The REAL pronunciation of HAVE TO, HAS TO and HAD TO

How to pronounce 'have to', 'has to', and 'had to', using connected

speech in American English.

Hi everyone, it's Hadar.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Today, we are going to talk about the phrase 'have to', or 'has to', or

'had to', when talking about the past.

We use this phrase when we want to express necessity or obligation.

"It has to happen".

But we can also use it when we are sure that something is

true or that it will happen.

"She has to be there".

Now, today I specifically want to talk about how to connect this phrase

together, and what happens to the sounds of this word when it's connected.

But first, if you're new to my channel, then hi, my name is Hadar, I'm a non

native speaker of English, and I am here to help you speak English with

clarity, confidence, and freedom.

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Alright, so back to today's topic.

Here's the thing about English.

When we have very common phrases that are used frequently or when

there are parts of the sentence that are a little less important than

other parts, we tend to reduce those parts and connect them together.

Now, I've talked a lot about connected speech, and I'm going to link to all

those videos in the description below, but connected speech allows you to

group a thought together, and as a result, you deliver your message more

clearly, so it's actually an important part of speaking English with clarity.

And when there are parts in the sentence that are a little less

important than other parts, we tend to connect them and reduce them.

And that is going to be the case with these phrases that I talk about today.

Let's start with the phrase 'have to'.

The 'to' is a function word, and it's connected to the word 'have'.

When we connect two words together, we basically glue them

as if it's one word: have-to.

However, the 'to', when it's unstressed, is reduced to a schwa, so this is

how it's going to sound: have-tuh.

"We have to make this plane".

"You have to remember to let me call my father".

"We have to go on".

However, there is something interesting that happens in English when there

are two sounds together - a voiced consonant and a voiceless consonant.

A voiced consonant is a consonant that is produced with the

vibration of the vocal cords.

And a voiceless consonant is a consonant that is produced just with air.

So the V is voiced, and the T is voiceless.

It's actually really hard to pronounce a voiced consonant and

then a voiceless consonant together within the same syllable - [hæv.tə].

So the voiceless consonant kind of says to the voiced consonant,

"Listen, don't work too hard".

And the voiced consonant, the V in this case, becomes voiceless, so

it's actually easier to pronounce.

So instead of saying [hæv.tə], can you guess what sound it turns into?

an F.

So, when we say it together and when we connect it, we don't

say [hæv.tə], we say [hæf.tə].

Try it: hafta, hafta.

So we want to treat this entire phrase not as two separate

words, but as one: hafta, hafta.

"I hafta go there".

"I hafta pay my bills".

"We hafta plan better".

"They hafta be home".

Now, 'has to' follows the same rules.

'has' - there is a Z sound at the end, even though it's

spelled with an S, it's a Z.

And then we have [tu], [hæz.tu].

But we want to reduce it - [hæz.tə].

But now, the T, the voiceless consonant, affects the voiced

consonant, so what do we get?

[hæs.tə].

"He has to make a choice".

"He has to pay you half in advance".

"Listening to what he has to say".

'It hasta be right'.

'She hasta be there'.

'He hasta find his cat'.

hasta, hasta, hasta.

The last one is 'had to'.

'Had to', when we talk about the past: [hæd.tu] - [hæd.tə] - [hæt.tə].

"So, we had to come".

"Finally, he had to try".

"Had to bring in the reinforcements".

The D turns into a T sound, because that's the voiceless version of the D - 'hata'.

"It hata be right".

"I hata go to the library".

"They hata tell him he was wrong".

'hata'.

Okay, good.

So to wrap it up, 'have to' is pronounced as 'hafta'.

'Has to'- 'hasta', 'had to' - 'hata'.

hafta - hasta - hata.

Now say each phrase 10 times out loud just to get used to it, and then try

to use it in a sentence yourself.

So this is a great vocabulary practice, grammar practice, and

of course, pronunciation practice.

That's it.

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And definitely come check out my website at hadarshemesh.com for more

resources for you to speak English with clarity, confidence, and freedom.

Thank you so much for being here.

And remember, don't be afraid of making mistakes or not getting it right.

The most important thing is that you share your voice, you speak up, and you say

what you want so you get what you need.

Have a beautiful day, and I'll see you next week in the next video.

Bye.