Combination of letters th in English. Pronunciation of the interdental sound th - practical video lesson

Let's look at the key rules of reading and pronunciation with the opportunity to listen to each letter combination in examples. For brevity, the basic rules for reading letter combinations are given in the tables.

Reading letter combinations

Reading vowel combinations

The table below presents the main (frequently occurring) set of vowel combinations (see table No. 1), Russian and English transcriptions with examples of words and notes.

Table No. 1. Reading vowel combinations

Letter combination	Transcription	Examples (listen)	Notes
ee, ea	(AND:)	🔊 see, 🔊 sea
ai, ay	(HEY)	🔊 strai ght, 🔊 May
oo	(U:)	🔊too	before a consonant letter, except k, r; also at the end of a word
oo	[u] (U)	🔊 boo k	before the letter k; exception: 🔊 goo d
oor	[ɔ:] (U:)	🔊 doo r
ow	(AU), [əu] (EU)	🔊 now , 🔊 window [‘windəu]	under stress in monosyllabic words; at the end of two-syllable words in an unstressed position
oi, oy	[ɔi] (OH)	🔊 coi n, 🔊 employ
ou	(AU)	🔊 ou t
oa	[əu] (EU)	🔊coa t

Reading letter combinations with consonants

Below (in table No. 2) are the main letter combinations of consonants.

Table No. 2. Letter combinations in English. Reading consonant combinations

Letter (letter combination)	Transcription	When to use	Examples (listen)
b	[b]	in all cases	🔊 b egin
mb	[m]	b is not readable at the end of a word after the letter m	🔊 climb
c	[s]	before vowels e, i, y	🔊 c ity [‘siti], 🔊 nic e, 🔊 c ycle
	[k]	in all other cases	🔊cap
k	[k]	in all cases	🔊 kite
ck	[k]	in all cases	🔊black
kn	[n]	at the beginning of a word	🔊 kn ow
g	[ʤ]	before vowels e, i, y	🔊 g entlman [ˈʤentlmən]
	[g]	in all other cases	🔊 g ate Exceptions: 🔊 g ive , 🔊 g et
j	[ʤ]	in all cases	🔊 jacket [ˈʤækɪt]
z	[z]	in all cases	🔊z oo
h	[h]	in all cases	🔊 h appy [ˈhæpɪ]
sh	[ʃ]	in all cases	🔊 sh e [ʃiː]
tch	[ʧ]	in all cases	🔊 catch [
ch	[ʃ]	in words of French origin	🔊 ch ampagne [ʃæmˈpeɪn]
	[k]		🔊 sch ool, 🔊 ch emistry [ˈkemɪstrɪ]
	[ʧ]	in all other cases	🔊 ch alk [ʧɔːk]
th	[θ]	at the beginning and end of significant words	🔊th ink [θɪŋk]
	[ð]	at the beginning of function words (pronouns, articles)	🔊 th e [ðiː]
		in significant words between vowels	🔊 cloth
x		before a consonant and at the end of words	🔊 text
		before a stressed vowel	🔊 ex am [ɪgˈzæm]
ph	[f]		🔊 ph oto [ˈfəʊtəʊ]
ps	[s]	in words of Greek origin	🔊ps ychology
r	[r]	before any vowel except a silent one	🔊 rose
s	[s]	before consonants, at the beginning of a word, at the end of a word after a voiceless consonant	🔊 bes t , 🔊 s tart , 🔊 cats
	[z]	at the end of a word after a voiced consonant or vowel, between two vowels	🔊 plays , 🔊 vis it
ss	[s]	Anyway	🔊 class
ng		before the sounds [l], [r], [w]	🔊 Eng land [ˈɪŋglənd]
	[n]	in all other cases	🔊 lan guage [ˈlæŋgwɪʤ]
nk		in all cases	🔊 bank
w	[w]	at the beginning of a word	🔊 w e
wh	[w]	if these letters are followed by any letter except o	🔊why
	[h]	if these letters are followed by o	🔊whoo
wr	[r]	at the beginning of a word before a vowel	🔊 wr ite

Reading letter combinations of vowels and consonants

Finally, let's look at the last type of letter combinations in English (see table No. 3).

