The timing and positional properties of articulatory movements in VCV [vowel-consonant-vowel] utterances were studied. Conventional cinefluorographic techniques were used to track the movements of the upper lip, lower lip, jaw, tongue tip and tongue body of 2 speakers who read randomized lists of VCV utterances containing the vowels /i,a,u/ and the consonants /p,t,k/, in all possible combinations. The timing of articulatory movements in a VCV sequence were constrained by the intervocalic consonant, even if the gesture for the consonant was not a contradictory one. Anticipatory movements toward the 2nd vowel always began during the closure period of the intervocalic consonant. The appearance of carry over coarticulation effects depended on the phonetic identity of the particular segment or degree of involvement of the articulator. Carryover effects, like anticipatory effects did not extend beyong an immediately adjacent segment. The rules governing the segmental input to a speech string might be simpler than present models suggest.