Audio Transcript:
Welcome to episode 7 of The English Sessions. The silent “H” at the beginning of words. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content.
You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website, as you listen to this episode.
Listen for these words today:
▪ Herbs - are plants often used to flavor foods, like rosemary, basil, or oregano.
▪ To honor - means to regard with a lot of respect. “I must honor my mother and father”
▪ Heir - An ‘heir’ (SP) is someone who is next in line to be president, or king, or queen, etc. For example, as Morrissey tells us: “I am the son and heir of nothing in particular”
▪ Silly - Something ‘silly’ is something that is trivial. It’s like the opposite of ‘serious’. “I have a rather silly story to tell you. It involves unicorns and leprechauns.
Do you honestly feel you have enough hours in the day to practice English? It can be tough, but I’m glad that I can help you go through it.
Okay, did you hear words that have a silent “H”? “Honestly”. H-O-N-E-S-T-L-Y. “Hour”. H-O-U-R. Some words that start with the letter “h” have a silent “h”, so you don’t pronounce it.
There is honestly, and hour. What else? “Herbs” (SP) in American pronunciation. “Honor” (SP). “Heir” (SP).
I will make a silly sentence with all of these words. Hmmm… “I honestly cannot honor an heir who eats a hundred herbs every hour”. Let’s try that a few more times!
And here is some homework for all of you. Another word that starts with an “H” that is often silent but not always, is “homage”. “H-O-M-A-G-E”. Your homework is to research what this means and send me a sentence using this word! Remember to go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com to record a voice message or write an email to mike@englishsessionswithmike.com
I’d like to end the class today with a message from my good friend and student Renaud, in France.
- Renaud Clip -
Thank you, Renaud! And this one is just for you. Another word with a silent ‘h’ beginning, that comes right from a French term: “hors d'oeuvres”. Renaud probably won’t even recognize my pronunciation, but that is a common pronunciation in American English. "hors d'oeuvres”. In English, “hors d'oeuvre” is used to describe a small dish eaten during a meal, often as an appetizer or starter.
Thanks everyone for listening today. Go to the website to listen to Morrissey with The Smiths singing the song “How Soon is Now?”. How many times does he use the word ‘heir’ in the song?
Any questions? Write to me at mike@englishsessionswithmike.com . Leave a message for me on the website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com and I will play it on the podcast. Make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you won’t miss an episode. Visit www.englishsessionswithmike.com for more content. Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, this is Mike signing off.
The Smiths - How Soon is Now? Lyrics:
I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
There's a club if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home and you cry
And you want to die
When you say it's gonna happen "now"
When exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does