Him → /ɪm/ We HELPED him.
His → /ɪz/ Do you know his NAME?
Her → /ɚ/ Do you know her NAME?The pronoun them can also lose its initial /ð/ sound and be
pronounced /əm/. (However, /ð/ is not lost when we say
they or their—only them.)
Them → /əm/ Did you TALK to them?
They → /ðey/ (not /ey/) What do they NEED?
Because of these changes, him and them often sound very
similar. Fortunately, in conversation we can usually tell
which word is being said from context.
Have, has, and had often lose their initial /h/ when they’re
used as auxiliary verbs. As we saw earlier, sometimes they’re
reduced even further into contractions.
Have → /əv/ or /v/ What have you DONE?
Has → /əz/, /z/, or /s/ What has he DONE?
Had → /əd/ or /d/ What had he DONE?
Of and and often lose their !nal consonant sound, especially
when they come before a word that starts with a consonant:
Of → /ə/ And → /ən/
I want a CUP of COFfee with CREAM and SUgar.
Articles
Students learn very early that the inde!nite article has two
forms: a (usually pronounced /ə/) before consonant sounds
and an (usually pronounced /ən/) before vowel sounds. In
most speakers’ pronunciation, the de!nite article the also has
two di"erent pronunciations, although they’re both spelled
the same way. The is usually pronounced /ðə/ before
consonant sounds and /ðiy/ before vowel sounds.It’s important to remember that these forms of the articles are
based on the sound that comes after them, not the spelling;
spelling is not always a reliable indication of pronunciation.9.2 FORMS OF DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES9.2 FORMS OF DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES9.2 FORMS OF DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLESBefore a
consonant soundBefore a
vowel sounda/anA box /ə ˈbɑks/
A child /ə ˈʧayld/
A unit /ə ˈyuwnət/An apple /ən ˈæpəl/
An umbrella /ən əmˈbrɛlə/
An hour /ən awr/theThe box /ðə ˈbɑks/
The child /ðə ˈʧayld/
The unit /ðə ˈyuwnət/The apple /ðiy ˈæpəl/
The umbrella /ðiy əmˈbrɛlə/
The hour /ðiy ˈawr/121