"TH" Practice

Initial Voiceless TH Phrases and Sentences

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thank you note

empty thermos

thick meat

sneaky thief

sore thigh

thin slice

think often

third birthday

very thirsty

number thirteen

turn 30

sharp thorn

blue thread

number three

thumbs up

green thumbtack

noisy thunder

Thursday night

She left a thank you note on the computer.

I have hot chocolate in my thermos.

I like to eat thick steaks.

He is a car thief.

His thigh was sore from working hard.

We asked for the sliced roast beef.

She goes to the park to think.

Today is her third birthday.

The boy was thirsty after running.

My address is 13 Park Place.

She turned thirty in May.

The rose bush has a sharp thorn on it.

WIll you grab the blue thread?

She hung a three on the side of her house.

She gave him a thumbs up.

I put a thumbtack on the map.

The thunder was loud.

The party is on Thursday night.

Medial Voiceless TH Phrases and Sentences

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competitive athlete

mystery author

white bathrobe

big bathtub

birthday party

breathless runner

massive earthquake

healthy eating

green mouthwash

have nothing

black panther

big python

blue stethoscope

bad toothache

orange toothbrush

green toothpaste

short toothpick

youthful grandparents

The athlete entered the high jump event.

The author mostly wrote mysteries.

My bathrobe is nice and soft.

She wanted to clean her bathtub.

He invited his friends to his birthday party.

He ran so much he was breathless.

The earthquake destroyed the road.

They are eating healthy food.

Mouthwash makes your mouth feel fresh.

There is nothing in his pockets.

The panther is resting.

The python is wrapped around the tree.

The stethoscope is on the floor.

Her toothache was painful.

The dentist gave her a new toothbrush.

Toothpaste will help keep your teeth clean.

He has a toothpick in his mouth.

My grandparents are very youthful.

Final Voiceless TH Phrases and Sentences

hot bath

strong blacksmith

phone booth

see your breath

planet earth

fifth person

fourth place

nice locksmith

math problem

spotted moth

girl mouth

head north

under oath

long path

drive south

pretty teeth

white tooth

holiday wreath

He took a nice hot bath.

The blacksmith makes old-fashioned swords.

She made a call from the phone booth.

She could see her breath in the cold.

We live on planet earth.

She was the fifth person in line.

He came in fourth in the race.

The locksmith is fixing it.

She is working on a math problem.

The moth landed on the branch.

She has white teeth in her mouth.

The compass said to walk north.

She made an oath to tell the truth.

It is a long path through the woods.

They followed the sign to go south.

She has very white teeth.

The dentist pulled her tooth.

The door has a beautiful wreath on it.

Voiceless TH Reading Paragraphs

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Thatch's Goals

The boy playing third base is good. His name is Thatcher, but his friends call him Thatch. His baseball team is called "Blue Thunder". He is from South Dakota and he's very athletic. 

Thatch plays third base on the baseball team. He also plays basketball, tennis, and youth soccer - not bad for a thirteen-year-old. He has been playing sports since he was three. Thatch wants to play one or all of the sports professionally someday. 

Last month I asked him if he had thought about which sport he wanted to play. 

"I'll play anything if I can get paid to do it," he said. 

I told him I thought he would be a pro baseball player and he gave me a thumbs up. 

He is on the right path if playing pro sports is his dream. He was voted third for the best player in the state and tenth for best player in the region three weeks ago. His parents think he will play tennis, but said they don't have the authority to make that decision. 

The earth has a lot of great sports players and I think Thatch can play with the best of them. I hope nothing gets in his way. It will be fun to say I knew him when he was only thirteen.

Exploding Cake

Thad liked to prank and scare people. He played the most jokes on people when he was in the fifth grade. He put thumbtacks on chairs, thickener in drinks, and told the class that their pet python had escaped. His favorite pranks were to turn the thermostat down really cold to try and freeze students out and to replace student's soda with mouthwash. 

A few days ago, Thea brought in a cake to celebrate her birthday. Somehow, Thad got a balloon inside of it so when the teacher tried to cut the cake, it exploded all over everyone. 

