/i/ vs /ɪ/: the high front vowels

The high front vowels are produced with the tongue high in the mouth and pushed toward the front. These vowels are the /i/ and /ɪ/ phonemes and are the difference between "peach" and "pitch".

Let's start with the /i/ sound

The tense /i/ vowel, the vowel in "beat"

The sound of this vowel in English is fairly similar to the /i/ vowel in most languages. Watch the video to learn more!

Most languages have a sound similar to this but for the english one you may need to smile more and tense your tongue more to be 100% correct. 

In addition the English /i/ may be slightly diphthongized with a y-like sound at the end, hence it’s “impure” quality. Compare English see with the purer sounding Italian si

Common Spelling Patterns for /i/ 

ee: meet, bee three

ea: team, sea, reach 

ie: relief, piece

ei: either, weird

e_e: mete, these, Chinese

final y: city, electricity, parity

ique: unique, critique

Word lists:

Contrastive pairs 

leaf/lift, sit/seat, seek/sick, beet/bit, meet/mitt, city/seedy, feet/fit, sheep/ship, Pete/pit, list/least, bean/bin, each/itch, he’s/his, sleep/slip, cheap/chip, deal/dill, feel/fill, mill/meal, seal/sill, real/rill, keel/kill, pill/peel, heal/hill, feel/fill, steal/still, leave/live

Phrases with /i/

Deep sea, sweet dreams, breathe deeply, three seats, leafy greens, tea please, cheesy beans

Contrastive phrases

still asleep, no big deal, very ill, these things, feeling ill, see a film, is she, it's me, just beat it, very filling

Sentences

The underlined vowels are /i/

1. He is Pete, and she is Irene. Tell me: where did they meet?

2. His speedy feet let him easily beat the other team in the 500 meter relay.

3. I was elected to lead, not to read.

4. It was Kareem’s responsibility to feed the manatees.

5. She treated the company’s employees with dignity.

6. They are eating a meal together at the spaghetti cafeteria.

7. The magazines featured her achievements quite prominently.

8. The place was extremely packed and couldn’t seat the entire party.

9. Every piece of meat should be evenly seasoned.

10. I felt really displeased when the emergency meeting was revealed.

Read & speak out loud 

The number in brackets indicates the number of instances of this phoneme in the article. After reading the article, answer the question out loud using as many words with the phoneme as possible. 

Study: All Types of Coffee Reduce Risk of Liver Disease (51)

• What do you do to prevent disease?
• Do you drink coffee? Why or why not?

Late Bedtimes Linked to Obesity in Young Children (61)

• How do you think parents should make children sleep earlier?

Next up, we have...

The lax /ɪ/ vowel, the vowel in "bit"

This vowel is a tricky one that many languages don't have. Therefore many English learners have trouble with this sound. Being lax, your cheeks and tongue should be relaxed. Watch the video to learn more.

Common spelling patterns

_i_: kit, this, winner, give

_ui_: guilty, building

_y_: system, gym, symbol

Exception:

The word been uses /ɪ/ or /ɛ/ in American English English but /i/ in British English

The word women has /ɪ/ as the first vowel

Phrases

/ɪ/:

fish sticks, spring picnic, a little bit, sit in, drink milk, big city, quick hint, fish and chips, so it begins, children’s film, this thing, little kittens, kindred spirits, witnessing it, mixed tricks, it's lit, innocent kid, winter trip, hit it!

Sentences

/ɪ/:

1. Tim is visiting Berlin with his big sister Cynthia.

2. Quitting drinking was difficult for him in the beginning.

3. Jim Smith had to sit in an informal interview.

4. The history of cities in the middle ages is interesting.

5. is it Phil or Bill who is visiting for dinner?

6. Cindy and Hilda are busy women but they manage to keep fit.

7. Nikola Tesla is an inventor known for electrical experiments and inventions.

8. Gilligan's sister, being an introvert, was a little timid.

9. The possessed lizards did the evil witch's bidding.

10. A little bit of drinking is enough to get Will tipsy.

/ɪ/ vs /i/:

/ɪ/ is underlined while /i/ is bolded

1. In this city they eat such little meat, not including beef, chicken or fish.

2. it's a pity that Pete had to sit out and didn’t even compete.

3. Hilda was last seen leaving the city and going to the village inn.

4. Eating the minty sweets lifts my spirits but leaves a weird aftertaste.

5. I hid in the pit so that the alligator didn’t see me.

6. I couldn’t eat the beans anymore so I threw the tin into the bin.

7. I had to deal with Bill feeling really ill.

8. The VC pitch deck was for a product called Mississippi peach willow tea.

Reading & speaking out loud

The number in brackets indicates the number of instances of this phoneme in the article. After reading the article, answer the question out loud using as many words with the phoneme as possible. 

South African Company Makes Insect Ice Cream (51)

• Would you ever eat insect ice cream?
• Are you scared of insects?

Young Americans Motivated to Fix Political 'Dysfunction' (46)

• Do you think politics is dysfunctional in America?
• What is the political system like in your country?

Annotated text:

The following text has been specially written to have more of the relevant sounds for you to practice. These sounds are annotated in the text. Try reading it out!