Yes, ‘the’.
It is one of the most common English words, and many of us sometimes pronounce it incorrectly.
Are you shocked? Did you think it was impossible to pronounce ‘the’ incorrectly?
Don’t feel bad – you are probably pronouncing it correctly about 50% of the time – because there are TWO ways to say it, depending on the word that follows. In fact, the rules are the same as for the use of the articles ‘a’ and ‘an’:
If the word that follows ‘the’ has a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) sound at its start, ‘the’ is pronounced ‘thee’.
If the following words starts with a non-vowel sound, ‘the’ is pronounced ‘thuh’.
So, it is ‘thee apple’, ‘thee elephant’, ‘thee ostrich’, ‘thee hour’ etc.
And, it is ‘thuh bicycle’, ‘thuh cat’, ‘thuh zebra’ etc.
Practice saying the examples out loud.
Easy right? :)
We hope we helped you speak English just a little bit better today. If these few minutes helped, imagine how much you could improve in class.
There are many more such common errors that we hear every day. We would love it if you could tell us ones that you hear.
Till next time, practice, practice, practice!
It is one of the most common English words, and many of us sometimes pronounce it incorrectly.
Are you shocked? Did you think it was impossible to pronounce ‘the’ incorrectly?
Don’t feel bad – you are probably pronouncing it correctly about 50% of the time – because there are TWO ways to say it, depending on the word that follows. In fact, the rules are the same as for the use of the articles ‘a’ and ‘an’:
If the word that follows ‘the’ has a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) sound at its start, ‘the’ is pronounced ‘thee’.
If the following words starts with a non-vowel sound, ‘the’ is pronounced ‘thuh’.
So, it is ‘thee apple’, ‘thee elephant’, ‘thee ostrich’, ‘thee hour’ etc.
And, it is ‘thuh bicycle’, ‘thuh cat’, ‘thuh zebra’ etc.
Practice saying the examples out loud.
Easy right? :)
We hope we helped you speak English just a little bit better today. If these few minutes helped, imagine how much you could improve in class.
There are many more such common errors that we hear every day. We would love it if you could tell us ones that you hear.
Till next time, practice, practice, practice!