Easy English.with James
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Free practice · for my video

The schwa sound /ə/.

You watched my video about the schwa. Now let’s practise! First, a short summary. Then three small practices. It takes about 10 minutes.

The video: “The Schwa Sound /ə/”. Watch it on YouTube ↗

What you learned

The schwa is the most common sound in English. It is in almost every sentence. Get it right, and you sound fast and natural. Here is everything from the video, in order.

  1. 1

    What is the schwa? /ə/

    • about
    • away
    • around

    Relax your mouth. Make a short, quiet “uh”. The schwa is never in the strong part of a word.

  2. 2

    All 5 vowel letters can be a schwa

    • about
    • taken
    • pencil
    • today
    • suppose

    A, E, I, O and U can all make the schwa. The spelling doesn’t tell you. Listen for it!

  3. 3

    A, an and the

    • a banana
    • an apple
    • the doctor

    In a sentence, we say a, an and the with a small schwa. Not a big “ay”.

  4. 4

    Weak syllables

    • amazing
    • again
    • police
    • computer
    • camera

    Every long word has one strong part. The weak parts often have a schwa.

  5. 5

    ER, OR and AR at the end

    • teacher
    • doctor
    • sugar

    In British English we don’t say the R. The ending is just a schwa.

  6. 6

    Family words

    • mother
    • father
    • brother
    • sister
    • daughter

    They all end with ER, so they all end with a schwa.

  7. 7

    Words that end in A

    • pizza
    • camera
    • banana

    A at the end of a word is usually a schwa. Banana has three As, and two are schwas!

A good way to practise: take any sentence and find the schwas. Then say it again and again. Make the schwas small and the strong words clear.

The schwa is the reason fast English sounds so different from the words you read.

Practice 1 of 3

Where is the schwa?

Press ▶ and listen to me. Where is the small, relaxed /ə/? Choose the word with the right letters coloured.

  1. 1 doctor

  2. 2 about

  3. 3 sugar

  4. 4 today

  5. 5 pencil

  6. 6 pizza

  7. 7 police

  8. 8 taken

Practice 2 of 3

Which word doesn’t start with a schwa?

Listen to the FIRST vowel in each word. In two words, it is a schwa /ə/. In one word, it is a strong sound. Press ▶ to hear a word. Then tap the different word.

  1. 1

  2. 2

  3. 3

  4. 4

  5. 5

  6. 6

Practice 3 of 3

Say it and compare

The coloured letters are schwas. Keep them small and quick. Press ▶ and listen to me. Then press Record and say it. Then listen to me and to you. Do you sound the same?

  1. 1 A and an

    A banana. An egg.

  2. 2 /ə/

    An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

    An old saying: fruit is good for you, so you don’t need a doctor.

  3. 3 /ə/

    Hello again! How are you today?

  4. 4 /ə/

    My daughter is learning to swim.

  5. 5 /ə/

    Let’s order a pizza!

  6. 6 /ə/

    Smile for the camera!

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