Learn English Pronunciation: TH & THR

Hello. I'm Gill from engVid, and today we're looking at some pronunciation of "th" and

"thr". And it's especially useful for those of you whose first language may be French

or Italian, any language which doesn't have the "th", "th", or "thr" sound in it. I know

it's a difficult sound to get used to and to feel confident that you're doing it properly,

so here is a lesson with some examples of words for you to practice along with me. Okay.

So, the thing about "th" is you just put your tongue behind your top teeth at the front:

"th", "th", "th", and blow a bit of air through. "Th", "th", "th", like that. It might help

you originally, to begin with if you put your tongue through your teeth a little bit. "Th",

"th", like that, but you don't have to do that. Once you get used to making the sound,

you don't have to stick your tongue through your teeth; you can just do it behind your

teeth. "Th", "th", "th", but your tongue goes up and just touches the back of your top teeth.

Okay, for: "th", "th", "th". And then "thr", "thr", you have to then do an "r" sound added

to it, so we'll come to that in a minute.

But let's have a look, first of all, at a few words beginning with "th". Okay? So we've

got: "things", if you'd like to repeat it after me. "Things", "things". Okay. "Think",

"think", "think". Okay. "Thursday", "th", "th", "th", "Thursday", "Thursday". Okay.

"Thirsty". If you're thirsty, you need a drink, you haven't

had enough water or something to drink. "Thirsty", "thirsty". Okay. If someone gives you something,

you say: "Thanks", "thanks", "th", "th", "th". "Thanks". Okay. And then if you want to go

out for the evening and see a play and some actors on a stage, you go to the: "theatre",

"theatre", "theatre". Okay. And then if... If you... If you're feeling under stress and

you need to talk to somebody about it, you might say: "I need some therapy." It can be

physical or psychological. "Therapy", "therapy". Okay. Then these are two opposites: "Thick"

and "thin". Thick with material, if it's thick material. "Thick" or "thin", "thin" material.

Okay. "Thick" and "thin". And then some numbers: "Third", "thirteen", "thirty", and "thousand".

Okay. And finally, this is a "thumb", "thumb", "thumb". Okay, so I hope that's helped you

to practice those sounds.

Right, so moving on. This one is perhaps a little bit more difficult because you have

to add an "r" sound, and some people can make their tongue vibrate when they do an "r":

"rr", "rr", "rr", like that. At one time I couldn't do that at all, but for some reason

I can do it now. Maybe I do a lot more talking and my tongue is more, you know, can move

around, more athletic. So, anyway, you don't have to make that rolling sound with your

tongue with these words, because they're just one word so you can't say every word with

a "rr" in it, it takes too long. It's just enough to say: "Through", "through". So for

the "r", "r", you push your mouth forward a little bit. "Thr", "thr", "through", "through",

like that. Okay? And then: "Thread", "thread". When you have some cotton and a needle, and

you're doing some sewing, the cotton is the thread. "Thread". Okay? And then the number:

"Three", "three", "three". And then if you're a fan of Game of Thrones, you will know this

word, the "throne" that the king or queen sits on. "Throne", "throne". And finally if

you... If you have a ball that you're throwing: "Throw", "throw", "throw", like that. So,

I hope that's helped you to practice those sounds a little bit.

Okay, so I'll just go through these words again one more time at a sort of normal speed,

so without any emphasis, just at the normal speed so that you can hear how each word sounds

normally, without a big emphasis on anything. Okay, so here we go. So: "things", "think",

"Thursday", "thirsty", "thanks", "theatre", "therapy", "thick", "thin", "third", "thirteen",

"thirty", "thousand", "thumb". Okay, and then the "thr": "through", "thread", "three",

"throne", "throw". Okay, so now we'll go on to the second part of the lesson.

Okay, so here are some practice sentences with lots of "th" and "thr" sounds in them.

And we begin with a long number, so I hope your numbers' vocabulary is good, so let's

try this one. So, it's: "3,333,333". Okay? "Three million, three hundred and thirty-three

thousand, three hundred and thirty-three", so that's a good one to practice with lots

of "th" and "thr" sounds in it. Okay.

Right, so then our first sentence: "I think he's thirsty, so thank you for the three drinks."

Can you say that? "I think he's thirsty, so thank you for the three drinks." Okay.

Next one: "I thought I needed to thread the thin cotton through the needle." So this is

about sewing again. "I thought I needed to thread the thin cotton through the needle."

Through the hole in the needle. Okay. Right.

Next one, another Game of Thrones sentence: "How many thrones do we need - three, thirteen,

or thirty? How many thrones do we need - three, thirteen, or thirty?" Okay. Good.

And then finally, this is true of me all the time: "I have a thousand things to do, and

will probably need therapy." Want to try that? "I have a thousand things to do, and will

probably need therapy." Okay.

So, I hope that's been useful for you to practice those two sounds. And just to mention another...

Another lesson that we've made on just the word "the", the word "the", and the way it

has two ways of being pronounced, so either "the" or "thee", depending on what word follows

it. So, you might like to watch that one as well and practice the sound more in that lesson.

Okay, so that's it for this lesson, and see you again soon. Bye.