Episode Transcript

This vs These

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.