The alkali metals are all shiny, soft, highly reactive metals at standard temperature and pressure and readily lose their outermost electron to form cations with charge +1.
ðɪ ˈælkəlˌaɪ mˈɛɾəlz ɑːɹ ˈɔːl ʃˈaɪni, sˈɔft, hˈaɪli ɹɪˈæktɪv mˈɛɾəlz æt stˈændɚd tˈɛmpɹɪtʃɚ ænd pɹˈɛʃɚɹ ænd ɹˈɛdili lˈuːz ðɛɹ ˈaʊɾɚmˌoʊst ᵻlˈɛktɹɑːn tə fˈɔːɹm kˈæɾaɪənz wɪð tʃˈɑːɹdʒ plˈʌs wˈʌn.