(1) th位于词首时,可以从词性上判别其应有的读音。
在名词、动词、形容词和数词中th发清辅音。
如:thing, theatre, thunder, thermos, Thursday, theory, theme, throat, thread, think, thank, thrive, thicken, thirteen, thirty, third, thousand, thick, thirsty, thoughtful, thorough 在代词和一些功能词中th发浊辅音.如: them, their, theirs, there, the, than, then, though, thus, therefore, they。
只有介词through是个例外。
(2) th位于词尾(或音节之尾)时,其读音多数是清辅音,如:bath, breath, tooth, 等。
只有在少数单词中,如:with, smooth 中读浊音。
(3) th在词中并且后面接er时,或者最后一个字母是不发音的e时,通常也发浊辅音。
例如:feather, weather, whether, leather, further, father, bathe, breathe, southern, northern, either等。
在其他情况下发清辅音。
例如:author, faithful, method, nothing, anything, healthy, wealthy。
试读下列单词: mother, father, another, brother, health, wealth。