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.
