Magic E in IELTS Listening gapfill answers

Magic E in IELTS Listening gapfill answers

Part One – The same or different

Without looking below, listen to your partner or teacher say two words from the same line below and indicate if you think they have exactly the same pronunciation (“The same”) or different pronunciations (“Different”). Your teacher will tell you if you should raise cards, raise one of your two hands, shout out the answer, etc.

1. age/ H
2. bite/ byte
3. bone/ born
4. brakes/ breaks
5. chute/ shoot
6. climbs/ climes
7. close/ crows
8. clothe/ cloth
9. code/ cord
10. crude/ crewed
11. curve/ carve
12. dinner/ diner
13. dome/ dorm
14. fined/ find
15. fire/ fir
16. flute/ fruit
17. frame/ flame
18. game/ came
19. genes/ jeans
20. grate/ great
21. hire/ her
22. hoping/ hopping
23. horse/ hose
24. June/ tune
25. lake/ lack
26. lane/ lain
27. late/ laid
28. line/ lime
29. litter/ lighter
30. lone/ loan
31. made/ maid
32. male/ mail
33. mate/ mat
34. maze/ maize
35. mile/ mil
36. mined/ mind
37. miner/ minor
38. missed/ mist
39. muddy/ moody
40. nose/ knows
41. note/ nought
42. phone/ foam
43. place/ plays
44. plane/ plain
45. plate/ plaid
46. price/ prize
47. prince/ prints
48. race/ raise
49. rage/ rag
50. road/ rode
51. role/ roll
52. rose/ rows
53. route/ root
54. rubber/ lover
55. safe/ save
56. sale/ sail
57. scene/ seen
58. side/ sighed
59. site/ sight
60. size/ sighs
61. snake/ snack
62. socialise/ socialize
63. sole/ soul
64. spice/ spies
65. stage/ stag
66. stake/ steak
67. stole/ stall
68. stores/ stows
69. style/ still
70. swimmer/ swim
71. tale/ tail
72. taping/ tapping
73. theme/ seem
74. thicker/ sicker
75. tide/ tied
76. tube/ tub
77. whole/ hole
78. wide/ white
79. wine/ whine
80. winners/ whiners
81. wire/ we’re
82. write/ right
83. written/ ridden

Work together to write “S” for “The same” or “D” for “Different” next to each line above,

Check as a class.  

If you haven’t yet, play the same listening game as before in groups, correcting the person speaking if you think they haven’t really pronounced them the same or haven’t really pronounced them differently.

Ask about any which you couldn’t pronounce differently, think could be pronounced differently, etc.

Magic E spelling and pronunciation presentation

Work together to make rules for the spelling and pronunciation above.

Use these questions to help with your analysis:

• When does a final -e change the pronunciation of the vowel sound before it? When doesn’t it?
• What vowel sounds can change because of a final -e? What vowel sound or sounds does each change to? What do those vowel sounds have in common? (= How are those vowel sounds the same as each other?)
• What vowel sounds cannot change because of a final -e? What do those vowel sounds have in common? (= How are those vowel sounds the same as each other?)
• What can block the action of a final -e? (= What things between a final -e and a vowel sound can stop it changing?)
• What endings have the same effect as a final -e?

Further Magic E practice

Use the rules you decided above to pronounce these words with the right vowel sounds.

84. attendance
85. attitude
86. balance
87. blonde
88. bridges
89. camping
90. cave
91. charge
92. clamping
93. clapping
94. commuter
95. complete
96. complicated
97. concentrating
98. concrete
99. confidence
100. cooperating
101. crossing
102. dance
103. database
104. deadlines
105. decade
106. decline
107. decorate
108. disease
109. distance
110. drive
111. drummer
112. erode
113. escape
114. evaluate
115. evidence
116. exercise
117. finance
118. fridge
119. guide
120. knife
121. ladder
122. lodge
123. module
124. obese
125. parade
126. paved
127. perfume
128. puzzle
129. reduce
130. rules
131. shade
132. shape
133. skimming
134. software
135. supervise
136. trekking
137. volume
138. wives

Check as a class.

Test each other on the words above (including words from this section and the previous section):

• say a word and see if your partner can write it
• say a word and see if your partner can spell it back to you
• point to a word and see if your partner can pronounce it
• spell a word and see if your partner can pronounce it
• show your partner two words and see if they can correctly pronounce them the same or pronounce them differently