Reading Aloud Sounds: the 'th', and the d / t / k Endings
How to make the two th sounds with your tongue between your teeth, and how to land the ending consonants -d, -t and -k crisply instead of swallowing them.
⏱ 12 min · 🎯 5 things to master
In Reading Aloud, the examiner is listening for every sound to land clearly. You do not need a fancy accent — you just need to say each word fully and cleanly. The marks here are some of the easiest in the whole oral exam to win, and two little sound families are where most Singaporean students quietly lose them: the "th" sound, and the endings -d, -t and -k that get dropped in fast everyday speech.
Parents: let your child read each example out loud and predict before they tap to reveal. Saying the sound aloud — and hearing the difference between "free" and "three" — is what makes it stick.
By the end you will be able to make both "th" sounds, hear where the "th" sits in a word, and land your -d, -t and -k endings like a confident reader. The three big ideas we will master are: the two "th" sounds, where "th" sits in a word, and crisp ending consonants. Let's read.
The two "th" sounds
Try this right now. Put the very tip of your tongue lightly between your top and bottom teeth, then gently push air out. That little buzz or hiss is the — and it is one English does not let you skip.
There are actually two flavours of "th":
- A soft, one, where your throat buzzes: this, that, brother, mother, the.
- A hard, one, which is just air with no buzz: think, thought, bath, three, healthy.
You do not need to name which is which in the exam. You just need your tongue in the right place — between the teeth — for both.
The two classic traps:
- Saying "free" for "three". That happens when your top teeth touch your bottom lip (an /f/ sound) instead of putting your tongue between your teeth.
- Saying "dis" and "dat" for "this" and "that". That happens when your tongue hides behind your teeth and makes a hard /d/ instead of slipping between them.
The fix for both is the same: tongue tip between the teeth, then make the sound.
🤔 Predict first: You are about to read the word three. How should it begin?
Where the "th" sits in a word
The "th" sound can hide in three places, and students often only practise it at the front. Train your ear for all three:
- Front of the word: thought, three, think.
- Middle of the word: brother, mother, healthy.
- End of the word: bath, mouth, teeth.
The endings are the sneakiest, because that is exactly where a tired reader lets the "th" go soft and it turns into a "baf" or a "teef". Keep your tongue between your teeth right to the last sound.
Predict first, then sort each word by where its "th" sound sits.
Where is the th sound?
Predict first: In the word brother, where is the th sound?
Crisp ending consonants: -d, -t and -k
In everyday Singapore speech we often clip the last sound off a word. "Walked to the shop" becomes "walk to the shop"; "asked" becomes "ask". That is fine when you are chatting with friends, but in Reading Aloud it costs marks. The job here is to land every clearly.
Listen for these endings and say them fully:
- -t: act, walked (this one sounds like "walkt"), asked (sounds like "askt"), helped (sounds like "helpt").
- -d: called, filled, played, bird, hand.
- -k: back, walk, milk, book.
Notice the surprise hiding in the -ed ending. It does not always sound like a "d". After some words it sounds like a crisp /t/:
- asked, helped, walked, liked all end in a /t/ sound.
- called, filled, played all end in a /d/ sound.
You do not need to explain the rule in the exam. You just need to say the last sound and not swallow it.
🤔 Predict first: Reading the sentence He walked to school, how should the word walked end?
Now predict, then sort each word by the sound it ends on. Watch the -ed words — listen, do not just look at the spelling.
What sound does the word end on?
Predict first: Listen to the word asked. Does it end in a /d/ sound or a /t/ sound?
A few tricky words to practise
Some words trip readers up no matter how careful they are. Read each of these slowly a few times:
- their, there and they're all sound the same — do not let one throw you when you see it.
- often — the "t" is usually silent, so it sounds like "off-en".
- comb — the "b" is silent, so it sounds like "kohm".
- Wednesday — the first "d" is silent, so it sounds like "Wenz-day".
- iron — it sounds like "eye-ern", not "eye-ron".
If you meet a word you are unsure of, do not freeze or guess loudly. Read it calmly at your normal pace; a smooth, confident attempt sounds far better than a panicked stop.
A few quick technique tips
Pronunciation wins the sound marks, but these small habits make your whole reading sound polished:
- Pause at the punctuation. A short stop at a comma and a slightly longer one at a full stop lets your reading breathe.
- Lift your voice for a question. When a sentence ends in a question mark, let your voice rise gently at the end.
- Swap fillers for silence. Instead of an "um" or an "er", just take a clean, silent pause. A makes you sound unsure; a calm pause sounds in control.
- Do not rush. Reading a little slower than feels natural gives every sound — including those endings — time to land.
Watch out — these are easily mixed up
Quick recap
🎯 Mastery check
Answer all 8 — your progress is saved on this device.
How should the word three begin?
A reader says dis and dat instead of this and that. What should they fix?
In the word bath, where is the th sound?
You are reading the sentence He walked to school. How should walked end?
Which of these words ends in a /t/ sound, even though it is spelled with -ed?
Which word ends in a /k/ sound that you must say clearly?
A sentence in your passage ends with a question mark. What should your voice do?
You reach a hard word and feel a gap coming. What is the best thing to do?