Thad had a lot of fun thinking of new ways to prank his classmates. His teacher, Ms. South, didn't think it was healthy. She knew Thad was a very thoughtful writer. He was also very smart in math. She thought his writing was so good that he could become an author someday. 

Overall, Thad's grades were in the top three percent of his class. Ms. South didn't want Thad's talent and thoughtfulness go to waste. She thought about what methods she could use to help him focus in class and not cause so much trouble. Thad wanted to be in theater after he graduated high school. Ms. South told Thad that he could be in theater after he graduated. 

"You're so smart! I think a thousand theaters would want you to work for them, but you have to stop the pranks," she said. Thad started to rethink his actions and what that would mean for him in the future. He apologized to the class and Ms. South, and said he would not prank anyone anymore. 

Turning Thirty

Thelma's birthday was on Thursday and she couldn't decide how to celebrate. She was turning thirty and wanted this birthday to be special. 

One idea she had was going to a steak house. A thick juicy steak would be part of a perfect meal for her birthday. Going to the spa and getting a massage would be therapeutic. Of course, that can be expensive, so if necessary she could just take a warm bubble bath. 

Something she really wanted to do was sit outside and eat popcorn during a thunderstorm, but she couldn't control the weather, so she would keep that as a backup plan. She had always wanted to visit South America too, but would have to save her money for a trip like that. Thelma thought about a short trip she could take and remembered the zoo was close by. 

"The zoo had pythons, panthers, and a new mammoth exhibit, and those would be fun to see," she thought. All of this thinking was taking her strength. Thelma only had three hours of sleep last night because she had been up reading a case study for her ethics class. A moth had flown in her house and distracted her while reading. The distraction had kept her up later than she planned. 

Thelma thought for a minute and decided that she would take a nap. "Everything will fall into place on Thursday," she thought, "As long as I know what I want to do, everything will work out." She closed her eyes, her breath softened, and she fell asleep on her couch. 

NPR Story: Politics

NPR: Establishment Republicans Scramble to Top Trump

Transcript

Script Work

The One With the Evil Orthodontist

Consonant Clusters with S

Cluster Practice

Accent Reduction: Tip 1 Always Speak Slowly

YouTube: Always Speak More Slowly

"TH" Sound Practice

Spring Baby

1. This woman has a new baby.

2. Her name is Ruth.

3. The baby’s name is Theo.

4. Ruth buys many things for Theo.

5. When she is at the drugstore, she buys this and that.

6. When she is at the mall, she buys this and that.

7. Theo’s date of birth is May 6, 2009.

8. Ruth wanted Theo’s birthday to happen in Spring.

9. Ruth’s favorite month is May.

10. Theo is her first baby.

The Office 

1. This is a downtown office.

2. It is Thursday.

3. There are many people at the office.

4. There is a long line of people.

5. It is a doctor’s office.

6. This doctor is expensive.

7. In the months of January and February, he is cheap.

8. He helps poor people in the winter months.

9. There is a stethoscope around his neck.

10. There is a pen in his shirt pocket.

The Dentist

1. This woman has very bad teeth. She brushes her teeth a lot, but she likes chocolate and sugary drinks.

2. She is always seeing the dentist. This is because the dentist  always finds cavities during her checkups.

3. Over the years, she also had several root canals. She did not put caps on the teeth because she could not afford them.

4. The dental insurance plans usually cover $1,500, if that much. $1,500 is the total needed for both a root canal and a cap for one tooth.

5. She even had one tooth removed because it was so rotten. They gave her a lot of painkillers and yanked the tooth from her mouth.

6. She does not like all these tooth problems. Anyway, she is thankful that she lives in an age of painkillers and clean offices!

Taking the Bus

1.  This family takes the bus every day. They take the bus to their English class.

2. These are the adults in the family. They are between thirty and fifty years old.

3. Every day they take bus number three. They get on the bus and think.

4. They look at all the other people. People are wearing everything from thick jackets to thin hats.

5. It is autumn and the weather is changing. It is difficult to choose a jacket that is not too thick and not too thin.

6. Many people wear several shirts in the morning. Then they take off one or two shirts when the sun is high in the sky. 

Gardening

1. People have many theories about gardening. For some people, gardening means getting rid of thorns, thistles and weeds. It means having a clean, easy yard.

