S

S is a consonant and has four pronunciations:

S as /z/ in is, cause, dose, chase, wise. It doesn’t seem to occur in the initial position.

S as /ʃ/ in sure, sugar, ship, show, mission, mash, wash. 

S as /ʒ/ in casual, measure, treasure, visual, vision.

S as /s/ in simple, sentiment, set, sort, cost, massive, mouse, moose, with, cross. This pronunciation of S is the most common.

Example of S in a sentence –

Sally was a great collector of sea shells. She preserved them by washing them with some clean water and placing them in a glass jars. This collection of sea shells was a great source of pleasure for her.

T

T  is a consonant which is represented in different ways, as you can see in the following words:

T with ‘h’ as /θ/ in think, through, with, moth, south, mythology, ethics.

T with ‘h’ as /ð/ in this, that, though, weather, together, gather, breathe.

T as /ʃ/ with ‘io’ in action, nation, relation, option.

T as /t/ in talent,  twist, tall, Saturn, settle, water, hat, hot, hurt, different.

T as a silent letter in often, listen, castle, whistle.

Example of T in a sentence –

Teachers thought that patience is a virtue that should be instilled in students from childhood. One should be patient and calm. If one looks at the problem with this attitude, one can easily find solutions to the problem. At the same time, it is foolish to build castles in the air.

U

U’ is a vowel and like other vowels, ‘u’ too has many pronunciations.

U as a short vowel in put, cushion, foot, push, sullen, education.

U as a long vowel in soup, super, suit, rude, food, juice.

U as /ᴧ/ in but, hut, shut, bus.

U as /ǝ/ in pursuit, supply, jump, public.

U as the short /yu/ in university, pure, lure.

U as the long /yu/ in tube, huge, cube, mute, vacuum.

Example of U in a sentence –

University is a place where one can get higher education, pursue one’s academic interests, and study subjects like pure mathematics and astronomy. They can also develop super skills like pubic speaking.

V

V is a consonant, and it is the only letter which is spoken exactly as it is written.

‘V’ as /v/ in vapour, vast, vivid, variety, govern, wave, give, hive, movement.

Example of V in a sentence –

India is a vast country is with various languages and varied cultures. It also practices a variety of religions. There is unity in diversity and all communities thrive here with very little  friction among them.

W

W is a semi-vowel and is pronounced by rounding the lips. It sounds like two of the letter ‘u’ joined together.

‘W’ as a silent letter: own, sown, show, awe, dawn, fawn.

‘W’ as ‘u’ : fowl, gown, brown, town, crown. 

‘W’ as ‘w’: want, where, won, well, wise, woe, west.

‘V’ and ‘w’ sound very similar but use very different vocal organs in their pronunciation.  V is a fricative while W is a semivowel.

Some examples of this are: very vs. wary, vest vs. west, vile vs. while, vim vs. whim.

X

X is pronounced as though two or three letters are put together like ‘eks’ ‘gz’ or ‘z’. It is silent in the words borrowed from foreign languages. Words like Faux Pas, borrowed from French,  have the letter X silent in both the words.

The different pronunciation of X :

X as /z/ in xylem, xylophone, xenia, xerox. 

X as /gz/ in exam, exit, exist, exact, exile.

X as /eks/ or /ks/ in experiment, external, x-ray, expert, tax, sex.

Example of variations of X in a sentence –

When one gives exam externally, one is not sure of oneself. Besides one is not allowed to use xerox copies in there.

Y

Y  is a semivowel like W. W is pronounced by rounding the lip, while Y is pronounced by spreading the lips and raising the middle of the tongue towards palate. The passage is so narrow that air has to push its way out without creating any friction or vibration. 

Like other letters, Y too has many pronunciations. They are as follows:

Y as /I/ in copy, lady, busy, ability, dictionary.

Y as a non-sonorous letter in a falling diphthong Y in day, way, I, boy, coy, toy, shy.

Y as a silent letter in year.

Y as /y/ in yak, yellow, yesterday, yeast, yolk, yell, yacht.

Example of variations of Y in a sentence –

This year I hired a yacht and painted it yellow. I went there on a cycle. The painting work kept me busy the whole day.

Z

Z is like the letter V and is always pronounced. It is written as it is spoken. 

Z as /z/ in zero, zip, zebra, zombie, maze, raze.

Z when written twice is pronounced as single letter like in buzz, fizz.

Example of Z in a sentence –

Zig zag zoom, buzzed away the motorcycle.