Home > Lesson 6: Deleting Sounds > Unit 6.3 Deleting d
Contents hide
Presentation
Audio [18:19]
Quiz
#1. d and t are a consonant pair in which ________ is voiced and ________ is unvoiced.
#2. True or false? d is easier to pronounce than t and often moves forward in CC connections.
#3. We delete d when: (Choose two.)
Select all that apply:
#4. The consonant sound d is usually spelled ________ at the end of a syllable.
#5. Which sentence has an example of d being deleted as part of a consonant blend?
Results
Well done! You have passed the test.
Please try again.
HD Quiz powered by harmonic design
Discussion
- What do you know about consonant blends in English? Do you have consonant blends in your L1? Give a few examples.
- Does it worry you to say ‘He seem to be OK’ as past tense, instead of ‘He seemed to be OK?’ Yet, we do this in fast speech. What is important is the stressed vowel sound of the verb: ee, not the consonant at the end. Will you let yourself overcome the fear of seeming incorrect according to your years of study of English, and accept that the actions of connected speech are what we do?
Practice
- Practice the phrases on slide 7. Focus on the right-hand phrases. The t sound should be very quiet and light – barely noticeable, but there, as a representative of the deleted d. Do you find the phrases on the right easier to pronounce than their original versions?
- Practice the phrases on slide 8, with d moving forward in the CV connections.
- Practice the phrases on slide 11, with d deleted and no glottal stop in place of it. Write five more similar phrases and practice them out loud.
- Practice saying the words ending with d on slides 13-14 out loud. Can you add any more examples to each group?
- Use the words on slides 13-14 to create new phrases with CC connections, e.g., ‘road sign’ = ROA TSIGN. Practice saying them out loud, either deleting d (if it meets t) or moving it forward and changing it to t. Put your phrases into whole sentences and say them out loud.
- Look at the common suffixes on slide 15. Think of words that use each suffix and put them into CC connections, e.g., ‘lemonade stand’. Practice saying them out loud, deleting d or moving it forward and changing it to t. Try putting them into sentences and saying them out loud.
- Can you find any more suffixes that end with d? Complete the previous exercise using the new suffixes.
- Look at the regular verbs on slide 16. Make a list of ten more common regular verbs that end with a) a vowel sound, b) a voiced consonant sound and add ‘-ed’. Practice making phrases with them in CC connections, deleting or moving forward d as required, e.g., ‘agreed to’ = AGREE TO.
- Look at the ‘list of common consonant blends in English’ worksheet. Focus on the final consonant blends with ‘ld’ and ‘nd’.
- Look at the consonant blends on slide 18. Find more blends with ld, md, and nd. Write a list of words for each blend, then make phrases and say them out loud, deleting the d in each phrase. How does it feel to you, saying ‘boun to’ instead of your usual ‘bound to’, with d pronounced? Does it feel wrong? Yet, it is correct in spoken English.
- Practice the phrases on slides 19, 20, and 22 out loud. Put them into sentences and say them out loud, observing other connected speech rules.
- Look at the other possible blends on slide 23. Can you think of any more final consonant blends ending in d? For example, ‘logged the’ = LO GTHE.
- Practice saying the phrases on slides 24 and 25 out loud. Focus on deleting the d in each phrase. Make sure that you know why the d is deleted in each phrase: either because of t or a blend. Record yourself saying them, then listen back; slow down the recording and listen to the sound connections. How did you do?