2. Other people love the roses with their thorny branches. The rose bushes have to be cut back every year. Cutting back means getting to know the rose thorns.  

3. Some people enjoy a wild garden. They like tall flowers in many colors and they think tall grass is beautiful. They don’t mind thistles, as long as the thistles are not on the garden paths.

4. There are also different theories about the seasons, especially summer. Some people like to let the grass turn brown during summer months. They think it looks natural and saves water. 

5. Others want green grass all summer and water the lawn all the time. This means they have to mow the grass and trim the bushes throughout the summer.

6. Some people garden thoroughly and notice every weed, while other people garden once or twice a month. All homeowners have to choose the gardening theory that works for them.

More Idioms

GET A HANDLE ON (SOMETHING)
to find a way to deal with a problem or difficult situation
1. I’m trying to get a handle on my job search, so I’m updating my resume and asking my old teachers for letters of recommendation.
2. Margaret’s babysitting job was difficult at first, but she got a handle on the children after she promised to read them a story.

GET (A) HOLD OF (ONESELF)
to get control of oneself; stop being emotional
1. Stop crying, Mary. Get a hold of yourself and calm down.
2. The man narrowly missed hitting another car on the highway. Afterward, he pulled off the road to try to get hold of himself.
Compare to: get it/(one’s) act together; go to pieces
The expression get (a) hold of oneself emphasizes emotional control whereas get one’s act together emphasizes mental or physical control.

GET (A) HOLD OF (SOMEONE)
to contact someone or communicate with someone, usually by telephone
1. The real estate agent couldn’t get hold of them before the house was sold to someone else. They never answered their phone.
2. The ambulance brought the little boy to the hospital, and the doctor got a hold of the boy’s parents before he operated.

GET (A) HOLD OF (SOMETHING)
to acquire or obtain something
1. I was able to get hold of a copy of the magazine, but it was the last one.
2. Sarah was very lucky to get a hold of an extra ticket to the ballgame.
The expression is used to describe something that is somewhat difficult to acquire, perhaps because it is rare.

GET A LEG UP
to make a good start on some activity or project
1. It took a long time, but you’ve finally got a leg up on your college degree. It shouldn’t take you much longer to finish.
2. I’m going to get a leg up on next year’s budget by planning several months in advance.
This expression originally meant “to be lifted onto a horse,” and can indicate getting ahead of other people.

GET A MOVE ON
to hurry
1. Get a move on! Everyone is waiting for you.
2. We asked the waiter to bring our check twenty minutes ago. I sure wish that he would get a move on!
Synonyms: shake a leg!; step on it!
This expression can be used as a verb or as a command to another person.

GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE
to insert a word or sentence into an otherwise one-sided conversation
1. Elizabeth talked on and on. No one else got a chance to tell her what he or she thought because they couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
2. Jerry finally got a word in edgewise when Tony stopped talking to take a drink.
The word edgewise means to turn something to its narrowest dimension. The expression suggests that one must put one’s words edgewise in order to squeeze them into a conversation where words are run together very tightly. The expression is usually used in the negative, can’t get a word in edgewise, meaning that one is unable to get into the conversation because someone else is doing all the talking.

GET BY
to just barely manage, financially (sentence 1) or with one’s work or responsibilities (sentence 2)
1. We’re getting by now, but if we get an unexpected bill it would bankrupt us.
2. I’m getting by the best way I know how: by working hard.
Synonyms: keep one’s head above water; make ends meet

GET CAUGHT/BE LEFT HOLDING THE BAG [LEAVE (SOMEONE) HOLDING THE BAG]
to make someone the scapegoat; to be blamed for something that was not one’s fault or was only partly one’s fault
1. The other team members left, Bill was left holding the bag, trying to explain a bad project.
2. Christine helped Tim invent a scheme to cheat people out of their money and it went wrong. She left town and Tim got caught holding the bag.
Compare to: leave (someone) in the lurch
Leave someone in the lurch is usually applied more generally to any number of situations involving responsibility whereas leave someone holding the bag is usually applied to a situation involving theft in which one person is literally left holding (or caught with) the stolen goods.