GRADE 8 English RELATIONSHIPS:PEERS – LISTENING AND SPEAKING:PRONUNCIATION Notes
English — Listening & Speaking: Pronunciation (Grammar focus)
Topic: RELATIONSHIPS — PEERS (Age: 13, Kenya) 🙂💬👂
Learning goals
- Hear and say endings that show grammar: plural -s, past -ed, third‑person -s.
- Use and recognise contractions and negative forms in speech (they show tense/person).
- Use intonation to make questions and show focus (affects meaning/grammar).
1) Plural -s and possessive 's (how grammar shows in sound)
Words ending with -s for plurals are pronounced in three ways. The sound tells you if a word is plural or not.
- /s/ after voiceless sounds: "friends" → /frends/ (think of a soft hiss) — plural
- /z/ after voiced sounds: "bags" → /bægz/ — plural
- /ɪz/ after sibilant sounds: "classes" → /ˈklæsɪz/ — plural
Try: "My friends are kind." (friends → plural /s/ or /z/ depending on base sound)
2) Past tense -ed (shows action happened before)
The past form ending -ed is pronounced three ways. The pronunciation tells you it is past tense.
- /t/ after voiceless sounds: "helped" → /helpt/ (help → helped)
- /d/ after voiced sounds: "played" → /pleɪd/ (play → played)
- /ɪd/ after t or d: "wanted" → /ˈwɒntɪd/ (want → wanted)
Example: "She helped a friend yesterday." (help → /helpt/ shows past)
3) Third person singular -s (he/she/it)
In Present Simple, verb changes (he plays, she likes). The final -s is pronounced /s/, /z/, or /ɪz/ — it shows the verb form for he/she/it.
Examples: "She helps her classmate." (helps → /hɛlps/) — shows who does the action.
4) Contractions and negatives (short spoken grammar)
Contractions join words and show grammatical relationships (tense, person, negation). They are common in spoken English.
- Be and auxiliaries: I'm = I am, she's = she is, we're = we are.
- Negative: don't = do not, doesn't = does not, didn't = did not.
- When spoken, contractions change the sound and quickly show grammatical meaning: "He doesn't help" → /hɪ dʌzənt/ (fast).
Practice: Say "I don't know" vs "I did not know". Notice the quicker, joined sound in "don't".
5) Question intonation (grammar: question vs statement)
Your voice (intonation) tells whether a sentence is a question or a statement — a grammatical function.
- Yes/No questions: voice rises at the end. Example: "Are you coming?" (rise) 👆
- WH-questions (who, what, where): usually fall at the end. Example: "Who helped you?" (fall) 👇
Try both: "Is Maya your friend?" (rise) vs "Who is Maya?" (fall).
6) Linking and reduced forms (function words in speech)
Small words (and, to, of) are often reduced in speech. This affects the grammar we hear.
- "and" often sounds like /ən/ or /n/: "Tom and Jerry" → /tɒm n dʒeri/
- "to" in "going to" becomes /gənə/ or /tə/: "going to school" → /ˈɡəʊɪŋ tə skuːl/ (shows future plan)
- "have" in perfect forms: "I've" /aɪv/ signals present perfect (I have eaten).
Example meaning: "I'm going to help my friend" (reduced "going to" still shows future plan).
Quick practice (speaking & listening)
- Read aloud and mark the ending sound (say it out loud):
- "He plays football." (plays → /z/) — third person
- "They cleaned the room." (cleaned → /t/) — past
- "Our friends' books" (friends' → /z/ or /s/ depending on base) — plural possessive
- Change sentence form and listen: Statement → Question.
- Statement: "You helped Njeri." Say it with normal tone.
- Yes/no question: "You helped Njeri?" Raise your voice at the end — now it's a question.
- Contraction swap:
- "She is late." → "She's late." Notice how sounds join.
- "They do not agree." → "They don't agree." — how does meaning stay the same?
Mini quiz (write or speak answers)
- Which sound for plural in "books"? (answer: /s/ or /z/ — say it.)
- How do you pronounce "worked"? (/t/ or /d/ or /ɪd/) — say the past form.
- Turn this into a question: "She helps her friend." (How will your voice change?)
Tip: Listen to classmates and notice endings and contractions. They tell you the grammar (who, when, how many). Practice with school situations: asking, offering help, and telling stories about peers. 👄👂
Teacher activity idea: Read short peer-related sentences aloud. Students mark the grammatical meaning from the sound (past, plural, question) and then repeat in pairs.
Happy practicing! ✨