+

Let's practice some minimal pairs between the v sound and w sound to hear and
feel the clear difference between them. The w sound is created entirely with the
vibration between the lips, and the v sound is created with the vibration between
the lower lip and upper teeth.

vent, went
vine, wine
vest, west
veil, whale
verse, worse

How to Teach the V Sound in Isolation:

Like I mentioned above the only difference between the /f/ sound and the /v/ sound is the voice. So, if
the child you are working with can say the /f/ sound, teaching the /v/ sound is easy. Simply tell them to
say the /f/ sound and then turn on their voice for the /v/ sound. You may want to have them feel the
vibrations on their throat or lower lip when making the sound. This will help them distinguish the
difference between these sounds.
Once they can say the /v/ sound a fun way to practice it is to call it the Revving engine sound.
Together pretend you are revving an engine while you take turns saying vvvv, vvv, VVV. Adding some
toy cars makes it a lot of fun. Sometimes I use the sign language sign for driving a car as a cue later to
help them remember to say their good /v/ sound when we start working in words, sentences or stories.
How to Teach the F and V Sounds in Syllables:
Once your child can say the /f/ and or /v/ sounds in isolation you are ready to put them into syllables.
Think of syllables as a baby step that helps make the transition from isolation to words a little
smoother. Practicing words in syllables can also help determine in which position of words (initial,
medial or final) you should begin practicing the /f/ or /v/ sound.
To practice the sound in syllables simply add a vowel after the /f/ sound for the initial (beginning)
position, before the /f/ sound for the final position, and before and after the /f/ sound for the medial
(middle) position, being sure to practice the long and short form of each vowel.
My favorite way to practice initial /f/ syllables is to practice saying, Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum (and with my own
kids) Im going to tickle your tummy, tum tum. We have a lot of giggles with this one as I chase them
around the house! They especially love it when its their turn and they get to come after me. Yikes!
Some final /f/ syllables would be aff, eff, if, off, and uff. Some medial /f/ syllables would be, affu, effi,
iffa, uffo, and offee. Do the same with the /v/ sound adding vowels to the sound for practice at the
syllable level.
If your child is the most successful with the /f/ or /v/ sound in the initial position of syllables then begin
by practicing the /f/ or /v/ sound in initial position of words. If your child has more success with the /f/
or /v/ sound in the final position of syllables begin by practicing the /f/ or /v/ sound in the final position
of words and so on. Kids typically have an easier time with the initial or final syllables which is why I
usually start with one of those.
How to Teach the F and a V Sounds in Words:
Once the /f/ and /v/ sounds are mastered in syllables and you have decided which position (initial,
medial or final) you want to target you are ready to practice them in words. You can use the word cards
I have created on the worksheets page to practice the /f/ and /v/ sounds. Once the sounds are said in
words correctly (at least 80% of the time) you are ready to practice the /f/ and /v/ sounds in sentences.

F
To create the /f/, the jaw is held nearly closed. The upper backside of the bottom
lip is pressed very lightly into the bottom of the top teeth. Air is pushed out the
mouth between the top teeth and the upper backside of the bottom lip. This
sound is to be a continuous consonant, meaning that it should be capable of being
produced for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire
duration.

The lips are kept mostly relaxed during the production of the/f/. A common error
English language learners make isoverproducing this sound by curling the
bottom lip under the top teeth. This creates problems when linking other sounds
to and from the /f/.

lementary and Pre-Intermediate

fan van
ferry very
leaf leave
off of

Intermediate
fast vast
fat vat
fee V
fine vine
foul vowel
gif give
half halve
life live (adjective)
proof prove
Hello!
I hope youre well today and ready to learn all about the f sound in English.
Start by taking a look at the following words:
photo
gift
half
laugh
friend
staff
As you can see, the f sound is spelt in four different ways: f, ff, ph and gh.

The standard f can be found at the beginning, at the end and in the middle of
words.
Examples:
find, fantastic, future
As you can see, the f sound is spelt in four different ways: f, ff, ph and gh.

F
The standard f can be found at the beginning, at the end and in the middle of
words.
Examples:
find, fantastic, future
proof, reef
life, after
It is quite a strong sound compared to v. However, note that the word of is
pronounced ov.

FF
Say aloud the following words:

off
stuff
cliff
office
coffee
They all contain ff because the vowel sound before the ff is short.

PH
Did you know that most words containing ph are from Ancient Greek? Its
interesting, isnt it?
This ph can be found at the beginning, at the end and in the middle of words.
Examples:
phone, pharmacy
rough, graph
alphabet, dolphin

GH
Look at the following words which all contain the -ugh pattern and where this
pattern is pronounced f:
rough
cough
enough
laughter
Note that ugh is not always pronounced as f.

Remember!
The voiceless f sound (a consonant fricative) is produced by stopping and releasing
air between your bottom lip and the front side of your top teeth. Do not overproduce
this sound by curling your bottom lip under your top teeth.

Find out how to spel

How
to 'vpronounce
Listen
to the
sound'
sound' /v/

the 'v

The 'v sound' /v/ is voiced (the vocal cords vibrate during its production), and is
the counterpart to the unvoiced 'f sound'/f/.

To create the /v/, the jaw is held nearly closed. The upper backside of the bottom
lip is pressed very lightly into the bottom of the top teeth. Air is pushed out the
mouth between the top teeth and the upper backside of the bottom lip. This
sound is a continuous consonant, meaning that it should be capable of being
produced for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire
duration.

The lips are kept mostly relaxed during the /v/. A common error ESL/ELL students
make is overproducing this sound by curling the bottom lip under the top teeth.
This creates problems when linking to and from the /v/.

Dialogue
A: How did you avoid a parking violation?
B: Easy. I parked my vehicle in a vacant lot.
A: Don't they ever check there?
B: Never. Not even in the most severe crackdowns.
A: You're lucky. I've been cited five times.
B: Take my advice. Get a validated parking sticker.