Minimal Pairs: /p/ & /b/

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Pronunciation Practice

Practice pronunciation with your tutor by reading the following words.

/p/ & /b/

pig

Noun

pɪg

an animal with short legs and a flat nose which is farmed for meat

Pigs have a highly developed sense of smell.

big

Adjective

bɪg

large; important or serious

He has a big problem.

pie

Noun

paɪ

baked food that has fruit, meat, or vegetables inside or on top

I ordered a piece of pie.

I had a piece of pie with whipped cream.

buy

Verb

baɪ

to use money to get something

Buying goods online is easy.

pride

Noun

praɪd

a feeling of happiness and satisfaction because of one's achievements, qualities, or possessions, or those of another

He feels great pride for his country.

She seems to have too much pride.

We all take pride in working for the company.

His writing skill is a point of pride for him.

bride

Noun

braɪd

a woman on the day of her wedding

The bride is waiting for the groom.

The bride is wearing a pearl necklace.

simple

Adjective

ˈsɪmpəl

easy to do, understand, make, etc.

I live a simple life.

He has a very simple job.

symbol

Noun

ˈsɪmbəl

a thing that represents something else

The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom.

The crown is used as a symbol for the king.

The cross is the central symbol of Christianity.

The shamrock is the symbol of my football team.

pace

Noun

peɪs

the speed at which something is moving, happening, developing, etc.

She's jogging along the beach at a slow pace.

She's having trouble keeping up with the pace of her job.

base

Verb

beɪs

to use particular ideas, facts etc. to reach a conclusion or make a decision

I based my analysis on last year's financial data.

What are you basing your decision on?

peach

Noun

pitʃ

a pinkish-orange fruit that grows on trees and contains one large seed

Peaches are my favorite fruit, but they're hard to get this time of year.

beach

Noun

biʧ

a sandy area by the sea

We took a walk on the beach at sunset.

We spent our holiday relaxing at the beach.

I camped on the beach with my friends.

The Philippines is famous for its wonderful beaches.

Exercise 2

Sentence Practice

Practice pronunciation with your tutor by reading the following sentences.

Pigs can grow to be very big.
Can you please buy me a piece of pie on your way home?
The man looked at his bride with pride as she walked down the aisle.
She drew a very simple heart symbol.
Let's just walk at a slow pace until we reach the base of the mountain.
He was selling peach flavored ice-cream on the beach.

Exercise 3

Find the Sounds

Select the word that contains the sound listed below. There can be more than one correct answer.

Find: /p/

Put some bananas in the fruit salad.

I have to purchase a new set of headphones.

Peanut butter is my favorite.

The article was published in the newspaper.

It's time to go to sleep.

Find: /b/

The house was very big.

I need to brush my hair every morning.

I hope I do better in my next exam.

He is my best friend, but he can be mean sometimes.

Exercise 4

Tongue Twister

Practice pronunciation with your tutor by reading the following tongue twister(s). Read each tongue twister slowly at first, then try reading it faster.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

A bachelor botched a batch of badly baked biscuits.

Did the bachelor botch a batch of badly baked biscuits?

If the bachelor botched a batch of badly baked biscuits,

where are the badly baked biscuits the bachelor botched?