Minimal Pairs: /t/ & /θ/

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Pronunciation Practice

Practice pronunciation with your tutor by reading the following words.

/t/ & /θ/

boat

Noun

boʊt

something that people use to travel on water

We hired a boat around the city.

We took a boat to watch the whales.

both

Adjective

boʊθ

used to refer to two people or things

Both Jackie and I are going to the concert.

debt

Noun

dɛt

an amount of money that is owed; the state or situation of owing money

Many consumers are hurt by credit card debt.

I have to pay all my debts.

Credit card debt in the U.S. is approaching 1 trillion dollars.

The national debt has doubled since the mid 2000s.

death

Noun

dɛθ

the end of the life of a person or other living thing

There were three deaths in the car accident.

Is it really possible to dress up like death?

fate

Noun

feɪt

events that one has no control over; meant to be

It is everyone's fate to die eventually.

It was fate that we met.

It is fate that we are together.

faith

Noun

feɪθ

strong belief in a religion or aspect of a religion

My boss has a lot of faith in me.

The cross is a symbol of the Christian faith.

fort

Noun

fɔrt

a large and strong building, occupied by military troops

We visited several old forts while we were in England.

fourth

Adjective

fɔrθ

ordinal number four

They just had the fourth child.

tank

Noun

tæŋk

a large container used for holding liquid, gas, etc.

I filled up the gas tank.

Their farm has a large water tank.

The three tanks hold the same volume of gas.

thank

Verb

θæŋk

to show gratitude to someone

I sent him a letter to thank him.

She thanked her teacher.

taut

Adjective

tɔt

pulled tight; stretched

We pulled the cable so that it was taut.

thought

Noun

θɔt

ideas produced by thinking; the act of thinking

He's deep in thought.

I just had an interesting thought.

team

Noun

tim

a group of people who work closely together to achieve the same goal

There are four people on the marketing team.

Everyone on my team works well together.

theme

Noun

θiːm

a design that fits a particular topic or subject; the main idea in a book, movie, game, etc.

The theme of this party is Halloween.

One theme that runs through all his films is the conflict between tradition and modernity.

trust

Verb

trʌst

to believe that someone or something is correct, honest, reliable, etc.

I trust you to manage this project on your own.

I trust all of my co-workers.

thrust

Verb

θrʌst

to push or move suddenly or with force

He tried to thrust more work at me, but I refused.

I was in a hurry, so I thrust all the change in my pocket.

Exercise 2

Sentence Practice

Practice pronunciation with your tutor by reading the following sentences.

I want to buy both a boat and a motorcycle.
The company was still in debt at the time of the founder's death.
I have faith that everything will work out. Fate may decide otherwise.
We're on our way to see another ancient fort; it'll be the fourth one we'll have seen today.
He ran out and filled the petrol tank for me. I thanked him and went inside to pay.
I thought I had caught a fish when the line went taut, but it was only a clump of seaweed.
The theme of the party is famous movie characters, so my team is going as the cast of Star Wars.
She thrust a stack of paperwork on my desk and said that she trusted me to get it done by the end of the week.

Exercise 3

Find the Sounds

Select the word that contains the sound listed below. There can be more than one correct answer.

Find: /t/

There are so many castles to visit in Italy.

I spent last Christmas with my family in New Zealand.

This restaurant serves the best burgers.

I often go to the cinema with my friends to watch the latest movies.

Find: /θ/

The Thames runs right through the center of London.

The submarine dove to a depth of one thousand six hundred feet.

It's important to stay active and healthy.

This is the third time I've visited here.

Exercise 4

Tongue Twister

Practice pronunciation with your tutor by reading the following tongue twister(s). Read each tongue twister slowly at first, then try reading it faster.

I thought a thought, but the thought I thought I thought

wasn't the thought I thought.

If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought I thought,

I wouldn't have thought so much.

A tutor who tooted a flute tried to tutor two tooters to toot.

Said the two to the tutor, "Is it harder to toot or to tutor two tooters to toot!"