Your neighbor says she has a job "IN-er-vyoo" next week, and you think you missed a word. Your friend says "TWEN-ee dollars," and you wonder if he said twelve. Many learners expect every written T to be heard, because in their own language the spelling and the sound match. In this episode: • The pattern: n, t, then a weak vowel • PAST TENSE AND -ING: wanted, painted, counting • When the t is not dropped • -NT AT THE END: can't, don't, went • Listening lab: a busy tuesday • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: interview (IN-er-vyoo) — a job meeting internet (IN-er-net) — Is the internet down? twenty (TWEN-ee) — 20 plenty (PLEN-ee) — more than enough center (SEN-er) — the middle winter (WIN-er) — the cold season printer (PRIN-er) — The printer's out of paper. counter (KOWN-er) — Leave it on the counter. dentist (DEN-ist) — I have the dentist at three. seventy (SEV-un-ee) — 70 wanted (WAHN-id) — She wanted pancakes. painted (PAYN-id) — We painted the kitchen. counted (KOWN-id) — I counted the forks. printed (PRIN-id) — Dad printed the tickets. counting (KOWN-ing) — Stop counting and eat! planting (PLAN-ing) — Grandma's planting tomatoes. renting (REN-ing) — They're renting a small house. contain (kun-TAYN) — The box contains toys. until (un-TIL) — Wait until six. entire (en-TIRE) — the entire house fourteen (for-TEEN) — 14 nineteen (nine-TEEN) — 19 can't (KAN(t)) — I can't find my phone. don't (DOHN(t)) — Don't touch that, it's hot. went (WEN(t)) — We went to the park. want (WAHN(t)) — I want some juice. Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.