The / I / sound

• Mouth slightly more open and the muscles of the neck are more relaxed than in the /e/ sound.
• This is a schwa sound.

The following words have the I sound:

Billing/bill                kitchen

Cherry Hill                limo

Cinema                    Lincoln

City                            liquor

Directions                listing

District                        locksmith

Fisherman’s Wharf    Pic n’ Save

Foothill Blvd.                sixty-six

Hilton                         slip

His                            slip lane

Holiday Inn                Sprint

Inn/in                        this

Is                             Ticketmaster

Issue                        Wisconsin



Try these phrases

This kiss                    it’s at Foothill             his sixtieth 

Invest in the district    issue his bill              his father’s fisherman

His liquor cabinet       give him directions    cinema listings    

interesting locksmith   install the ignition     it’s impossible       

issue tickets                give you credit         six cinemas   

enter the slip lane      tempting Paris                 it isn’t   listed

California  Kitchen       Hillsborough Bridge




Contrasting E vs. I

E                 I                    Sentence drills

Street        city                 Is Litchfield the city or the street?

Beach        Huntington    How may I help you in Huntington Beach?

These        this                These will not fit in this box.

Field        filled                The field is filled with grazing sheep.

Peek         Pick               Don’t peek when picking.

Pizza        pit                   Let’s have pizza at the pit stop.

Phoenix    Philadelphia    Where would you rather go,
                                          to Phoenix or Philadelphia?

Cleveland    live             My friend lives in Cleveland.

Creek        crick             There are lots of crickets near the creek.

Easy         is,issue        It’s easy to issue credit to callers.

Key           kitchen        Tim left his key chain on the kitchen counter.

Eat              it                I have Sbarro’s Italian Eatery on Citadel St.



More sentence drills

1. What city and state please?
2. Do you have a street address?
3. I have the Cheesecake Factory on Beach Blvd.
4. I’m sorry for the inconvenienve. Let me issue  you credit for that call.
5. That’s pink peach. Thank you, one moment please.
6. I have the main number for Sleep Inn.
7. I have Beach Street Hair Studio on Beach St.
8. Please bear right and enter the slip lane.
9. That’s Sid’s Feed and Seed in Litchfield. One moment please.
10. I have Chuck E Cheese’s on 6th St.
11. How may I help you in Phoenix, AZ?
12. Would this be in Seal Beach or Shell Beach, CA?
13. I have Classic Sheepskin Seat Covers on South St.
14. That’s Tim’s Steam Cleaning n Richfield rd. Thank you, one moment please.
15. I have Pizza Hut on Peach St.