What's new on IELTS with Fiona

In Mark Hancock's latest homophone post, he shows how these MIGHT sound the same for some people (but not all):

• maɪ ænts pæst ə ˈtest (short æ in 'aunt', 'ant' 'pasta' and 'passed')

However, a lot of people use the long ɑː for 'aunt' (but not 'ant') 'pasta' and 'passed'.

• maɪ ɑːnts pɑːst ə ˈtest (long /ɑː/ in aunt, passed and pasta)

Aunt and aren't

If you use the long ɑː for 'aunt', remember that it's a homophone of 'aren't'.Learners tend to mispronounce 'aren't' as 2 syllables [ar-runt*].

Members: Review homophones related to contractions (Page 3/10 on the Worksheet)

Notice also:

• Past Tense '-ed' pronunciation

'passed a' = 'pasta' (Review Past Tense 'ed' pronunciation)

• Contracted 's'

'My aunt's passed' = My aunt HAS passed

'My aunt's pasta' = Possessive 's'

• Auntie and anti

Many people (myself included) pronuounce these the same.