The RP non-rhotic R: when to drop the R, and when to keep it

0:00–1:00 · THE PATTERN

Look at the next sound, not the letter

Every word below is spelled with an R. Whether RP pronounces it depends on what comes straight after it.

Before you listen, record yourself saying “The car is parked near the river.” once in your everyday voice. Keep it for the end.

1:00–2:30 · WORDS

Let the vowel finish the word

Where your accent would put an R, RP holds the vowel instead. In car, park and hard that's the long open /ɑː/, as in “father”. In more it's /ɔː/, as in “saw”. Nothing is added after the vowel: not an R, and not a little “uh”.

far · car · park · hard · start · more

Start with far. It drops the R completely. In hard and start this voice keeps a faint trace, and car isn't quite fully dropped either. Use far as your model and listen for how close the others get.

1. Play each word, then say it straight after. Keep the tip of your tongue low and relaxed at the end; if it lifts or curls back, that's the R creeping in.
2. Say far, car, park, pausing after each. Then hard and start, where the R would sit before a consonant. Listen for the vowel running straight into the D or T.

2:30–3:30 · -ER ENDINGS

Unstressed -er is a short, relaxed vowel

Word endings like -er and -or don't become a long vowel. They become schwa /ə/: the short, neutral vowel at the start of “about”. It's quick and unstressed.

water · weather · father

1. Play water and weather first: both drop the R completely. Then father, which keeps a slight trace. Notice how little time the last syllable takes, and repeat each without stressing or stretching the ending.

A common overcorrection: making the ending long and open (“fath-AH”). The R goes, but the ending stays small.

3:30–4:15 · LINKING R

Keep the R when a vowel follows

Dropping R isn't the whole pattern. When a word ending in R comes right before a word starting with a vowel, RP speakers usually pronounce the R to join the two words. That's called linking R: far away, more of it, car alarm.

1. Play “Far away”. You'll hear a clear R here, unlike plain far: it's the bridge into away. Say it, then say far on its own with a pause after it, and notice the difference.

If you drop every R, including these, your speech can sound choppy and over-careful. That's one of the clearest signs of a learned RP.

4:15–5:00 · TWO SENTENCES

Decide for every R, then record

1. Before playing anything, go through “The car is parked near the river.” and decide for each written R: next sound a vowel (keep it) or not (drop it).
2. Play the reference and check your choices. Car links into is, so you'll hear an R there. Parked and near lose their R. River keeps a light R at the start, softer than an American R, and drops the one at the end.
3. Do the same with “We went to the bar after work.” Bar links into after; work has no R.
4. Record the first sentence again. Play it after your everyday-voice take from the start and listen only for R. Write down one word to work on next time.

Variation matters. Non-rhotic R is a feature of RP and many accents in England, not of British speech in general. Scottish English and some accents in the West Country and Lancashire pronounce R after vowels. This page models one RP voice; real speakers vary in how completely they drop R.