Pronunciation & Fluency
Americans do not say every word they write. Sounds get shortened, joined, and dropped. “Did you eat yet?” comes out as three quick sounds, not four separate words.
Nothing is wrong with your vocabulary. You have been listening for the written version of a sentence that nobody actually says out loud.
20 sentences, grouped by what happens to the sounds. Every one of them is something you will hear in the first five minutes of an American conversation.
The d at the end of “did” crashes into the y of “you” and they fuse into one j sound. This is why the most common question in English is also the hardest one to catch.
Did you eat yet?
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What did you say?
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Where did you go?
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“You” is almost never stressed. It shrinks to a quick ya, and the words on either side close in around it.
What do you want?
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Can you help me?
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Are you ready?
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The h at the start of “him” and “her” disappears mid-sentence, and what is left glues onto the word before it.
Is he ready?
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Tell him later.
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Call her back.
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“To” almost never sounds like the number two. It flattens to tuh — and after some verbs it fuses completely: want to, have to, going to.
I want to go.
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I have to leave early.
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I’m going to be late.
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“Of” loses its v and becomes a small uh sound that leans on the word in front of it.
A lot of people agree.
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It’s kind of strange.
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Most of the time.
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When a t or a d is trapped between two other consonants, American speakers usually drop it. The letter stays in the spelling; the sound is gone.
Next please.
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Most people agree.
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I don’t know.
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Same collision as didja, but with a t in front: t plus you becomes cha, and d plus you becomes ja.
Don’t you think so?
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Would you like some?
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You will hear the fast version only. Type the full written English — the sentence as it would appear on paper. Spelling of the reduced sounds does not matter; getting the words right does.
Question 1 of 10
Press play, listen as many times as you need, then type what you hear.
Score: 0 correct