The is a lot of confusion over the pronunciation of the definite article ‘the’ . Normally, we pronounce “the” with a short sound (like “thuh”). But if “the” comes before a vowel or a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long “thee”.
vowel sound |
we write |
we say |
A |
the apple |
thee apple |
E |
the egg |
thee egg |
I |
the ice-cream |
thee ice-cream |
O |
the orange |
thee orange |
U |
the umbrella |
thee umbrella |
Note it is very important to understand that what we write is different from what we say, that’s why English is a strange language. It is the sound we produce that matters and not the letter or alphabet used in writing. So we use a long “thee” before a vowel or vowel sound. Look at words below :
we write |
with |
we say |
with |
the house |
consonant (h) |
thuh house |
consonant sound |
the hour |
consonant (h) |
thee our |
vowel sound |
the university |
vowel (u) |
thuh youniversity |
consonant sound |
the umbrella |
vowel (u) |
thee umbrella |
vowel sound |
Emphatic the [thee]
When we wish to place importance or emphasis on a particular thing or a word, we can use “emphatic the” [thee], whether or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound. For example:
A: I went the [thuh] United States last month on a vacation.
B: What! The [thee] United States?
A: Yes, exactly.