These are common patterns for speakers of Filipino (Tagalog) and other Philippine languages, not rules: everyone is different, and many speakers have no trouble with some of these sounds. Press 🔊 to hear each word. Turn on the speaking check to test yourself.
“f” and “p” (fan, pan)
What often happens: f often becomes p: fine → pine, coffee → copy.
How to make it: f: top teeth rest on your bottom lip and air flows out gently: fff. p: both lips close, then pop open. A good test: you can hold fff for as long as you like, but you can't hold a p.
Practice sentence: My friend prefers fresh coffee, five days a week.
“v” and “b” (very, berry)
What often happens: v often becomes b: very → berry, vest → best.
How to make it: v: top teeth on your bottom lip, with voice, and keep the buzz going. b: both lips close completely, then open. If your lips touch each other, it's a b.
Practice sentence: Victor visited a very busy beach in November.
“th” (think, this)
What often happens: th is often said as t or d: three → tree, then → den.
How to make it: Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and blow air out. For think, three, month there's no voice; for this, that, mother, add your voice (a buzz). Don't touch the roof of your mouth, or it becomes t or d.
Practice sentence: I think the three of them thanked their mother on Thursday.
“z” and “s” (prize, price)
What often happens: z often becomes s: zoo → sue, prize → price.
How to make it: Both have the tongue behind your top teeth. s is air only (a snake: sss). z adds voice (a bee: zzz). Many plural and verb endings are z: dogs, plays, goes.
Practice sentence: These prizes are easy to lose, so keep the boxes closed.
“sh” and “s” (ship, sip)
What often happens: sh and s can merge: she and see, ship and sip.
How to make it: s: smile slightly, with the tongue tip behind your top teeth. sh: push your lips forward and round them, and pull your tongue back a little: shhh, like asking someone to be quiet.
Practice sentence: She sells fresh fish and shellfish at the shop.
Short and long vowels (ship, sheep)
What often happens: Short and long vowels can sound alike: ship and sheep, full and fool.
How to make it: Short i (ship) is quick and relaxed. Long ee (sheep) is longer, with a wider smile. The same goes for full (short) vs fool (long). The length changes the word, so exaggerate it while you practise.
Practice sentence: Please sit in this seat and leave the window open.
Your accent is fine
The aim is to be clear, not to sound Australian or British. PTE scores pronunciation on how easily most English speakers understand you, and says regional accents are fine. IELTS uses a pronunciation criterion in the speaking test that looks at clarity, stress and intonation, not accent. Fixing the few sounds that change the meaning of words makes the biggest difference.
Stress and rhythm
- Stress one syllable per word: PHOtograph, phoTOGraphy, photoGRAPHic. Check new words in a dictionary that shows stress.
- Stress the important words in a sentence (nouns, main verbs, numbers) and say small words (a, the, of, to) lightly.
- Pause at commas and full stops, not in the middle of a phrase. This matters in PTE Read Aloud.
How to practise (10 minutes a day)
- Pick one sound a day. Listen to the pairs and repeat each word 5 times.
- Say the practice sentence slowly, then at normal speed.
- Record yourself with our speaking recorder and listen back.
- Use the sound in real tasks: Read Aloud, or your IELTS speaking practice.
Unofficial practice. We wrote these questions to match the official PTE Academic task types and timings. They are not real exam questions, and points shown are practice feedback, not a PTE score. For an official estimate, use Pearson's scored practice tests.