Sound Right

/t/ — the T sound as in time, take, what

Main spellings (~95%)

⟨t⟩ ~93%

The letter ⟨t⟩ covers most words with the /t/ sound.

time take what top get just out part night tell
Doubled consonants: When ⟨tt⟩ appears in the middle of a word, it still makes just one /t/ sound. Examples: better, little, matter.

⟨ed⟩ ~2%

The past tense ending ⟨-ed⟩ is pronounced /t/ after voiceless consonants (/p/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /ʧ/).

walked stopped watched asked pushed helped worked missed
-ed pronunciation rule: Say /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked, stopped), say /d/ after voiced sounds (called, played), and say /ɪd/ after /t/ or /d/ (wanted, needed).

Unusual spellings (~5%)

⟨th⟩

In a few words, ⟨th⟩ makes /t/ instead of the usual /θ/ or /ð/.

thomas thyme thai thailand thames

⟨bt⟩

Silent ⟨b⟩ before ⟨t⟩.

doubt debt subtle

⟨pt⟩

Silent ⟨p⟩ before ⟨t⟩.

receipt

⟨tw⟩

Silent ⟨w⟩ — only in one word.

two

Connected speech

In casual American English, /t/ often changes:

Flap T: Between vowels, /t/ becomes a quick flap sound (like a fast /d/). Examples: butter, water, better. Learn more →
Glottal T (before N): Before /n/, /t/ can become a glottal stop. Examples: button, mountain, certain. Learn more →
Glottal T (word-final): Word-final /t/ becomes a glottal stop before consonants. Example: "that boy" → [ðæʔ bɔɪ]. Learn more →
NT Cluster Reduction: /t/ is often dropped in -nt- clusters before unstressed vowels. Examples: twenty, internet. Learn more →