Summary
Highlights
The first pronunciation is the short 'e' sound, like in the word 'if'. To make this sound, place your tongue high in the center of your mouth, with your jaw fairly closed and lips spread. Practice words include 'six', 'hit', 'bit', and words with double consonants like 'kill' and 'cliff', or 'ing' endings such as 'going' and 'playing'. An exception is 'build' (u-i for 'i' sound). Practice sentence: "The ship took three years to build, but it soon began to list and sink."
This 'e' sound is shorter and softer than the previous one, falling between 'e' and 'ee'. It occurs when 'i' is at the end of unstressed words. Position your tongue as for the short 'e', but slightly longer and softer. Examples: 'Mini', 'Taxi', 'Auntie', 'Semi', 'Sushi'. Practice sentence: "When he'd finished his sushi, he called a taxi."
The long 'e' sound, as in 'ski'. To produce it, place your tongue high at the front of your mouth, with your jaw fairly closed and lips spread. Common spellings are 'ie' and 'ei'. Words include 'peace', 'brief', 'belief', 'believe', 'receive', 'receipt', 'ceiling', 'protein', and 'police'. A helpful rule is 'i before e, except after c'. Practice sentence: "The police didn't believe it when they received a report of a man skiing on the ceiling."
This is the long 'I' sound, pronounced like the letter's name, as in 'ice'. It's a closing diphthong. Start with your tongue low and central, jaw open (say 'ah'), then close your jaw, move your tongue up, and spread your lips for the 'e' sound, blending to 'I'. Examples: 'nice', 'fine', 'price', 'time', 'arrive', 'bike', 'die', 'pie'. It's also found in 'ight' words ('right', 'tight', 'night') and 'ind' words ('find', 'kind'). Exceptions like 'height' (ei-gh-t) are noted. Practice sentence: "The Titanic was gigantic and sank in the night."
The 'i' can be pronounced with a short 'e' sound, as an exception in the word 'friend'. For this sound, position your tongue at mid-height at the front of your mouth with a neutral jaw and spread lips. Though 'friend' is a specific exception, it's good to be aware of such irregular pronunciations.
The 'er' sound, as in 'bird', is very common with 'ir' spellings. Place your tongue at mid-height in the center of your mouth, with a neutral jaw and lips. Examples: 'dirt', 'stir', 'skirt', 'first', 'flirt', 'third', 'virtual', 'circle', 'circus', 'circuit', 'circumstances', 'confirm'. Practice sentence: "The girl confirmed her date of birth by circling the date."
The schwa sound ('uh'), often used for unstressed vowel sounds, as seen in the 'i' of 'April'. Your tongue is low and central, jaw neutral, and lips relaxed. Examples: 'giraffe', 'recipe', 'possible', 'confirmation'. Note how 'confirmation' has two schwas. Words ending in 'ion' also use this sound: 'caution', 'attention', 'emotion', 'confusion', 'recession', 'cushion', 'religion', 'region'. Exceptions include 'certain' (ain ending pronounced schwa). Also 'foreign' (ei-g pronounced schwa), and 'ible' endings like 'edible', 'possible', 'terrible', 'audible'. 'ity' endings sound like 'ity' not 'itty': 'vanity', 'quality', 'reality', 'ability', 'carity'. 'il' endings (like 'pupil', 'pencil', 'lentil') are pronounced 'ul'. The 'oi' spelling in 'tortoise' is also a schwa. Practice sentence: "It's possible she lost concentration when she focused her attention on the tortoise eating lentils for charity."
Listen for 'ion' word endings where a 'e' sound precedes the schwa, creating a 'ya' sound. Examples: 'million', 'billion', 'opinion'.
The letter 'i' can be pronounced as the 'a' sound, particularly in 'ai' spellings like 'aim'. This is a diphthong: start with 'e' (mid-height, front of mouth, neutral jaw), then glide to 'i' (low central, fairly closed jaw, slightly spread lips). Always stressed in 'ai' words. Examples: 'rain', 'Spain', 'Maine', 'pain', 'vain', 'faint', 'saint', 'faith', 'contain', 'available', 'campaign', 'email'. 'ei' spellings can also make this sound ('rein'). 'eigh' spellings too ('eight', 'wait', 'neighbor'). Practice sentence: "Her reign was in vain after she fainted with pain." or "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."
Pronounced 'air', as in the substance we breathe. This diphthong starts with 'e' (front of mouth, mid-height) and glides to 'uh' (low position, jaw/lips relax). Examples for 'ai' spellings: 'fair', 'hair', 'chair'. Also 'ei' in 'their'. Practice sentence: "Their fair hair moved through the air."
Pronounced 'ear', as in 'weird'. This diphthong starts with 'e' (high tongue, fairly closed jaw, spread lips) and glides to 'uh' (low tongue, relaxed jaw/lips). Note the unusual spelling of 'weird' (e-i, not i-e). 'ier' spellings: 'tear', 'fierce', 'easier', 'busier', 'prettier', 'hotelier', 'courier', 'carrier'. 'ior' endings: 'junior', 'senior', 'interior', 'inferior', 'superior'. Practice sentence: "The courier was busier than the junior hotelier."
The 'oi' sound, as in 'oil'. Start with 'aw' (tongue back, middle of mouth, open jaw, slightly rounded lips), then glide to 'e' (tongue high towards palate, fairly closed jaw, slightly spread lips). The 'aw' sound is shorter. Examples: 'boil', 'foil', 'soil', 'join', 'coin', 'choice', 'moisturizer', 'toilet', 'invoice', 'paranoid'. Practice sentence: "Having no choice, he boiled the coins he found in the soil in foil."
This is a tripped diphthong, 'Aya', with three sounds, as in 'fire'. Start with 'I' (low central tongue, open jaw, neutral lips), move to 'e' (upward tongue, fairly closed jaw, slightly spread lips), then to 'uh' (low central tongue, relaxed jaw/lips). Examples: 'higher', 'wire', 'tired', 'retired', 'inquire', 'desire', 'admire', 'expire', 'umpire'. An exception: 'choir' (oi spelling). Also 'io' spellings: 'lion', 'violin', 'violence', 'prior'. Practice sentence: "The umpire was tired, so he retired to listen to the choir prior to his violin lesson."