The Letter T

consonant letters

I'm sure you've come across this letter. Let's learn about all the sounds of the letter T. It is the twentieth letter of the English alphabet.

T is the twentieth letter in the modern English alphabet. It is a consonant.

Consonants are the letters that are produced by stopping the letter from flowing easily.

Uppercase Form	T
Lowercase	t
Name	tee (pronounced /ˈtiː/)
Main Sound	/t/

The Letter T: Sounds

The letter T has four sounds:

Main Sound

Sound 1: /t/

't' mainly sounds /t/:

time /taɪm/

tart /tɑːrt/

tea /tiː/

tie /taɪ/

Other Sounds

Sound 2: /tʃ/

't' also sounds /tʃ/ if it precedes the letter 'u':

statue /ˈstætʃuː/

creature /ˈkriːtʃə(r)/

furniture /ˈfɜːrnɪtʃər/

Sound 3: /ʃ/

't' in 'ti' before the vowels like 'o' or 'a' is pronounced /ʃ/:

nation /ˈneɪʃn/

negotiation /nɪˌɡəʊʃiˈeɪʃn/

ratio /ˈreɪʃiəʊ/

Sound 4: /∅/

't' also sound silent /∅/ if the letter 's' precedes it:

rustle /ˈrʌsl/

castle /ˈkæsl/

whistle /ˈwɪsl/

Christmas /ˈkrɪsməs/

'tch' sounds /tʃ/; in other words, 't' in 'tch' is silent/∅/:

watch /wɑːtʃ/

butcher /ˈbʊtʃər/

pitch /pɪtʃ/

Tip

'et' at the end of French loanwords sounds /eɪ/, so 't' is silent:

beret /bəˈreɪ/

ballet /bæˈleɪ/

bidet /bɪˈdeɪ/

The Letter T: Multigraphs

Letter T can also appear in combinations with other letters (mainly consonants):

tt

'tt' sounds /t/:

butter /ˈbʌtər/

kettle /ˈketl/

rattle /ˈrætl/

th

'th' mainly sounds /θ/:

mouth /maʊθ/

teeth /tiːθ/

thorn /θɔːrn/

thumb /θʌm/

'th' can also sound /ð/ if it is followed by the letter 'e' or 'i':

smoothie /ˈsmuːði/

then /ðen/

brother /ˈbrʌðər/

'th' also sounds /t/:

thyme /taɪm/

Thomas /ˈtɑːməs/

Thames /ˈtemz/

pt

'pt' sounds /t/, in other words, 'p' is silent /∅/:

receipt /rɪˈsiːt/

pterodactyl /ˌterəˈdæktɪl/

The Letter T: Uses

T can be used as an abbreviation for
tonne(s)
tesla
temperature

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