How to Pronounce "the" in English

غاردينياغاردينيا Foreign Languages Supervisor
تم تعديل 2010/12/19 في منتدى اللغات Foriegn Languages
How to Pronounce "the" in English


Normally, we pronounce "the" with a short sound (like "thuh"). But when the" comes before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long "thee".


vowel sound................…we write……………we say


A …………………………….the apple ……………………..thee apple
E…………………………….. the egg ………………………thee egg
I …………………………… the ice cream ………………..thee ice cream
O……………………………... the orange ………………….thee orange
U………………………… the ugli fruit ………………….thee ugli fruit


It is important to understand that it is what we say that matters, not what we write. It is the sound that matters, not the letter used in writing a word. So we use a long "thee" before a vowel sound, not necessarily before a vowel. Look at these cases:


we write …. .. ……..with ………… ……we say…………………….. with


The house …………. consonant (h)…… thuh house ……………..consonant sound
the hour ……………consonant (h)……… thee our……………….vowel sound
the university…………vowel (u)……… thuh youniversity……… consonant sound
the umbrella…………..vowel (u)………..thee umbrella…………..vowel sound


Emphatic the [thee]


When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word, we can use "emphatic the" COLOR="magenta"]thee[/COLOR, whether or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound. For example:


A: I saw the [thuh] President yesterday.

B: What! The [thee] President of the United States?

A: Yes, exactly.

التعليقات

  • Dr.AhmadDr.Ahmad مدير عام
    تم تعديل 2010/12/19
    Really thanks Gardinia,

    useful subject, all we have alot of mistakes in pronounce of English.
    the university…………vowel (u)……… thuh youniversity……… consonant sound


    In this case and others like it, we have to know prononuce of all words :sad: :sad:
  • noonenoone عضو نشيط
    تم تعديل 2010/12/19
    the empathic thee was a new information for me
    very nice & simple way of explaination
    thanks alot
  • غاردينياغاردينيا Foreign Languages Supervisor
    تم تعديل 2010/12/19
    Thanks d.Ahmed and noone for your participation and I'm happy that you benefit from it.