Learning English

The disappearing 't'?

When we write the word 'doesn't' it definitely has a 't' at the end. However, it seems that when we speak, that /t/ sound isn't always there. This week Helen is a little preoccupied with her private life but still finds the time to answer a question on this topic.

Watch the video and complete the activity

Summary

When we speak normally we call this connected speech.

In connected speech the sounds at the end of words can change, link or even disappear depending on the word that follows.

Disappearing sounds

When the sounds /t/ or /d/ come between two consonants they often aren't pronounced. This is what happens with 'doesn't' if the following word begins with a consonant sound.

• He doesn('t) care

In this example the sound /t/ is between the consonants /n/ and /k/ and in fluent speech it won't be pronounced. This isn't a mistake, it's just a natural feature of connected speech.

Linking

When a word ends in a consonant sound and the following word begins with a vowel sound, the two words will link together. The consonant sound at the end of the first word will act almost like the first sound of the following word.

• He doesn't_always call every day.

Merging

When a word ends with a consonant sound and the following word begins with the same sound, that sound is not pronounced twice. The sounds join together and are pronounced slightly longer than normal.

• He doesn('t) know

In this example two things happen. The /t/ at the end disappears as it comes between two consonants. That leaves the last sound as /n/. The first sound of know  is /n/. (Remember we are talking about sounds, not spelling so we can ignore the k in the spelling). These two /n/ sounds join together and are not split.

So, if we don't pronounce the /t/ sound and the /n/ sounds are joined together, how can we tell whether the sentence is negative: He doesn't know? or positive: He does know?

In the negative there is an extra syllable. Before the /n/ there is the weak form schwa.

To do

Try the quiz to see how well you understand these features of connected speech.

End of Session

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Many thanks to the staff and students at Avalon School of English for their help with this feature.

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