Mr See owned a saw, and Mr Soar sawed a seesaw.
The S keeps coming back, but the vowel after it keeps changing: see, saw, soar, seesaw.
👅 Sounds to Practise
- S /s/, as in see, saw, soar, sawed and seesaw. The tip of the tongue sits close to the ridge behind the top teeth, and air hisses out.
- Long EE /iː/, in see. The lips are spread, as if smiling.
- AW /ɔː/, in saw, sawed and soar. The lips are rounded.
Quick test: say see, then saw. Feel the lips change from a smile to a circle.
🐢 Start Slow
Say each chunk slowly.
Mr See owned a saw,
and Mr Soar
sawed a seesaw.
🚶 Normal Speed
Say it at a natural pace, with the stressed syllables in capitals:
MISter SEE OWNED a SAW, and MISter SOAR SAWED a SEEsaw.
🚀 Tongue-Twister Mode
Say it three times in a row, as fast as you can:
Mr See owned a saw, and Mr Soar sawed a seesaw.
If it falls apart, that is normal. Slow down and try again. Keep the S crisp, and change the vowel clearly.
🤯 Why Is This So Difficult?
The consonant stays the same, but the vowel keeps changing.
see / saw / soar / seesaw
- The mouth has to switch between a smile (see) and a circle (saw).
- Seesaw contains both vowels in one word: see and saw.
- Saw and soar sound the same in many British accents. In many American accents, soar has an R sound, so the two are different. Both pronunciations are correct.
👀 Words to Notice
These pairs change when S becomes SH:
- see / she
- sip / ship
- sell / shell
Some words sound alike but are spelled differently: see and sea.
Say each pair slowly. Pull the tongue back for SH.
🏆 OddLingo Challenge
- Round 1: say it slowly, one chunk at a time, with no mistakes.
- Round 2: say the whole twister once at normal speed.
- Round 3: say it three times fast without stopping.
Bonus round: if you survived all three, try this one:
Sam saw six seals sit on a seesaw.
🔗 Related Practice
- She Sells Seashells: the classic S and SH twister.
- Sheep and Ship: vowel practice in a short twister.