Drills for T/D

Minimal Pairs

🧠 Initial Position
- ten – den
- tip – dip
- time – dime
- tug – dug
- tale – dale

🔄 Medial Position
- betting – bedding
- later – ladder
- writer – rider
- metal – medal
- atom – Adam

🏁 Final Position
- seat – seed
- mat – mad
- net – Ned
- hat – had
- bit – bid

Sentences

Teddy dropped ten toys on the tidy table.
Dot adopted two tiny kittens today.
Dan donated his old tent to Tom.
Tina’s toddler tied his shoes tightly.
The dentist told Todd to floss daily.

Detective Dan found dirty data on the laptop.
Don’t let the dog dig near that tree, Ted!
Tara’s daughter dated the tall dentist.
The timid student tutored the tired tutor.
Twelve tourists tried the spicy tofu dish.

Traditional theaters tolerate tardy ticket-holders temporarily.
Debate teams tend to discuss tedious topics dramatically.
The devoted doctor donated drugs to treat the epidemic.
Tardy tenants tend to delay rental payments indefinitely.
Digital data demands detailed documentation daily.

Detective Dalton detected deceit in the defendant’s testimony.
The determined athlete defeated ten competitors in the tournament.
Turbulent tides disrupted the cargo ship’s scheduled departure.
Technical difficulties delayed the director’s documentary debut.
The timid translator struggled with the diplomat’s rapid dialogue.

Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs between their teeth.
Diligent detectives deduce data from dated documents.
Tiny Timmy tripped while transporting two trays of tea.

The Detective's Dilemma

The determined detective diligently documented every detail of the strange incident. As he stood beside the dented taxi, he noticed torn tickets scattered near the trunk. "This data doesn’t add up," he muttered, tapping his notepad. Two witnesses reported seeing a tall man in a dark turtleneck fleeing toward the downtown terminal around midnight. Dust particles floated through the flashlight beam as he examined the tangled wires beneath the dashboard.

Tina's Tiring Tuesday

Tina’s catering business specialized in traditional Thanksgiving dishes—roasted turkey, buttery mashed potatoes, and warm dinner rolls dotted with thyme. Every Thursday, she delivered tasting trays to corporate offices downtown. "Taste-testing day tends to be tremendously tiring," she told her assistant Todd while tidying the industrial kitchen. The metallic clatter of dishes being stacked nearly drowned out the timer’s ding. "Don’t forget to date those leftover containers!" she reminded him as twilight painted the tile floors orange.

Tiny Timmy took ten turns tying twine tightly.
Twelve twins twisted twelve twigs between their teeth.
Detective Dalton detained the daring thief downtown at dusk.
Diligent dentists donate dentures to downtrodden elders discreetly.
The timid translator transcribed the diplomat’s tangled treaty word-for-word.
Turbulent tides toppled the tilted tugboat toward the treacherous docks.
Tara’s toddler toddled to the table, toppled two teacups, then tearfully tidied the terrible mess.
Ted’s terrific tacos tempted twenty-two tired tourists to tip tremendously.
Don’t doubt the data—diligent doctors documented dramatic drops in dental dilemmas.
The debt-ridden duke’s duplicate documents detailed dated dealings with dubious traders.

-TED/-DED

- relate – related
- debate – debated
- invite – invited
- create – created
- rotate – rotated
- hesitate – hesitated
- appreciate – appreciated
- celebrate – celebrated
- dictate – dictated
- educate – educated

- fade – faded
- load – loaded
- code – coded
- explode – exploded
- include – included
- decide – decided
- invade – invaded
- provide – provided
- divide – divided
- confide – confided