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Final [f]   as in brief

 

Sound formation instruction:

 
To pronounce the /f/ sound, place the bottom edges of your upper teeth gently on the inside of your lower lip. Push the voiceless air out of the mouth between the lower lip and the upper teeth. Make sure your voice is not on (vocal cords are not vibrating).

Some students may add an extra vowel sound where it is not needed. To prevent this, end the /f/ sound before breaking the contact between your upper teeth and bottom lip. Final /f/ words should end with a voiceless wisp of air.





Contrasting sounds:

 


/f/   /p/
beef   beep
wife   wipe
hoof   hoop
grief   grape
leaf   leap
golf   gulp
cliff   clip
cuff   cup
     
/f/   /v/
safe   save
grief   grieve
thief   thieve
reef   reeve
life   live
stiff   Steve
half   have



Words:

 


autograph   beef
belief   bluff
brief   buff
calf   chef
chief   10  cliff
11  cough   12  cuff
13  elf   14  enough
15  giraffe   16  golf
17  graph   18  grief
19  half   20  handkerchief
21  hoof   22  housewife
23  If   24  Jeff
25  laugh   26  leaf
27  life   28  loaf
29  off   30  paragraph
31  photograph   32  proof
33  relief   34  roof
35  rough   36  scarf
37  self   38  shelf
39  sheriff   40  show-off
41  staff   42  stiff
43  stuff   44  take off
45  telegraph   46  thief
47  tough   48  turf
49  turn-off   50  waterproof
51  weatherproof   52  wife
53  wolf



Sentences:

 


  1. His firm belief was that Stefanie was bluffing.
  2. She hung on for dear life when she rode the giraffe.
  3. I had to laugh when I saw that my loaf of bread did not rise.
  4. The chief left the station in a huff when he found out he was fired.
  5. If the roof was weatherproof, it would have survived the storm better.
  6. If the photograph was not waterproof, it would have been ruined in the rain.
  7. Jeff took a picture of a giraffe wearing a handkerchief around its long neck.
  8. It was tough to get the celebrity's autograph because the sheriff was blocking my way.
  9. It was a relief to hear the wolf howl from the top of the cliff because it meant he was far away.
  10. The housewife liked to show off and climb the roof of the house to show that she was tough.
  11. The fire chief was happy to get over his bad cough so he could play golf.
  12. My car was broken into, but it was a relief to find that the thief did not take all my stuff.
  13. I hoped that the professor did not take off points for my last paragraph of my paper.
  14. The wife was worried that the calf would not provide enough beef for her family.
  15. She liked smart guys, so it was a turn-off when he could not explain the graph well enough for his presentation.
  16. My wife's beef stew and loaf of bread was so good that the sheriff always stopped by our house for dinner.




Story:

 


My brother was so excited when he met the famous celebrity Jeff Bridges and received his autograph.  He said that he was able to walk past the sheriff unnoticed on the set of the movie “Seabiscuit.”  When my brother introduced himself to Jeff, he said that Jeff laughed when my brother did an impersonation of him.  Jeff was so impressed with my brother that he invited him over to have a beef steak dinner. Supposedly, Jeff's wife was incredibly beautiful, and there was so much stuff in Jeff's house that a thief would have trouble stealing it all. 

My brother always tries to act like a tough guy, but when it comes to Jeff Bridges, he is obsessed.  Instead of his girlfriend, he kept a waterproof photograph of Jeff Bridges in his wallet to inspire him from day to day life, ever since he saw the 1998 movie “The Big Lebowski.”   The movie made my brother laugh so hard that he was forced to cough out his pizza.  I remember the incident well because he coughed the chewed up pizza on the loaf of bread I just bought from the bakery.

Ever since he had dinner with Jeff Bridges, my brother has had no problem showing off and telling people of his experience.  If someone thought he was bluffing, he would always show the autograph picture in his wallet and the photograph he took at Jeff's house.  It will be a relief to find someone who is not impressed with my brother's encounter with Jeff Bridges.  I've heard enough of the same story.











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