Where an H survives and where it does not

1. 1
   hour/ˈaʊər/iAlso said aʊr.

   noun

   A length of time of sixty minutes.
2. 2
   heir/er/

   noun

   The person who legally receives someone's money and property after they die.
3. 3
   honest/ˈɑːnəst/

   adjective

   Not cheating or lying to people.
4. 4
   ghost/ɡoʊst/

   noun

   The spirit of a dead person that some people believe can be seen.
5. 5
   exhibit/ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/

   noun

   A thing put out for the public to look at.
6. 6
   herb/ɜːrb/iAlso said hɜːrb.

   noun

   A leafy plant used in cooking to add flavor.
7. 7
   forehead/ˈfɔːrhed/

   noun

   The part of your face between your eyebrows and your hair.
8. 8
   echo/ˈekoʊ/

   verb

   To ring with a sound that keeps bouncing back.
9. 9
   hover/ˈhʌvər/

   verb

   To stay in one spot in the air without landing.
10. 10
    hollow/ˈhɑːloʊ/

    adjective

    Empty inside, with a space where solid material would be.

The sentences

1. The whole tour takes about an hour, doesn't it?

2. The last heir of the family lived here alone.

3. To be honest, I can feel a draft in here.

4. Has anyone on this tour actually seen the ghost?

5. The portrait in the hall is our oldest exhibit.

6. They dried every herb in that little stone kitchen.

7. Something cold just touched my forehead near the stairs.

8. Our footsteps echo all the way down this hallway.

9. The guide said candles used to hover above the table.

10. Knock on this wall and it sounds completely hollow.

Pronunciation

• hour/ˈaʊər/

  Sounds just like "our" — the h is silent.

• heir/er/

  One syllable, no h. It sounds exactly like 'air'.

• honest/ˈɑːnəst/

  No h at all; it opens like the word "on".

• ghost/ɡoʊst/

  The h after the g does nothing.

• exhibit/ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/

  The h vanishes and the x turns into a 'gz' sound; stress the middle syllable.

• herb/ɜːrb/

  In American English the h is dropped — say 'erb'.

• forehead/ˈfɔːrhed/

  Here the h is sounded: fore-head, not 'forrid'.

• echo/ˈekoʊ/

  The ch is a k sound: 'eck-oh'.

• hover/ˈhʌvər/

  First vowel is like 'love', not like 'over'.

Questions

Is the h in hour silent?

Yes, hour sounds just like 'our' — the h is silent.

How do Americans say herb?

In American English the h is dropped, so herb is said as 'erb'.

Is the h in forehead pronounced?

Yes, in forehead the h is sounded: fore-head, not 'forrid'.