How native speakers say AND & THE in English

Want to sound more natural when speaking English? In this lesson, I will give you some tips and will specifically look at how native English speakers use the words "and" and "the" in a sentence. We will listen to how these common words are shortened in real conversations, and learn how to make two simple changes to improve your accent. The result? People will understand you more easily because you are speaking in the way they expect to hear. With these small changes to your speech, I guarantee you will feel more confident about your English! http://www.engvid.com/how-native-speakers-say-and-the-in-english/

TRANSCRIPT

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson I'm going to show you two simple changes that you can make to sound more like a native English speaker, and also to understand native English speakers when they speak. Okay? So, that is with two simple words: "and" plus "the". Okay? Now, of course, "and" plus "the", we say them pretty often. Right? We say them quite a lot. So, what's this little change that you need to make to sound more like a native speaker? Let me tell you.

Let's start with "and". Now, if I just say this word: "and", then of course, you're going to say it like that: "and", but we don't usually just say that word. We say it as part of a sentence or part of a phrase. Right? So, what happens then? What happens is that this entire word "and" is reduced or shortened to sound just like "n", just like an "n". Okay? For example: "over n over", "n". Okay? Instead of "and", we're just saying: "n", "n", "n". Okay? So, let's say lots of phrases so that you can hear it, because your eyes are telling you to say "and", but I want your ears and your mouth to start recognizing and saying: "n" instead of "and" when it's in the middle of a phrase. And later, we'll look at sentences. Okay? Say it... You can say it with me, you can also repeat it after me.

"Over n over", "over and over". "Again n again", "again and again". Good. "Bread n butter", "bread and butter". "Hide n seek", "hide and seek". This is a game that children play. Okay? It's called hide and seek, somebody hides, somebody goes to look for them. Another word for "looking" is "seek". All right? Let's continue. "Cream n sugar", "cream and sugar". "Pros n cons". What are "pros and cons"? "Pros and cons" are advantages and disadvantages. All right? So, even if you said those longer words, you'd say: "Advantages n disadvantages". Right? Now you know: Don't say "and", just say "n". Okay? "Black n white", "black n white". Not: "black and white", "black n white". "John n Mary", "John and Mary". "Mr. n Mrs. Jones", not: "Mr. and Mrs." Sometimes we don't even say "Mrs." nowadays, but in some countries, this forms are still used, so I'm giving you that example. "Mr. n Mrs. Jones". Or we can use it for companies, too: "Microsoft n Google". It doesn't matter what we're talking about, whether we're talking about cream and sugar or Microsoft and Google, we're still saying: "Cream n sugar", "Microsoft n", right? "Microsoft n Google". So we almost swallow the word "and", and we just reduce it to "n".

Except when you want to emphasize the word "and". All right? Now, this is not true most of the time; this is an exception. All right? This is what happens 99% of the time, but sometimes you really want to emphasize the word "and". For example: "I want you to call your sister and I want you to apologize!" Now, in this case, the person who was saying that really wanted to emphasize this second part, that I don't just want you to call your sister, but I also want you to apologize. So that's why in that particular sentence, we don't just say: "I want you to call your sister n I want you to apologize." They were emphasizing it, so that's why they said "and" like "and". But most of the time, this is what you need to do. And in the next section, we're going to look at what happens when we use the word "the".

Okay, now let's look at another word, a simple word, and that's the word that is spelt t-h-e. Why don't I say it? Because have you realized that this word is often pronounced in two different ways? Sometimes we pronounce it: "thuh", and sometimes we pronounce it: "thee". Why? What's going on? I'm going to tell you. Now, what I'm explaining to you is not a rule. Okay? But it is a pattern. This is what native speakers do kind of naturally. They haven't been taught that, and it's not a rule, but it is a pattern which you will recognize, and which you might want to adopt yourself. All right? So, let's understand what's behind it. So, we say: "thuh" when the word that comes after "the" starts with a consonant sound. Not just with a consonant-we'll see some exceptions in a minute-but with a consonant sound.