Answering pronunciation
Answering has 3 syllables. The stress is on the first syllable, "an". Capital letters in the respelling show where the stress falls.
Say answering and check it
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Answering syllables
Answering has 3 syllables: AN-sur-ihng.
- ANæn
- sursɚ
- ihngɪŋ
AN-sur-ing, three syllables, stress on the first. Silent w, then "sur", then "ing" — there is no "w" sound to bridge into the ending.
Sounds to watch
Short i versus ee
The short i (as in sit) is shorter and more relaxed than ee. Many learners stretch it into ee, which changes the word.
The a in cat
Open the jaw wider than for eh and spread the lips slightly. The a in cat is a distinct vowel, not eh or ah.
The ng sound
The ng is one nasal sound made with the back of the tongue. There is no separate hard g after it.
The er vowel
American er (as in her) is a single vowel with the tongue bunched back. Keep the r quality through the whole vowel.
Answering in a sentence
- The answering machine still had messages from 2019 on it.
- She spent the afternoon answering questions from the press.
Read either sentence into the recorder above. The check judges only the target word, so the rest of the sentence can be rough.
What Speakeroo listens for
These are the pronunciation patterns from Speakeroo’s speech feature catalog that this target tends to expose. The check above reports the ones it hears.
- Stress placed on the wrong syllableMake the correct syllable longer, clearer and more prominent.
- Extra syllable addedBlend adjacent sounds and avoid pronouncing silent letters.
- Final -ing pronounced unclearlyRaise the back of the tongue for /ŋ/ and avoid adding /g/ unless the word requires it.
- Final consonant omittedHold the final mouth position briefly without adding another vowel.
- /ɪ/ and /iː/ confusedMake /iː/ higher, tenser and usually longer than /ɪ/.
Questions
How do you pronounce answering?
Answering is pronounced /ˈæn.sɚ.ɪŋ/, or AN-sur-ihng in plain letters. It has 3 syllables and the stress falls on the first syllable, "an".
How many syllables are in answering?
3: AN-sur-ihng. The capital letters mark the stressed syllable.
How do you use answering in a sentence?
The answering machine still had messages from 2019 on it. She spent the afternoon answering questions from the press.
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