• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Language Menu: English
    • Français Français
    • English English

Languages AND MORELangues ET PLUS語学レッスン&コーチング

Menu

Englishpronunciation

Close vs close – Can you say these homographs?

October 27, 2017 by Maude

(In English only)

Zebras close to each other

Zebras like to stay close together.

Homographs

Homographs are words with the same spelling but with different meanings AND pronunciation. This term has Greek roots: homo means the same, while graph means writing. Many of you probably learned read (present tense-bare infinitive) and read (past tense form) early on in your English way to success. Close vs Close is less widely known.

Say it with a “zzzzz” sound: /kləʊz/

When “close” means the opposite of “open”, as to open and close something, please pronounce the ending as a “z.” For example, a closed [z] door.

Examples of /kləʊz/:

  • I closed my emails. /z/
  • The case has been closed. /z/
  • The meeting drew to a close. /z/
  • Many stores have closed down and gone out of business in the recent years. /z/

Say it with an “ssssss” sound: /kləʊs/

When “close” refers to a distance, either in the concrete sense (as meters, kilometers…) or in a less easily defined notion of space and time (relationships, position), say the ending as an “s”. For example: a close [s] working relationship.

Examples of /kləʊs/:

  • The shopkeeper stood close to the cash register. /s/
  • Our chalet is close to the slopes. /s/
  • We are close friends. /s/
  • This experience will remain close to my heart. /s/

Are you ready to test your skills? Go!

Filed Under: English, English for young learners ¦ Anglais pour enfants Tagged With: close-close, ELL, Englishpronunciation, homographs

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Advanced English skills: Your head start
  • Is learning English still a good investment?
  • Find the differences (two pictures)
  • Book Waves: English as a Second Language Book Club
  • One reindeer, eight reindeer: Meet Rudolph, the red-nosed one
About Us Locations Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2016 Languages And More. All rights reserved.