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How do you pronounce this year? What do you do with the T sounds? Do you say 2026, or do you say 2026? How do you say it?

And how do you pronounce this word? Do you say often, or do you say often?

Listen to this pronunciation: 20, 2020. Did you notice what happened to the T? In everyday American English, that T is not pronounced. In this video, we will talk about when native speakers of American English skip the T.

Let's start with one question that my students ask me all the time: Should I pronounce the T in "often"?

Most of the time, this T is silent. The majority of people say "often," but occasionally you will hear people saying "often." Let's listen to some native speakers pronouncing it:

"I often say this in our company. It's often best not to get into debates because..."

"...does their often cluster together. The results have often contradicted what I expected."

Here are a few more common words where the T is silent, and these words are similar to "often":

Soften: People generally don't say "soften." And then we have "softener" or "softening."

"I bought some fabric softener."

"Now all I can think about is fabric softener."

"Fabric softener was a raspberry tart."

Fasten:

"Please fasten your seat belts."

"Make sure that your seat belts are securely fastened." (You will generally not hear "fastened.")

"So it can be securely fastened and we're fastened to each other."

"But you need to wear them and keep them fastened."

And by the way, if you would like personalized feedback on your accent, join our new community Accurate English Pro. I teach live sessions regularly, and you can ask questions in those live sessions. Plus, you will get feedback on your recorded speech during the week. And you will learn all the rules that you need to know for a good, clear, standard American accent at a much lower price than one-on-one training. The program is called Transform Your Accent in 90 Days. Plus, it's a whole course, so you learn all the rules that you need to know for a standard American accent. I look forward to possibly meeting you in those live sessions. You'll find more information if you click on the link in the bio.

And you probably know about:

Listen (the T is silent)

Castle

Whistle (we don't pronounce the T)

Let's look at another common pattern of the disappearing T in some very common English words: 20, center, internet, winter.

When a T is after an N and before a vowel sound, it's frequently silent, and that's why native speakers of American English say "20", "25", "2020". You will sometimes hear people say "20" in careful pronunciation. When they want to be extra clear, they might say "$20," but in common everyday conversational pronunciation, people say "20." Let's listen to some native speakers:

"From June of 2010 to March of 2012, and then again from August of 2013 to July of 2014..."

"21st century..."

"...you might only have 20 or 30 years left."

"20 hours."

So, let's say this year. Repeat after me:

2026

2026

Let's listen to some native speakers of American English saying it, and then you will hear some native speakers of British English. Listen for the difference:

"So, then here we are in 2026..."

"...scheduled to launch in 2026 and reach Titan in 2034."

"A little less than 50% per year from 2024 to 2026."

"And now it's going to be the end of 2026."

"And in fact, what we're going to see in 2026 is a hybrid car."

Repeat after me:

I paid $20.

I graduated in 2020.

Let's look at this word. Let's listen to how native speakers pronounce it:

"You're just getting center to center of the hole."

"Which was actually the music center."

"But the center of the design strength that..."

Most people say "center." But sometimes in more formal speech, you will hear people saying "center." Also, when people want to stress the word, they might say "center." And when "center" is part of an expression or part of a group of words, the T is more likely to be dropped. For example: the city center, the World Trade Center.

Let's listen to some native speakers:

"11 employees who worked in the World Trade Center."

"According to the Center for Disease Control..."

"...but that's less than 0.2% of the way to the center of the earth."

"The Fetch Plus 2 has a lower center of gravity."

Repeat after me: