Reglas de pronunciación del inglés: guía completa

Reglas de vocales

"Magic E Rule"

A silent final -e makes the preceding vowel say its letter name

""cap" → "cape"; the e is silent but changes the vowel sound"

Reglas de vocales

"Vowel Digraph "ai" / "ay""

"ai" appears mid-word; "ay" appears at the end

""rain", "train" vs "play", "say""

Reglas de vocales

"Open Syllable Rule"

A vowel at the end of a syllable is usually long

""go", "be", "hi", "no", "by""

Reglas de vocales

"Closed Syllable Rule"

A vowel followed by a consonant in the same syllable is usually short

""cat", "hit", "lot", "cup""

Reglas de vocales

""oo" Sounds"

"oo" can be /uː/ (long) or /ʊ/ (short) depending on the word

""food" /uː/ vs "foot" /ʊ/"

Reglas de vocales

""ea" Digraph"

"ea" is usually /iː/ but can be /ɛ/ before certain consonants

""beach" /iː/ vs "bread" /ɛ/"

Reglas de vocales

""ow" Diphthong"

"ow" can represent /aʊ/ or /oʊ/ depending on the word

""cow" /aʊ/ vs "snow" /oʊ/"

Reglas de vocales

"Schwa Reduction"

Unstressed vowels in multi-syllable words often reduce to /ə/

""about" = /əˈbaʊt/; "sofa" = /ˈsoʊfə/"

Reglas de consonantes

"Soft C Rule"

"c" is pronounced /s/ before e, i, or y; otherwise /k/

""city" /s/, "cycle" /s/ vs "cat" /k/, "coat" /k/"

Reglas de consonantes

"Soft G Rule"

"g" is pronounced /dʒ/ before e, i, or y; otherwise /ɡ/

""gem" /dʒ/, "gym" /dʒ/ vs "gap" /ɡ/, "got" /ɡ/"

Reglas de consonantes

"TH Sounds"

"th" is voiced /ð/ in function words and voiceless /θ/ in content words

""the", "this" /ð/ vs "think", "bath" /θ/"

Reglas de consonantes

"Flap T (American)"

In American English, /t/ between vowels is often pronounced as a quick /d/-like flap

""butter" sounds like "budder"; "water" like "wader""

Reglas de consonantes

"Glottal Stop"

In British English, /t/ before an unstressed syllable or at word end is often replaced by a glottal stop /ʔ/

""bottle" = /ˈbɒʔl/; "button" = /ˈbʌʔn/"

Reglas de consonantes

"Final -ed Pronunciations"

Past tense -ed is /t/ after voiceless consonants, /d/ after voiced, /ɪd/ after t/d

""jumped" /t/, "called" /d/, "wanted" /ɪd/"

Reglas de consonantes

"CH and SH Digraphs"

"ch" is usually /tʃ/ and "sh" is always /ʃ/; never pronounce each letter separately

""church" /tʃ/, "ship" /ʃ/"

Reglas de consonantes

"Nasal Assimilation"

"n" before /p/, /b/, /m/ often shifts articulation to /m/; before /k/, /ɡ/ it becomes /ŋ/

""input" → /ɪmˈpʊt/; "income" → /ˈɪŋkʌm/"

Letras mudas

"Silent K"

"k" is silent before "n" at the start of a word

""knife" /naɪf/, "know" /noʊ/, "knight" /naɪt/"

Letras mudas

"Silent W"

"w" is silent before "r" at the start of a word and in "who", "whole", "write"

""write" /raɪt/, "who" /huː/, "wrong" /rɒŋ/"

Letras mudas

"Silent GH"

"gh" after a vowel is usually silent, making the preceding vowel long

""night" /naɪt/, "light" /laɪt/, "through" /θruː/"

Letras mudas

"Silent B"

"b" is silent after "m" at the end of a word

""lamb" /læm/, "bomb" /bɒm/, "thumb" /θʌm/"

Letras mudas

"Silent L"

"l" is silent before "f", "k", "m", and "d" in certain words

""half" /hæf/, "talk" /tɔːk/, "calm" /kɑːm/"

Letras mudas

"Silent H"

"h" is silent at the start of certain words, especially of French origin

""hour" /ˈaʊər/, "honest" /ˈɒnɪst/, "heir" /ɛər/"

Letras mudas

"Silent P"

"p" is silent before "n", "s", or "t" in Greek-origin words

""pneumonia" /njuːˈmoʊniə/, "psalm" /sɑːm/, "pterodactyl" /ˌtɛrəˈdæktɪl/"

Letras mudas

"Silent T"

