Insight: Homonyms - Detect Word Meaning Through Listening

/th/ - There, Their, They're

Homonyms are groups of two or three words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings. There are many homonyms in English and you can only understand the meaning of the word by listening to the context of the sentence.

Our homonyms for this week are:

a. There (referring to a place)
b. Their (belonging to a group of people)
c. They're (the contracted form of ‘they are’)

Listening Activity 

Listen as I say each sentence and choose the correct word from the pair of homonyms above. Remember that homonyms sound the same so you can only understand the meaning of the word from the context of the sentence.

Sentences:

1. They’re coming over at 7:00.
2. The books and CD’s are over there.
3. Tell them to bring their friends along.

(Answers: c, a, b)

Click Play to listen now:

Featured Learning Resource: Okanagan College Pronunciation

This is a wonderful online resource for helping you improve your spoken English. The website features audio exercises, short videos and worksheets you can download.   To practice listening and pronouncing the two /th/ sounds go the the sections with the /?/ (voiceless th) and the  /?/ (voiced th). Click on the audio activity called Minimal Pairs and follow the directions.   Click on the image to go to the site now.