The short a and short o are both very open sounds, but the short a is often more difficult for non-native English speakers to pronounce. The difference between them is that is that the front of the tongue is farther forward for the short a sound than for the short o. You can feel this difference by feeling where the vibration happens on the tongue while saying each sound.

How to pronounce short a.
How to pronounce short o.

1. add — odd

2. adapt — adopt

3. backs — box

4. band — bond

5. battle — bottle

6. black — block

7. cancellation — consolation

8. crack — crock

9. flap — flop

10. hat — hot

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