When
we write the word 'the' in English it will always
be the same, but when spoken the pronunciation is
different depending on the word which follows it.
There are two pronunciations of the word 'the' used
in English; 'thuh' and 'thee'.
Normally,
we pronounce "the" with a short sound (like
"thuh"). But when "the" comes
before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long "thee".
| vowel
sound |
we
write |
we
say |
A |
the
apple |
'thee'
apple |
E |
the
egg |
'thee'
egg |
I |
the
ice-cream |
'thee'
ice-cream |
O |
the
orange |
'thee'
orange |
U |
the
ugli fruit |
'thee
ugli fruit' |
It
is important to understand that it is what we say
that matters, not what we write. It is the sound that
matters, not the letter used in writing a word. So
we use a long "thee" before a vowel sound,
not necessarily before a vowel. Look at these cases:
| we
write |
consonent/vowel |
we
say |
sound
type |
the
house |
consonent
(h) |
'thuh'
house |
consonent
sound |
the
hour |
consonent
(h) |
'thee'
our |
vowel
sound |
the
university |
vowel
(u) |
'thuh'
youniversity |
consonent
sound |
the
umbrella |
vowel
(u) |
'thee'
umbrella |
vowel
sound |
Emphatic
the [thee]
When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word,
we can use "emphatic the" [thee], whether
or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound.
For example:
A:
I saw the [thuh] President yesterday.
B: What! The [thee] President of the United States?
A: Yes, exactly.