Table No. 3. Reading letter combinations of vowels and consonants

Letter combination	Transcription	When to use	Examples (listen)
wa		in all cases	🔊 wa ter [ˈwɔːtə]
war		in all cases	🔊 war
wor		in all cases	🔊 wor k
or, er	[ə]	at the end of words in an unstressed position	🔊 doctor [ˈdɔktə], 🔊 computer
qu		before vowels	🔊qu ite
al	[ɔ:]	in all cases	🔊 al l [ɔ:l], 🔊 tal k
an		before consonants	🔊 plan
af			🔊staff
al		in the letter combination al the letter l is not readable	🔊 hal f
as			🔊 as k
igh		in all cases	🔊nigh t

Knowing letter combinations in English, namely their use and pronunciation, you will learn to read correctly! Good luck to you, dear friend!

1) how voiced, then in the phonetic alphabet we denote it with the symbol [ð]
this sound can be heard in the words: then, this, there, other, smooth
2) or how unvoiced, which in phonetic transcription will be indicated by the symbol [θ]
this sound can be heard in the words: thin, through, thumb, healthy, author, path

You can read more about phonetic transcription.

General rule when a combination of letters th reads like voiced sound [ð], and when how dull sound [θ] does not exist, and we simply memorize the words along with their pronunciation.

Pronunciation of sounds [ð] and [θ].

Let's see how to correctly pronounce the sounds [ð] and [θ]. Let's watch a video by a wonderful teacher of English for foreigners, Alex Bellem, where she explains and shows how to pronounce the sounds [ð] and [θ].

In these videos we will listen to Alex's explanation in English of how to pronounce these sounds, look carefully at her mouth, listen and repeat after her some words where combination of letters th is at the beginning, middle or end of a word.

[ð]	[θ]

Useful games and exercises to help you pronounce the th sound correctly in English.

Many people think that pronouncing the sounds corresponding to the combination of letters th in English is very difficult. Jokes aside, on one very respected linguistic forum I read the following question: “What is the best way to pronounce the word thank you (Sank Yu or tank u)?.

Watch the following two videos carefully: If you spend two or three minutes a day to sing a simple song and more a few minutes to repeat some letter-rich th phrases, then I assure you that it won’t even occur to you to ask the question with what sound the word begins thanks – why try to say s, f, t when you can just say [θ]!

1. Very useful video from Olga Kozar. Here we will sing a song with sound, we will hear a very emotional and useful (for practicing pronunciation) phrase “This thing is my thing. Everything is your thing. This is my only thing.” And let’s start learning a simple tongue twister: “ I thought a thought but the thought I thought was not the thought I thought I thought.”

2. Filochko suggests sweetening exercises on pronunciation of sounds [ð] and [θ] with the help of Alenka chocolate bar. Do you already have chocolate? If not, then run to the store and start practicing the pronunciation of the sounds [ð] and [θ] with Phil and the chocolate bar.

Game song: English th sounds [ð] and [θ] for young learners

With children you can look at a picture where one clown sticks out his tongue to another and learn a song

It is very important that while singing: All the children pretend to be ill-mannered clowns and stick out their tongues while pronouncing the words this, that and the sound [ð], and when they pronounce the sound [θ], they must stick out their tongues even more.

English sound th [θ] for young learners

Click on the picture to listen to the sound th [θ] and play. Click the continue arrow and you will be asked to find the sound combination th in the words and if you click on it, you will hear the sound [θ] again and the entire word. Be sure to repeat these words after the announcer.

What sound [ð] or [θ] did you hear?

Listen to the words and color them according to the sound we heard. Color words with a voiced sound [ð] blue, and words with an unvoiced sound [θ] – pink. When all the words are colored, click the Check Answers button.

