Why does time follow the rules, but give and machine don’t? In this episode, we unpack the truth behind the magic e rule, explain why some words only look predictable, and give you a simple way to approach i-e pronunciation with confidence in real English.

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In this practice episode, you’ll train the main vowel sounds represented by the letter I in British English. Through guided repetition, minimal pairs, and sentence-level contrasts, you’ll learn to hear and produce the difference between tense and relaxed vowels — including sounds like /iː/, /ɪ/, /ə/, /ɜː/, /aɪ/, and /ɪə/. This session focuses on clarity, accuracy, and avoiding common pronunciation mistakes that can lead to confusion or awkward misunderstandings. Ideal for learners who want to sharpen their British pronunciation through focused, practical training.

Transcript:

/iː/ — machine, police, magazine, sardine, routine, vaccine, marine

/ɪ/ — sit, bit, give, live, village, image, engine

/ə/ — possible, family, pencil, medicine, original

/ɜː/ — bird, first, girl, shirt, third, skirt, dirty, birthday, thirteen, confirm

/aɪ/ — time, fine, like, nine, side, bite, mine, pipe, drive

/ɪə/ — ear, hear, pier, tier, weird, fierce, bier, experience, idea, theatre

Minimal pairs:

ship /ʃɪp/ — sheep /ʃiːp/

bit /bɪt/ — beat /biːt/

live /lɪv/ — leave /liːv/

fill /fɪl/ — feel /fiːl/

slip /slɪp/ — sleep /sliːp/

bin /bɪn/ — bean /biːn/

sin /sɪn/ — seen /siːn/

rid /rɪd/ — read /riːd/

lick /lɪk/ — leak /liːk/

tin /tɪn/ — teen /tiːn/

Mix up:

machine — sit — possible — bird — time — ear police — bit — family — first — fine — pier marine — give — pencil — shirt — like — weird routine — live — medicine — dirty — nine — fierce vaccine — village — original — thirteen — side — experience

Sentences:

“I live here.” “I leave here.”

“Did you fill it?” “Did you feel it?”

“He bit the rope.” “He beat the rope.”

“I didn’t slip.” “I didn’t sleep.”

“Can I have that seat?” “Can I have that sit?”

“He gave me a leak.” “He gave me a lick.”

“She threw a pitch.” “She threw a peach.”

“It was very cheap.” “It was very chip.”

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274

In this episode of the British Vowel Sound Masterclass, we explore how a single letter — “I” — represents multiple vowel sounds in British English. You’ll review familiar sounds and discover a few new ones, including the long /iː/, short /ɪ/, the stressed “er” /ɜː/, the weak schwa /ə/, and key diphthongs such as /aɪ/ and /ɪə/. This episode shows why spelling alone can’t be trusted and how learning sound patterns and word families leads to more accurate pronunciation. This episode prepares you for the next practice-focused session, where you’ll train these sounds and build real confidence in your British accent.

If you found this episode interesting, follow this podcast for more tips. And if you would like to work on your accent one on one book a lesson with me on italki.

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/9446274