Accent's Way Magazine

#25

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This vs. These

One of the things you probably deal with when communicating in English,
is finding the confidence to speak and speak up.
To be able to express yourself as freely as you do in your native tongue.
To find the right words words. Not to get stuck.

Remember that communicating clearly and freely is all about practice.
Now, I know you’re busy and don’t have time to invest many hours a week in your English training.

So let’s make a deal – pick one thing every week that you can commit into doing daily, and do just that for one week.
This week, your task is to read out loud for five minutes every day.
Listening to your voice in English, connecting words and sounds and training your muscles can do wonders to your English. Are up for the challenge?

And when you do it, make sure to pronounce ‘this’ and ‘these’ accurately.
Watch this week’s video: This vs. These.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, it’s Hadar. And this is the Accent’s Way, your way to finding clarity, confidence, and freedom in English.

I want to talk to you today about the two words: “this” and “these”. I often hear people pronounce them the same, something like ‘this’ and ‘this’, and then it sounds like they’re making a grammar mistake when it’s actually a pronunciation mistake.

So let’s get this thing straight once and for all. Let’s start with a singular form. This, this. We begin with a strong TH sound. Bring your tongue out to touch the upper teeth, release air, and sound. Then shift to an ‘i’ as in sit vowel – ‘thi’ ‘thi’, and end it with an S. This, this.

The word “these”, the plural form, begins with a strong TH sound as well, but then it’s a high E – ‘thee’ ‘thee’. So it’s longer and tenser, ‘thee’. And you end it with a ‘z’ sound, like a Z – ‘theez’. Although it’s spelled with an S, it sounds like a Z, ‘theez’. This – these.

This stable – these tables. So it’s a little longer, these tables. This chair – these chairs, this person – these people. This – these.

All right, that’s it. Good job. Thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, please share it with your friends, and do not forget to subscribe if you haven’t yet.

I will see you next week in the next video. Thank you for watching. Bye.


Please share with us how your weekly challenge goes in the comments bellow!

Good luck and good week,

Hadar

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