The minimal pair that can be used for teaching the contrast between /e/ and /e/ is _______.

The minimal pair that can be used for teaching the contrast between /e/ and /e/ is _______.

• A. Met - mate
• B. Set - sit
• C. Pet - pat
• D. Men - main

Answer: (A)

This item tests how a minimal pair can reveal a contrast between a short vowel and a longer vowel (or diphthong) in English. In met, the vowel is the short, lax sound often taught as the /ɛ/ region, while mate uses a longer, glide-filled vowel /eɪ/. Because the consonants and surrounding sounds stay the same and only the vowel changes, these two words form a clean minimal pair. This makes the contrast easy for learners to hear and produce, which is exactly what this kind of teaching aims to achieve. The other options don’t isolate that same short-vowel versus long-vowel distinction as clearly. They involve different vowel qualities or heights, or mix in variations that don’t target the specific /e/ vs /eɪ/ contrast as directly.

This item tests how a minimal pair can reveal a contrast between a short vowel and a longer vowel (or diphthong) in English. In met, the vowel is the short, lax sound often taught as the /ɛ/ region, while mate uses a longer, glide-filled vowel /eɪ/. Because the consonants and surrounding sounds stay the same and only the vowel changes, these two words form a clean minimal pair. This makes the contrast easy for learners to hear and produce, which is exactly what this kind of teaching aims to achieve.

The other options don’t isolate that same short-vowel versus long-vowel distinction as clearly. They involve different vowel qualities or heights, or mix in variations that don’t target the specific /e/ vs /eɪ/ contrast as directly.