EA, and the three vowels it hides

1. 1
   bread/bred/

   noun

   A baked food made from flour and water, usually sold in loaves.
2. 2
   steak/steɪk/

   noun

   A thick slice of meat or fish for cooking.
3. 3
   great/ɡreɪt/

   adjective

   Very good or enjoyable.
4. 4
   break/breɪk/

   verb

   To come apart into pieces.
5. 5
   head/hed/

   verb

   To go in a particular direction.
6. 6
   breath/breθ/

   noun

   The act of taking air in and letting it out.
7. 7
   threat/θret/

   noun

   A warning that something bad is about to happen.
8. 8
   measure/ˈmeʒər/

   verb

   To find out the size, length, or amount of something.
9. 9
   easy/ˈiːzi/

   adjective

   Needing little effort.
10. 10
    please/pliːz/

    adverb

    Added to a request to make it polite.

The sentences

1. Could we have some bread before the meal, please?

2. I'd like the steak with roast potatoes, please.

3. The soup here is really great with warm bread.

4. These glasses break easily, so please hold them carefully.

5. After lunch we can head straight to the station.

6. Take a deep breath and smell the fresh bread.

7. Rain is the only threat to our dinner outside.

8. Do they measure the steak before they cook it here?

9. The fish is easy to eat, no bones.

10. Please bring another glass of water for the table.

Pronunciation

• bread/bred/

  Short e, exactly like the word bred.

• steak/steɪk/

  Rhymes with make, not with seek.

• great/ɡreɪt/

  Sounds like grate, and the r comes straight after the g with no vowel between.

• break/breɪk/

  Same sound as brake on a car.

• breath/breθ/

  Short e, and it ends with the hissy th of think, not the one in the.

• threat/θret/

  Starts with the th of think running straight into the r, with no tuh sound.

• measure/ˈmeʒər/

  The s is the soft buzzing sound in the middle of vision, and the stress is on the first syllable.

• easy/ˈiːzi/

  Long ee, and the s sounds like a z.

• please/pliːz/

  Ends on a z sound.

Questions

What can you say if you're worried the glasses might fall?

You can say 'These glasses break easily, so please hold them carefully,' using break for coming apart into pieces.

What does 'threat' mean in this scene?

It's a warning that something bad is about to happen, as in 'Rain is the only threat to our dinner outside.'

What do you say when you want to make a request polite?

You add 'please', as in 'Could we have some bread before the meal, please?'