Did you say 14 or 40?

Is that a question you’ve heard before?  You meant to say 40, but the listener thought you may have said 14. Today we are talking about number words in American English.  I am sure you have noticed that many of them can sound very similar, easily leading to miscommunication!  I want to help you learn how to differentiate the way you pronounce number words in English. 

For number words in the multiples of 10, such as 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 the first syllable of the word is the stressed syllable.  But in the “teen” words, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 the second syllable or /TEEN/ is the stressed part of the word.

For example, 14 ends with /TEEN/.  We extend the vowel, making it longer and higher in pitch to put stress on that syllable.  Make sure to also add that final /n/ sound. 40 ends with /EE/.  The same, but shorter EE vowel without the syllable stress and no final /n/ added. In the word 40, the first syllable /FOR/ is stressed, slightly longer and higher in pitch. This same rule applies to the other “teen” numbers in contrast to the multiple of 10 counterparts.  

Practice pronouncing the difference with these contrasting number words:

thirTEEN – THIRty

fourTEEN – FORty

fifTEEN – FIFty

sixTEEN – SIXty

sevenTEEN – SEVenty

eighTEEN – EIGHty

nineTEEN – NINEty

Now let’s try some sentences:

There were fourTEEN (14) students in class

There were THIRty (30) people at the party

I have sevenTEEN (17) cousins

He is turning FIFty (50) this year

There you go, pronouncing American English numbers!  I knew you could do it!  With more practice, you can master differentiating these and you will be amazed at how much better people are understanding you!

 If you liked this lesson and want more learning and practice, go to accents.pwspeech.com  to record your free online accent assessment.  I’ll be able to tell you exactly what you can do to personally improve your spoken English. In private lessons, I can offer personal feedback, answer your specific questions, develop a sequenced plan to build on what you’ve learned, and work on specific goals that most benefit you.