happiness, action, movement, honesty, importance |
| -er, -or, -ist, -ian | Noun (person) | teacher, actor, artist, musician |
| -ful, -less, -ous, -able/-ible, -ive, -al | Adjective | beautiful, careless, famous, readable, active, natural |
| -ly | Adverb | quickly, slowly, happily |
| -en, -ify, -ize/-ise | Verb | darken, simplify, modernize |
Exam Tip: Word-formation questions ("form a noun/adjective from...") are almost guaranteed. Trick: beauty (noun) → beautiful (adjective) → beautifully (adverb). Build the chain step by step. Also watch spelling changes: happy → happiness (y becomes i), create → creation (e dropped).
Prefix aage lagta hai aur matlab ulta/seeda karta hai — happy ka unhappy. Suffix peeche lagta hai aur word ka type badal deta hai — happy (adjective) ka happi-ness (noun). Exam me "noun banao" aaye to -ness, -tion, -ment try karo; "adjective banao" aaye to -ful, -ous, -able. Ye pattern rat lo, aadhe marks pakke.
8. Parts of Speech — The 8 Types
Every word in English belongs to one of 8 parts of speech — the word's job in the sentence. Note: a word's part of speech depends on how it is used, not just the word itself ("book" can be a noun or a verb).
8.1 Noun — naming word
Names a person, place, thing or idea.
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Proper noun (specific name, capital letter) | Rahul, Jaipur, Ganga |
| Common noun (general) | boy, city, river |
| Collective noun (group) | team, crowd, flock, committee |
| Abstract noun (idea/quality, can't touch) | honesty, love, courage, freedom |
| Material noun (substance) | gold, water, wood |
| Countable noun | book/books, apple/apples (can count, has plural) |
| Uncountable noun | milk, rice, advice, information (no plural, no "a/an") |
8.2 Pronoun — stands for a noun
Used to avoid repeating the noun.
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Personal | I, you, he, she, it, we, they |
| Possessive | mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs |
| Reflexive (self-words) | myself, yourself, himself, themselves |
| Demonstrative | this, that, these, those |
| Interrogative (questions) | who, whom, whose, which, what |
| Relative (joins clauses) | who, which, that (The boy who came...) |
| Indefinite | someone, anyone, everybody, nothing |
8.3 Verb — action or state word
Tells what the subject does or is.
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Main verb | run, eat, write, think |
| Helping (auxiliary) verb | is, are, has, do, will (help the main verb) |
| Transitive (needs an object) | She bought a pen. (bought what? → a pen) |
| Intransitive (no object) | He sleeps. (sleeps what? → nothing needed) |
| Linking verb (joins subject to description) | be, seem, become, feel (She is happy.) |
| Regular verb (past = -ed) | play → played, walk → walked |
| Irregular verb (past changes) | go → went, eat → ate, write → wrote |
8.4 Adjective — describes a noun/pronoun
Answers: what kind? which one? how many?
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Descriptive (quality) | beautiful, tall, red, honest |
| Demonstrative | this, that, these, those (this book) |
| Possessive | my, your, his, her, our, their (my pen) |
| Quantitative (how much/many) | some, many, few, much, little |
| Interrogative | which, what, whose (which book?) |
| Proper | Indian, English, Mughal |
8.5 Adverb — describes a verb, adjective or another adverb
Answers: how? when? where? how much? Most (not all) end in -ly.
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Manner (how) | quickly, slowly, well, badly |
| Time (when) | now, yesterday, soon, already |
| Place (where) | here, there, everywhere, inside |
| Frequency (how often) | always, never, often, rarely |
| Degree (how much) | very, too, quite, almost |
8.6 Preposition — shows relation
Shows the relation of a noun/pronoun to another word: place, time, direction, cause.
Common prepositions: in, on, at, to, for, with, by, from, of, about, between, among, under, over, through, during, before, after.
Time rule of thumb: at + clock time (at 5 o'clock), on + day/date (on Monday), in + month/year/part of day (in June, in the morning).
8.7 Conjunction — joining word
Joins words, phrases or clauses.
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Coordinating (joins equals) | and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet (FANBOYS) |
| Subordinating (joins unequal — main + dependent) | because, although, if, when, since, while, unless |
| Correlative (pairs) | either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also |
8.8 Interjection — emotion word
Expresses sudden feeling; always followed by ! and stands apart from the sentence.
Examples: Oh! Alas! Hurrah! Bravo! Wow! Ouch! Hello! — Alas! He is dead. Hurrah! We won.
8 parts yaad karne ka shortcut: Noun naam hai, Pronoun uska duplicate, Verb kaam hai, Adjective noun ki tareef, Adverb verb ki tareef, Preposition rishta batata hai (in/on/at), Conjunction jodne wala (and/but/because), Interjection emotion ka dhamaka (Wow!). Exam me "identify the part of speech" aaye to word ko sentence me dekho — akela word dekh ke mat decide karo, kyunki "book" noun bhi hai aur verb bhi ("book a ticket").
Exam Tip: Two favourite traps: (1) fast, hard, late can be both adjective AND adverb ("a fast car" vs "he runs fast") — no -ly needed; (2) words like this/that are pronouns when alone ("This is mine") but adjectives when before a noun ("this book"). The position in the sentence decides.