# Rule 3: Keep *r* and *l* apart

Rule 3 of 6.

> **The rule:** *l*: the tongue tip touches the ridge and stays. *r*: keep the tip clear of the ridge and roof of your mouth.

At the start of a syllable, make _r_ and _l_ with two different tongue positions: this deserves a few minutes of practice every day. English uses the difference to separate hundreds of words, while Kinyarwanda treats _r_ and _l_ as one sound. It works the same way in American and Standard English.

## Tongue positions

| Sound | Tongue | Lips | How to check |
| - | - | - | - |
| _l_ [l](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/snd-l.mp3?v=5298ff50c693) | The tip presses on the ridge just behind your top teeth and stays there for the whole sound; the air flows out over the sides | In their normal position | You can hold the sound for 2 seconds (llll) without moving your tongue |
| _r_ [r](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/snd-r.mp3?v=e5e02d28ee13) | Pull the tongue tip back until it is behind the ridge, pointing up, with a gap. The sides may rest against your upper back teeth | Pushed forward and slightly rounded, less than for w | Keep your tongue tip clear of the ridge and roof of your mouth. If the tip taps the ridge, that is the Kinyarwanda _r_, which English ears can hear as _l_ or d |

> **Warm up:**
>
> Say la la la, then ra ra ra, then la ra la ra, 10 times each. On every _l_ your tongue tip touches the ridge; on every _r_ keep
> the tip clear of the ridge and roof of your mouth.

## R and L pairs

| _r_ | _l_ |
| - | - |
| right [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-right.mp3?v=87d717a08023) | light [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-light.mp3?v=40541488e745) |
| road [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-road.mp3?v=a198f390bdf5) | load [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-load.mp3?v=e048d85322f2) |
| rock [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-rock.mp3?v=6e0cc0c53487) | lock [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-lock.mp3?v=15dc4b57091e) |
| rate [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-rate.mp3?v=43397324050a) | late [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-late.mp3?v=11374884e6fc) |
| pray [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-pray.mp3?v=0152135770f2) | play [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-play.mp3?v=c8fff39fb266) |
| grass [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-grass.mp3?v=d0b8a8ef3dfd) | glass [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-glass.mp3?v=ca962375175f) |
| fry [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-fry.mp3?v=87909f69d35a) | fly [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-fly.mp3?v=00ba7a51af73) |
| crowd [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-crowd.mp3?v=33018179f0b9) | cloud [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-cloud.mp3?v=5d3cffb474db) |
| correct [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-correct.mp3?v=0108c30aa91f) | collect [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-collect.mp3?v=2dda4230c293) |
| arrive [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-arrive.mp3?v=b7018a32bfd5) | alive [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-alive.mp3?v=2fc86d653a72) |

## Everyday words with r and l spellings

In early, world and girl, the _r_ is silent in our practice model. See [Rule 4](https://clear-english.rw/rules/drop-the-r.md).

- really [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-really.mp3?v=97bac36128f2)
- already [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-already.mp3?v=38c47155a940)
- early [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-early.mp3?v=8a1048d5fa8c)
- library [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-library.mp3?v=172f851e1592)
- world [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-world.mp3?v=333d53ee73d4)
- girl [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-girl.mp3?v=d4d784b3cd10)
- rule [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-rule.mp3?v=c77817a4171a)
- travel [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-travel.mp3?v=ef4b12ef889b)
- relative [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-relative.mp3?v=22914f97b16c)
- regularly [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/rl-regularly.mp3?v=30052e331a69)

## Practise these sentences

- Turn right at the traffic light. [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/s-rl-1.mp3?v=072a91147001)
- Please collect the correct form. [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/s-rl-2.mp3?v=feeeebb08fd6)
- I really like the new library. [audio](https://clear-english.rw/audio/gb/s-rl-3.mp3?v=f7e3a4fe5354)

---

From Clear English Rwanda: https://clear-english.rw/rules/r-and-l

Previous: [2. Thirteen versus thirty](https://clear-english.rw/rules/thirteen-vs-thirty.md) · Next: [4. After a vowel, drop the *r*](https://clear-english.rw/rules/drop-the-r.md) · All pages: https://clear-english.rw/llms.txt