144 Go to /d/ Worksheet Go to /ð/ Worksheet /d/ “den” vs /ð/ “then” Comparison
Minimal pairs are words that sound the same apart from one sound. The only difference between den /dԑn/ and then /ðԑn/ is the initial consonant sound.
Comparison Words (minimal pairs in the order /d/ - /ð/) 4 bayed – bathe1
1 den – then 2 dares - theirs 3 tied – tithe 5 ladder – lather2
7 8 6 bladder - blather 9
breeding – breathing 10 bards - baths sudden – southern3 wordy - worthy 1Notice bath /bɑːθ/ but bathe /beɪð/, 2 Can be pronounced /laðə/ or /lɑːðə/, 3 Notice south /saʊθ/, but southern /sʌðən/.
Words with /d/ and /ð/ dither, there’d, they’d
Phrases (minimal pairs – not necessarily in the order /d/ - /ð/) 1 those does4 3 lied about being lithe 2 the other udder 4 odes about oaths 5 writhing while riding a horse 6 He dithered and went hither and thither
4 This is the plural noun describing female deer (one doe, two does). It is pronounced /dəʊz/. The third person form of to do in the present tense is does which is pronounced /dʌz/.
Sentences (minimal pairs – not necessarily in the order /d/ - /ð/)
1 Yesterday they booed from their booth. 2 There’s one question I dare you to ask Dan: who’s he taller than? 3 Dave and Callum? They’ve gone home before they’ll go to the dale. 4 Those bakers who are dozing won’t get up to make the dough, though. 5 Heather loathes editing loads of headers and footers. 6 Pat’s moody and seethes with rage at her badly made seed smoothie.
