Swan swam over the sea
A tiny story in four lines, built almost entirely on the verb “swim” in three forms: swim, swam and swum. Add the word “swan”, and you get four nearly identical words: the same SW start, a different vowel and an M or N at the end. It is as much a vowel exercise as a consonant one.
Swan swam over the sea. Swim, swan, swim! Swan swam back again. Well swum, swan!
More tongue twisters for the same sounds
- Zach's cautious sister says he shouldn't sell the seaside house, so he shares it with his six cousins each summer.
- The busy shop assistant shows shoppers six shirts, seven scarves and a dozen shiny zippers, and sells them all by sunset.
- The zoo's zebras doze in the sun, the seals splash in the shallow pool and the visitors' shoes squeak on the shiny stones.
- Sam's shop sells sheets, shirts, socks and shoes.
- Rose's cousins use these reasons as easy excuses.
- The tailor sews zippers, sizes sleeves and shortens shirts.
Other famous tongue twisters for these sounds
- She sees cheese
- Selfish shellfish
- Sheep should sleep in a shed
- Sure the ship's shipshape, sir
- Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch
- Six slippery snails
- Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches
- If a dog chews shoes
- Should such a shapely sash
- A noisy noise annoys an oyster
- Susie works in a shoeshine shop
- She sells seashells by the seashore
Where to breathe
- Swan swam over the sea.
- Swim, swan, swim!
- Swan swam back again.
- Well swum, swan!
Swan, swam, swim, swum
Every key word starts with the SW cluster: an S immediately followed by rounded lips for W. The challenge is to keep both sounds every time. When you speed up, the W drops and you get “san sam”, or the S softens into a SH.
The vowels are the second part of the exercise. “Swan” has a long open O, as in “father”. “Swam” has the short A of “cat”. “Swim” has the short I of “sit”. “Swum” has the short U of “cup”. Four different vowels after the same two consonants. Under speed they start to sound the same, and the little story stops making sense.
There are also exclamations in the text. Saying “Swim, swan, swim!” with real energy is part of the fun, and it helps the rhythm.
How to learn it
Start with the four words in a row: “swan, swam, swim, swum”. Open your mouth wide on “swan”, a little less on “swam”, and keep it narrow on “swim” and “swum”. Check them in a mirror.
Then read the story aloud, line by line. Treat each line as a separate sentence and breathe between them. Put a bit of drama into the two exclamations.
When the vowels stay clear, join the four lines at a steady pace. The last line, “Well swum, swan!”, is the hardest, because it ends with two SW words that are very close in sound. Finish it slowly at first.
Questions about this tongue twister
- Is swum a real word?
- Yes. It is the past participle of “swim”: I swim today, I swam yesterday, I have swum before. “Well swum” is an old-fashioned way to say “you swam well”.
Keep practicing
Practice with a timer
In DramaLab, the speed ladder is an exercise: it gives you tongue twisters one by one, walks you up the five steps and keeps time. No sign-up needed.