That's all for today about the combination of letters TH and pronouncing the sounds [ð] and [θ].
Stay with us!

Today we will look at two very similar English sounds - voiced and unvoiced “th” sounds.

The difference in the pronunciation of the voiced and unvoiced sound “th”

When pronouncing a voiced “th” sound, you should feel vibration in your throat, while pronouncing a voiceless “th” sound should not cause vibration (place your hand on your throat while pronouncing the sound).

Common mistakes when pronouncing the dull sound “th”

These errors depend on your native language and the country in which you grew up.

• Very often dull sound "th" pronounced as /t/ or /s/.
• At the end of words this sound is also mistakenly pronounced as /f/

Tongue position, exercise.

You need to stick the tip of your tongue forward behind your teeth. Don't worry about anything, just get your tongue out and practice. Air should pass between the tongue and the upper teeth. You have to train, take it with humor. Get used to this new sound and tongue position. Your brain needs to be told about the new habit.

Unvoiced "th" sound at the beginning of words: th ank you, th ink, th ought
Unvoiced "th" sound in the middle of words: some th ing, no th ing, healing th y
The unvoiced “th” sound at the end of words: ma th, mou th,bo th

Offers:

I will eat any th ing heal th y wi th my tee th .
Th ank you for driving back and for th this mon th.
I th ink Be th is traveling nor th on the pa th.

Errors when pronouncing the voiced sound “th”

• Often instead of this sound they pronounce the sound /d/ or /z/

ringing sound"th" at the beginning of words: th here th at, th e
Voiced "th" sound in the middle of words: bro th er, ei th er, o th er
Voiced "th" sound at the end of words: smoo th, brea th

Offers:

Th at mo th er can't breathe th e.
Ira th er like th is wea th er.

Don't forget to stick your tongue out.

Practice:

Pronunciation is ra th er fun
if you try no th er technique
th ink about th e person you are talking wi th
al th ough you are pretending
th is me th od will make your speaking more smoo th
That's all for now.

Practice and feel free to stick your tongue out to make this sound. Over time, you will not notice any discomfort. This will be your normal sound.

Take this lesson again and again and the result will not keep you waiting.

English Joke

Mary: John says I'm pretty. Andy says I'm ugly. What do you think, Peter?
Peter: I think you're pretty ugly.

In this article we will finally figure out how to pronounce “th” correctly. The pronunciation of this combination is not recognized as one of the most difficult for non-English speakers around the world. Is it really that complicated?

Not really. We offer you a simple and understandable video that provides a detailed visual explanation. However, this video is in English, so if you have any difficulty understanding, you can simply read the article below.

How to pronounce voiced "th"

The first thing you need to know about the sound “th” is that it has two pronunciations - voiced and voiceless. The difference is that when pronouncing a voiced sound, a vibrating sound is produced. In order to make such a sound, you need to place your tongue between your teeth. If you touch your throat while saying “th”, you will certainly feel it vibrate.

For example, the voiced “th” can be heard in the words: the, these, that, them.

This sound also occurs in the middle of a word: although, another.

A predominantly voiced sound is pronounced when “th” is located between two vowels - mother, father, brother and so on.

How to pronounce unvoiced "th"

The best example of a voiceless "th" is the English word "three". This sound is less distinguishable compared to the previous one.

It's funny, but many people pronounce the word "three" as "tree", and Russians especially like to simplify (for some reason) to "free", although these are completely different words in English.

To make a dull sound, you need to follow the same principle as for a voiced sound: place your tongue between your teeth, but at the same time simply silently push the air out of your mouth - there should be no more vibration.

Example words - three, thirteen, thirty, thanks, and also with the sound “th” at the end - mouth, both, worth, month and so on.

That's all the information about the “hardest” sound for non-English speakers, “th”. Is it really difficult for you now? Practice your pronunciation after reading this article. If the video turns out to be difficult to understand by ear, still do not rush to turn it off: listen to how a native English speaker clearly pronounces the unvoiced and voiced “th” and demonstrates the difference in sounds.