Sounds · The T

T, P and K start with air

Without the air, time can sound like dime.

Hear it in pairs

Each pair is two words, one sound apart.

• time · dime
• town · down
• tie · die
• ton · done
• could · good
• cold · gold
• class · glass
• coast · ghost
• pack · back
• push · bush
• pig · big
• pride · bride

In a sentence

• A cup of tea, please. A cup of tea, please.
• Take your time with the report. Take your time with the report.
• Take two pills a day. Take two pills a day.

Careful with these

• After S, there is no air: stop, sky, spin, student
• In the middle or at the end of a word, the T can change: water, that, twenty

How to say it

• Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say time, park and keep. Feel a little air.
• Say time, then dime: time starts with air, dime starts with your voice.
• Hold paper in front of your mouth: it moves for pack, not for back.

Listen for: A little air right after the T, P or K, before the vowel.

Where to look for it

A T, P or K at the start of a word or a strong part: time, ten, park, keep, hotel. Not after S: stop, sky and spin have no air.

More about it

A T that starts a strong part has air too: hotel, attack. Say top, then stop, and feel the difference. Tree and dream have a pattern of their own, in R and L: T before R sounds like “ch”.

Teachers call this: Aspiration, or the aspirated T.

Listen for it today. When you hear “Take care” or “Two, please”, listen for the air at the start.