Three verbs that are often confusing for English students are feel, fall, and fill, especially when it comes to past tense forms and pronunciation. Let’s look at the differences and practice using them.
Feel
Feel has a hard EEE sound. You need to smile when you say this word, making your mouth wide. Practice this sentence:
I feel so happy and free!
Fall
Fall has an “Aww” sound. Practice the following sentence:
Aww, did the baby fall?
Fill
The sound of fill is between fall and feel. Your mouth is slightly open, and it has a short i sound. Practice this sentence to help:
Bill filled the glass with milk.
Now try them all together, making sure to say each word slowly and differently than the others.
Fall, feel, fill, the dog meets Bill. The dog eats meat, Bill drinks milk, Fall, Feel Fill.
Various Forms
Another challenge for students is to use these verbs in different tenses.
Fall—Fell—Fallen—Falling
Feel—Felt—Felt—Feeling
Fill—Filled—Filled—Filling
Try to answer the following questions:
Did the man fall out of the airplane?
Yes, the man…
Did you feel the elephant?
Yes, I…
Did you fill the glass?
Yes, I…
