The phrase "kent his" is spelled with the /h/ sound at the beginning of "his" dropped, making it pronounced as "kentis." This type of dropping of sounds is common in some dialects of English, including Scottish and some rural British dialects. It is an example of a phoneme being elided, which means it is not pronounced. The IPA transcription for this word is /kɛntɪs/. Despite its unconventional spelling, "kent his" is still understood to mean "knew his" in context.