Back to course

Pairs in context

Minimal pairs inside sentences

Hearing a pair in isolation is one thing — keeping the contrast in connected speech is harder.

Read these sentences aloud. Each puts a target-word next to its confusable twin. Don't drop the contrast.

  • The early bird heard the first word of the nurse's third lesson.
  • Her purple shirt was dirty after the work on Thursday.
  • The thirsty bird circled the church before it turned and flew.

After practice, run it through the analyzer

Try this sentence in the analyzer
The early bird heard the first word of the nurse's third lesson.
Analyze ↗

Listen Across Accents

Tap an accent to hear each example. Audio is generated on demand and cached.

The early bird heard the first word of the nurse's third lesson.
Her purple shirt was dirty after the work on Thursday.
The thirsty bird circled the church before it turned and flew.

Your Turn — 4 exercises

Record yourself and get instant AI pronunciation feedback. Free account required.

Start free 14-day trial
Pairs in context — Master the /ɝ/ vowel — NURSE