"His Boss Needs to Reach Him" — Where Did All the H's Go?
David told himself he'd get the phone tomorrow.
Tomorrow came. He still couldn't face her.
But here's the thing about deadlines. They don't care about your feelings.
His boss needs to reach him. His boss only has his old number. The number on the phone sitting at her place.
Like it or not. Comfortable or not. The deadline must be met.
This is David facing the music. Gut-wrenching. He knows what's coming. We know what's coming.
But he has no choice now.
The Sentence
"Now he has no choice. His boss needs to reach him."
Play this at natural speed. What vanishes?
If you missed four H sounds, you heard right.
Four H's. Gone. Just like that.
Four Strong Beats Give You a Place to Stand
Before chasing every vanished sound, find the rhythm.
This sentence has four strong beats:
NOW. CHOICE. BOSS. REACH.
| Strong Beat | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| Now | The timing — urgency, no more waiting |
| Choice | The problem — options are gone |
| Boss | The pressure — authority figure needs something |
| Reach | The action — contact must happen |
When my students identify these four beats correctly, something shifts.
They have grist for the mill now. Something concrete to work with. A place to stand on.
From there, they can work out the rest.
You don't need every sound to get the meaning. The strong beats carry it.
NOW. CHOICE. BOSS. REACH.
That's the skeleton. Everything else gets squeezed between the beats.
Four H's Disappear — And No, It's Not "A" or "The"
| Reduction |
|---|
| When a word loses sounds in natural speech. Weak words compress to make room for strong beats. |
Here's something I see constantly with my students.
They hear a small sound before a noun. They assume it's "a" or "the."
It's not.
It's a pronoun that lost its H.
This sentence has four H-reductions:
Reduction #1: "he" becomes "ee"
"Now he" sounds like "now-ee."
The H vanishes completely.
Reduction #2: "has" becomes "az"
Right after "he," we get "has" losing its H too.
"He has" becomes "ee-az."
Reduction #3: "His" becomes "iz"
"His boss" sounds like "iz boss."
Students hear "iz" and think it must be an article. It's not. It's "his" without the H.
Reduction #4: "him" becomes "im"
"Reach him" sounds like "reach-im."
The H at the start of "him" disappears.
| What's Written | What You Hear |
|---|---|
| Now he | now-ee |
| he has | ee-az |
| His boss | iz boss |
| reach him | reach-im |
Here's how my students finally get it.
I write out the sentence with that spot blank. That blank is one weak beat. One weak beat equals one small word.
Not an article. A pronoun.
When they see the blank and know it's one beat, they stop guessing "a" or "the."
The Triple Liaison — Three Words, One Flow
| Liaison |
|---|
| When the final sound of one word connects to the beginning of the next word, creating seamless flow. |
Something unusual happens in this sentence.
Three words flow together back-to-back.
"Now he has" becomes "now-ee-az."
Three words. One smooth flow. No gaps.
Then at the end, another liaison:
"Reach him" becomes "reach-im."
The final sound of "reach" connects directly to the reduced "im."
| What You Hear | What's Actually Said |
|---|---|
| now-ee-az | Now he has |
| reach-im | reach him |
Here's the teaching reality.
My students struggle to produce these liaisons. They want to say it the way it looks on paper.
The structure in their head resists.
"Now. He. Has." Three separate words. That's what their brain wants to say.
The fix? Force it.
Rapid repetition. Five to ten times in a row.
"Now-ee-az. Now-ee-az. Now-ee-az. Now-ee-az. Now-ee-az."
It feels uncomfortable at first. Wrong, even.
Then it clicks.
The discomfort fades. The new pattern settles in.
The Consonant Cluster — Don't Drop the S
| Consonant Cluster |
|---|
| Multiple consonant sounds occurring together without vowels between them. When too many consonants stack up, something has to give. |
"Needs to" stacks three consonants together.
"Needs" ends with D-Z.
"To" starts with T.
D-Z-T. All in a row.
What you hear: "needz-ta" or "needsta."
The vowel in "to" shrinks to almost nothing.
Here's the common error I hear from students.
They drop the S.
They say "need-ta" instead of "needz-ta."
The Z has to stay.
Practice keeping it:
"Needz-ta. Needz-ta. Needz-ta."
That Z sound matters. Don't lose it.
Grammar Fills the Gaps
You heard the strong beats: NOW, CHOICE, BOSS, REACH.
You heard small sounds between them. Tiny. Easy to miss.
Grammar helps you reconstruct what those sounds must be.
"ee-az" comes after "Now."
What fits? Subject plus verb. Must be "he has."
"iz" comes before "boss."
What fits? Possessive before a noun. Must be "his."
"im" comes after "reach."
What fits? Object after a verb. Must be "him."
| What You Hear | Grammar Pattern | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| ee-az | subject + verb needed | "he has" |
| iz | possessive needed | "his" |
| im | object needed | "him" |
Rhythm gives you the skeleton. Grammar fills the blanks.
David's Deadline
David has been avoiding this for days.
But his boss doesn't care about his feelings. His boss just needs to reach him.
Like it or not. Comfortable or not. The deadline must be met.
There's a parallel here for your practice.
External pressure forces action. David can't avoid it anymore.
Neither can you.
If you want to improve your listening, the practice must happen. The repetitions must get done. The discomfort must be faced.
Comfortable or not. The deadline must be met.
Next week, David walks to her door.
Action Steps
Step 1: Find the four strong beats
NOW, CHOICE, BOSS, REACH.
This gives you a place to stand. Something concrete to work with.
Step 2: Practice the four H-reductions
Say "ee" for "he." Say "az" for "has." Say "iz" for "his." Say "im" for "him."
Feel how the H disappears completely.
Step 3: Force the triple liaison
"Now-ee-az. Now-ee-az. Now-ee-az."
Rapid repetition. Five to ten times. Push through the discomfort until it feels natural.
Step 4: Practice "needz-ta"
Keep the S. Don't drop it.
"Needz-ta. Needz-ta. Needz-ta."
Step 5: Shadow the full sentence 20 times
Twenty works for everyone. It's safe. It doesn't add much time. And it gets the job done.
Start practicing "Now he has no choice. His boss needs to reach him." →
Key Takeaways
- Four Strong Beats Give You a Place to Stand: NOW, CHOICE, BOSS, REACH — find these first
- Four H's Disappear: he, has, his, him all lose their H sound — and no, it's not "a" or "the"
- Triple Liaison Creates Flow: "now-ee-az" is three words as one unit
- Keep the S in the Cluster: "needz-ta" not "need-ta"
- Grammar Predicts Missing Sounds: One weak beat equals one small word
- Twenty Repetitions Work for Everyone: Safe, efficient, effective
The Deadline Must Be Met
David can't avoid it anymore.
His boss doesn't care about his feelings. His boss needs to reach him.
Like it or not. Comfortable or not.
This is week four. Eight more sentences to go.
Each week, David gets closer to that door. Each week, you master another piece of natural English rhythm.
Twenty repetitions. That's your homework.
See you next week when David walks to her door.