"t" is silent in many words of French origin and fixed English expressions

""castle" /ˈkæsəl/, "listen" /ˈlɪsən/, "often" /ˈɒfən/"

Reglas de acento

"Two-Syllable Nouns"

In two-syllable nouns, stress usually falls on the first syllable

""TAble", "PEOple", "WINdow", "CIty""

Reglas de acento

"Two-Syllable Verbs"

In two-syllable verbs, stress often falls on the second syllable

""reLAX", "beGIN", "deCIDE", "conTROL""

Reglas de acento

"Noun/Verb Stress Shift"

Some words change stress depending on whether they are a noun or verb

""REcord" (noun) vs "reCORD" (verb); "PROtest" vs "proTEST""

Reglas de acento

"-tion / -sion Suffix Rule"

Stress always falls on the syllable immediately before -tion or -sion

""naˈtion", "inforˈmation", "teleˈvision""

Reglas de acento

"-ic Suffix Rule"

Stress falls on the syllable before -ic

""elecˈtric", "ecoˈnomic", "scienˈtific""

Reglas de acento

"Compound Noun Stress"

In compound nouns, the first element carries primary stress

""BLACKbird" (a bird) vs "black BIRD" (a bird that is black)"

Reglas de acento

"Content vs Function Words"

Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are stressed; function words are usually reduced

""I WANT to GO to the SHOP" — "to" and "the" are unstressed"

Reglas de acento

"-ate Suffix Stress"

Nouns/adjectives ending in -ate are stressed on the first syllable; verbs on the last

""COMplicate" (adj) vs "complicATE" (verb); "CERtificate" vs "cerTIFicate""

Reglas de entonación

"Falling Intonation"

Statements and wh- questions end with falling pitch — this sounds definite and complete

""I live in London." ↘ "Where do you work?" ↘"

Reglas de entonación

"Rising Intonation"

Yes/no questions and lists (except the last item) use rising pitch

""Do you speak English?" ↗ "coffee ↗, tea ↗, or juice ↘""

Reglas de entonación

"Fall-Rise Intonation"

A fall-rise signals reservation, contrast, or implication — something is left unsaid

""I passed the exam." ↘↗ (but I didn't do well)"

Reglas de entonación

"Tonic Stress Placement"

The word carrying new information receives the nucleus — the main pitch movement of the tone unit

""I SAW John." (not someone else); "I saw JOHN." (not someone else)"

Reglas de entonación

"Tag Questions Intonation"

Genuine tag questions rise; rhetorical ones (expecting agreement) fall

""It's cold, isn't it?" ↗ (genuine); "You can't miss it, can you?" ↘ (rhetorical)"

Reglas de entonación

"Listing Intonation"

Each item in a list rises except the final one, which falls to signal the list is complete

""I need eggs ↗, milk ↗, bread ↗, and butter ↘.""

Reglas de entonación

"Attitude Through Intonation"

The same words spoken with different intonation patterns carry completely different meanings

""Really?" with rise = interest; with fall = scepticism; with fall-rise = mild surprise"

Reglas de entonación

"Pausing and Chunking"

Speakers divide speech into tone units — each chunk has one main stress; pauses mark boundaries

""When I arrived / the meeting / had already started ↘.""

Habla conectada

"Linking (Consonant + Vowel)"

When a word ends in a consonant and the next begins with a vowel, the sounds link smoothly

""turn off" sounds like "tur-noff"; "an apple" → "a-napple""

Habla conectada

"Linking R (British)"

In non-rhotic accents, a final -r is pronounced when followed by a vowel-initial word

""here and there" → "here-r-and there-r-and…""

Habla conectada

"Intrusive R (British)"

A /r/ sound is inserted between two vowels even when no r is spelled

""the idea of" → "the idea-r-of"; "law and order" → "law-r-and order""

Habla conectada

"Elision"

Sounds are dropped entirely in fast speech, especially /t/ and /d/ between consonants

""last night" → "las' night"; "next day" → "nex' day""

Habla conectada

"Assimilation"

A sound changes to become more like a neighbouring sound

""ten people" → "tem people" (/n/ → /m/ before /p/)"

Habla conectada

"Weak Forms"

Function words are reduced to a shorter, quieter form in normal speech

""and" → /ən/, "to" → /tə/, "for" → /fər/, "of" → /əv/"

Habla conectada

"Gemination (Double Consonants)"

When two identical sounds meet at a word boundary, one elongated sound is produced, not two

""good day" → one long /d/; "black cat" → one long /k/"

Habla conectada

"Yod Coalescence"

/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/ merge with a following /j/ to create new sounds in connected speech

""did you" → "didja" /dɪdʒə/; "meet you" → "meetcha" /miːtʃə/"