2020-09-13
12 分钟Hi there, this is Harry, and welcome to my podcast.
In these podcasts, I help you to understand the english language a little better, so that perhaps you can converse or have a conversation with somebody in a better way, more meaningful way, either for business English or just for ordinary conversational English.
So I'll help you with grammar aspects, phrasal verbs, expressions that you will find hopefully useful in your attempts to improve your English.
And as always, if you want to contact me, I'll give you the details at the end of this particular podcast.
So, what am I going to do in this one?
Well, I thought I'd do something a little bit different.
When I was a young guy, I used to watch television like lots of kids, and I was always fascinated by an american program called Sesame street.
It's still available, I think, on the Internet and YouTube, but was a great way for kids to be educated, and I used to use it myself and my own children when they were really young.
And one of the attractive parts of that, every week or every episode, they used to introduce number or a letter of the Alphabet, and they would say, this show is sponsored by the letter y or the letter k or the number one.
And then they would focus on words beginning with that letter, k or y, or things linked to the number one or two, whatever they were focusing on.
It was a great way for kids to learn and understand, and I often think, even for adults, it's a good way to show them the english language to understand words and expressions.
So I thought I would try that with you over a series of podcasts sponsored by different letters.
So today I'm going to talk to you about the letter a, or as some people pronounce it, a.
Now when we pronounce it a or r, it's exactly the same letter.
So, a man, a man, normally we would say ah, a man, a man called to the house last night, a woman was hurt in the car accident, a child ran out in front of my bike.
A dog comes into my garden every day and digs up my flowers.
So, a, a and it sounds like that, ah, a, okay, and then a, which again, as I said, is the same letter, sounds like a y, like, hey, without the h.
A man, a nice day or a nice day.
A and I, as you will hear me over the podcast, if you listen to them, I change from time to time.
Sometimes I pronounce a, sometimes I pronounce a, depending on the word and depending on where I want to put the stress.