The silent 't' in 'mustn't' and spoken 't' in 'must' - Pronunciation Tips

122,490 views ・ 2015-02-17

BBC Learning English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:05
Hello! I’m Finn, with another pronunciation tip.
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00:08
Today we're looking at 'must' and 'mustn't'. First, mustn't.
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You'll notice that the middle 't' is silent. Mustn't, mustn't. Not musTn't, but mustn’t
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00:24
Now, 'must'. When you say the word on its own, it has a 't' at the end. It's pronounced
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'must'. But when it's followed by a word which starts
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with a consonant, that sound disappears. Listen to this.
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00:39
I mus(t) go You mus(t) come
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00:42
'Muss go' 'Muss come'
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And one last tip, when it's followed by a word which starts with a vowel like 'open',
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listen to what happens. I must open
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You must arrive. The 't' is there, but it joins on to the word
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01:03
afterwards. 'Mus topen'
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01:06
'Mus tarrive' There you go. That's the pronunciation tip
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for today. Bye
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