The vowel Sound of u as in um

Equivalents:

e as in her

i as in fir

o as in work

y as in myrtle

ea as in earn

ou as in journal

Phonetic Symbol: /ɜ/

pu r, t ur , kur , bur, dur, gur

urth, ur z, url, ur m, urn, urng

earn	perch	work
earth	burn	firm
earnest	burst	fur
urchin	bird	verdant
irksome	myrtle	third
Irving	whirl	thermos

1. Her verses were blurred by the surf.
2. Nurse said the worm was not a germ.
3. While Bertha churned, her sister stirred the curd.
4. The kitten curled up on the berth and purred.
5. Earl hurled the burning Curtain to the curb.
6. Bertram told Herman that the pearl was sterling.
7. Ferns grow in the damp earth near the fir tree.
8. In a curt speech, Percy urged the searchers to disperse.

term	sir	yearn
turn	search	curl
dirge	surly	curd
dearth	shirk	girl
nerve	churn	girdle
lurk	chirp	hurt
l earn	Jersey	heard

1. Ernest preferred to learn the first and third words.
2. The alert clerk gave Bernard the birth certificate.
3. Gertrude, Earl, and Merton sit in the third row.
4. The girl held her purse firmly when the car lurched.
5. The whirling wheel hurled the dirt with a jerk.
6. The servants searched for little Pearl's turtle.
7. A herd of Jerseys grazed on the verdant hill.
8. The brook purled and swirled and curled among the pearly pebbles.
9. The Colonel turned his horse with a jerk and struck the earth with his quirt.
10. In the early morning, Percival heard the hermit thrush and the myrtle bird.
11. Ferdinand and Herbert pressed the earth firmly around the roots of the little birch.
12. The mirthful urchin found turning turf irksome, so he shirked his work and earned little.
13. ''He could foretell the weather at a word, He knew the haunt of every bee and bird." —JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.