How to pronounce He is thinking of going for a long run. in American English

Words 9 Difficulty Beginner Featured sound Consonant-to-Vowel Linking

hee he ihz is THIHNG·kuhng thinking uhv of GOH·uhng going fer for uh a lahng long RUHN run

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Americans pronounce "He is thinking of going for a long run" as "hee ihz THIHNG-kuhng uhv GOH-uhng fer uh lahng RUHN" in casual speech. Three things bend the textbook pronunciation. The headline is the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking — the consonant links forward into the next vowel without a pause. You'll hear it on thinking and again on for — a tiny act of laziness that makes the rhythm feel right. Keep stressed words long, unstressed words short, and link the consonants forward into the vowels.

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Sounds

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Clarity

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Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Pausing between the words.

The "ng" at the end of "thinking" flows directly into the vowel starting "of" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. Final consonant "migrates" to next word — no pause between.

Leaving a gap between two vowels.

Between "he" and "is", a brief "y" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow. A brief glide (y or w) bridges two vowels for smooth flow.

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The breakdown

What's happening in this sentence.

Small tricks that turn a textbook sentence into how an American actually says it.

V–V

Vowel-to-Vowel Linking between "he" & "is"Between "he" and "is", a brief "y" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow.

→ə

Reduced Words (to, for, of) in "he""he" is a function word — in connected speech, the full vowel reduces to a quick "hee" sound and consonants may simplify.

C–V

Consonant-to-Vowel Linking between "thinking" & "of"The "ng" at the end of "thinking" flows directly into the vowel starting "of" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between.

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he hee is ihz thinking THIHNG·kuhng of uhv going GOH·uhng for fer a uh long lahng run RUHN

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Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Pausing between the words.

THIHNG-kuhng→THIHNG·kuhng

Leaving a gap between two vowels.

Between "he" and "is", a brief "y" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow. A brief glide (y or w) bridges two vowels for smooth flow.

hee→hee

Pronouncing the function word too fully.

"he" is a function word — in connected speech, the full vowel reduces to a quick "hee" sound and consonants may simplify. Full vowel reduces to schwa /ə/ or other weak vowel. Consonants may simplify.

hee→hee

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Why is "he" said so quickly in this sentence?

Function words — articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns — reduce to short, unstressed schwa shapes in casual American speech. Pronouncing them fully like the dictionary entry is a dead giveaway of a textbook accent. Native speakers stress only the content words and let everything else collapse.

How are the words connected in casual American speech?

Americans don't pause between words. A consonant at the end of one word links forward into the vowel that starts the next; two vowels in a row get bridged by a tiny W or Y glide; an identical consonant repeated across a word boundary is held just once. The result is a continuous flow rather than a textbook word-by-word delivery.

Is this how the sentence is taught in textbooks?

Textbooks usually teach the citation form — every word pronounced fully, every consonant crisp, every vowel pure. Americans actually flap their Ts, drop function-word H's, link consonants forward into vowels, and reduce unstressed syllables to schwa. The respell on this page shows the casual form you'll hear in real conversations rather than the textbook version.

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Common mistakes

Pausing between the words.

Leaving a gap between two vowels.

What's happening in this sentence.

Tap any word for its full breakdown.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Pausing between the words.

Leaving a gap between two vowels.

Pronouncing the function word too fully.

Questions people ask about this.

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