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English Pronunciation - Th & S
The TH Sound In English
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Pronunciation TH

Th
Here are my pronunciation TH word lists and exercises. I wouldn't spend more than 15 minutes in a
lesson doing these drills with the students, as that could become very tedious and tiresome. You will
find a free downloadable printout for the students at the bottom of this page.

This is how I would structure this lesson:

 demonstrate how the words are pronounced by reading a line, set of words, or sentence
get the students to repeat
repeat until you have finished the words and sentences for that particular sound
get the students to each write 5 sentences of their own, using the vocabulary from the the
'Words' section. They have to include as many of the words as possible in each sentence
they have to read out their sentences, paying special attention to the pronunciation and
intonation

This is how you can differentiate whether the TH is voiced or not. Place your hand on your throat.
When you say the voiced TH, your throat will vibrate. When you say a voiceless TH, it will not vibrate.

Voiceless TH //
Words

thank, thick, thief, thin, think, thing, three, thousand, Thursday, thirty-eight, thunderstorm
athlete, author, nothing, toothache, wealthy, everything, worthwhile, anything
bath, earth, teeth, cloth, north, myth, mouth, youth, faith, underneath

Sentences

He thanked the wealthy author on Thursday for the third time.

The athlete ran three thousand metres to the north.
It is a myth that when you are thirty-three you have lost your youth.
There is nothing worthwhile in a thunderstorm.
I think the thin thief ran north with the cloth underneath his arm.

Get the students to write their own sentences with the words, and read them out loud.

Voiced TH //
Words

that, than, the, their, then, there's, they, they'd, they'll, they've, this, those, themselves,
therefore
mother, other, bother, brother, breathing, clothing, father, feather, gathering, lather, other,
rather, soothing, weather, worthy, brotherly, together

Sentences

Their mother was gathering the clothes together.

Theyve had a lot of bother with the weather.
Theyd rather gather those berries with their mother.
Theres their brother, together with their father.
Therefore theyd rather go together.

Now get the students to write their own sentences with the words to practice their pronunciation TH.
 Pronunciation TH - Mixed Voiced and Voiceless
Theres the wealthy author whose brother has toothache.
The weather from the north on Thursdays is soothing.
They have nothing other than each other, the weather, and their youth.
Those thirty-eight thieves were brothers.
Theyd rather have a bath with their clothing on.

TH Consonant Sounds
(the, father, them)
(think, birthday, south)
English Pronunciation, Lesson 30
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In English, the TH consonant sounds are studied together because they share the same
spelling and are made in the same part of the mouth. There are two TH consonant
sounds. One is voiced, and the other is unvoiced. In this lesson, you will learn and
practice the differences between these two English sounds.

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice

All English Tenses
Click Here for the American Accent Audio Course.

How to pronounce the TH consonant sounds

The TH consonant sounds are the only pair of sounds in English that share the same
spelling. They also take the same mouth shape.

The voiceless (unvoiced) TH sound (IPA symbol: ) can be found in English words such
as think, thing, teeth, birthday, bath, and both.

The voiced TH sound (IPA symbol: ) can be found in English words such
as the, them, those, father, together, brother, and breathe.

Voiced and voiceless sounds

What are voiced and voiceless sounds? Let's review.

In the English language, we use many voiced sounds. That means that the vocal cords
vibrate to make the sound.
These are some of the voiced sounds in English:

V sound

D sound

Z sound

G sound

J sound

When a sound is voiceless or unvoiced, the vocal cords do not vibrate when you make
the sound. Instead, you release air out of your mouth to make the sound.

These are some of the voiceless sounds in English:

F sound

H sound

T sound

S sound

K sound

CH sound

To make the voiced and unvoiced TH sounds, place the tip of your tongue between your
top and bottom teeth. It should not stick out very far. Then blow air through the space
between your tongue and your top teeth. You also blow air through the top teeth. This
makes the unvoiced TH sound (IPAsymbol: ). It is a natural sound.

When you add your voice, you make the voiced TH sound (IPA symbol: ). It is a buzzing
sound similar to the Z sound but with a different tongue position.

Sometimes your tongue will not stick through your top and bottom teeth to make
the voiced TH sound. When linking words together,your tongue is sometimes placed right
behind your top teeth.

Let's practice these two sounds with Rachel from Rachel's English:

Have you watched the video? Good! Let's practice a few more words.

Let's practice!
Because the voiced and voiceless TH sounds share the exact same spelling, it is difficult
to know how to pronounce new words that have the TH spelling. There are more words in
English with the voiceless TH sound than the voiced TH sound.

You should use a dictionary or online pronunciation guide to learn the pronunciation of new
vocabulary words.

Practice the voiceless TH sound:

Practice the voiceless TH sound by saying these words aloud. Remember that this TH
sound is not voiced. Your vocal cords do not vibrate when you make this sound. Make sure
you are only using air to make the sound.

Voiceless TH at the beginning of a word:

think

thin

thing

thanks

thirty

Thursday

three

thumb

third

thirteen
Voiceless TH in the middle of a word:

bathtub

toothpick

birthday

healthy

something

anything

athlete

Voiceless TH at the end of a word:

math

tooth

teeth

tenth

ninth

fifth

breath

earth

mouth

south

north

Practice the voiced TH sound:

Now, let's practice the voiced TH sound. Remember to use air and your voice to make this
buzzing sound.

Voiced TH at the beginning of a word:

The voiced TH sound is common in English pronouns and demonstratives.

that

this

them

the

their

there

they're

those

they

these

Voiced TH in the middle of a word:

feather

weather

father

brother

mother

clothing

clothes

either

other

another

Voiced TH at the end of a word:

 breathe

bathe

smooth

Finally, practice the sounds side-by-side

Remember to voice the words in the green boxes and use only air for
the words in the blue boxes!

voiceless TH voiced TH
thin then
think these
third them
Thanks either
birthday brother
bathtub clothing
healthy worthy
math smooth
breath breathe

Now say these sentences out loud.

The voiceless TH sounds are in blue. Use only air to make these sounds.

The voiced TH sounds are in green. Use air and your voice to make these buzzing
sounds.

1) I think it is Thursday.

2) It is his thirteenth birthday today.

3) You can clean your teeth with a thin toothpick.

4) They should ask their father or their mother.

5) The other clothes are new.

6) There is another feather over there.

7) That thing is bigger than that other thing.

8) Those three boys will be three this Thursday, October ninth.

9) There is something in that dog's mouth.

10) My brother said the weather is warmer in the south than in the north.