Chapter 12

WEAK FORMS

1. What is the weak form? 2. Why is it important to learn how weak forms are used? 3. In which cases is the strong form used? 4. Most common weak-form words

What is the weak form?

The weak form of a word is a form that may be used when the word has no stress, and which is phonetically distinct from the strong form, used when the word is stressed. A word may have multiple weak forms, or none.

The vowel in a weak form is usually the schwa (). Weak forms are pronounced more quickly and at lower volume in comparison to the stressed syllables.

Why is it important to learn how weak forms are used?

There are 2 main reasons: 1. Most native speakers find an allstrong-form pronunciation unnatural and foreign-sounding, something that most learners would wish to avoid. 2. Speakers who are not familiar with the use of weak forms are likely to have difficulty understanding speakers who do use weak forms.

In which cases is the strong form used? In 4 following cases:

1. When a weak-form word occurs at the end of the sentence.

Ex:
- Im fond of chips. / aim fnd v tips / (weak form) - Chips are what Im fond of. / tips wt aim fnd v / (strong form)

2. When a weak-form word is being contrasted with another word.

Ex:
- The letters from him, not to him. / letz frm im nt tu: im / - I travel to and from London a lot. / ai trvl tu: n frm lndn lt /

3. When a weak-form word is given stress for the purpose of emphasis

Ex: - You must give me more money.
/ ju: mst giv mi m: mni /

4. When a weak-form word is being cited or quoted.

Ex:
- You shouldnt put and at the end of a sentence. / ju: dnt pt nd t i end v sentns /

Most common weak-form words

1.

the
(before consonants) Ex: Shut the door. i (before vowels) Ex: Wait for the end.

2.

a ,an
(before consonants) Ex: Read a book. n (before vowels) Ex: Eat an apple!

3.

and
n (sometimes n after t,d,s,z,) Ex: Come and see Fish anh chips

4.

but
bt Ex: Its good but expensive

5.

that t (used in a relative clause) Ex: The price is the thing that annoys me. (that is used with a demonstrative sense =>strong forms) than n Ex: Better than ever !!!!

6.

7.

his (when it occurs before a noun)

z Ex: Take his name

(Another sense of his =>strong form)

8.

her
(before consonants) Ex: Take her home. r (before vowels) Ex: Take her out.

9.

your
j (before consonants) Ex: Take your time. jr (before vowels) Ex: On your own!

10. she, he, we, you she i Ex:Who is she? he i (the weak form is usually pronounced without h except at the beginning of a sentence) Ex: Which did he choose? He was late,wasnt he? we wi Ex: How can we get there? you ju Ex: What do you think?

11. him m Ex: Leave him alone

12. her

(h when sentence-initial) Ex: Ask her to come

13.

them

m Ex: Leave them here.

14. us
s Ex: Write us a letter They invited all of us

15. at
t Ex: Ill see you at lunch. t (in final position) Ex:Whats he shooting at?

16. for
f (before consonants) Ex:Tea for two fr (before vowels) Ex:Thanks for asking f: (in final position) Ex:Whats that for?

17. from
frm Ex: Im home from work frm Ex: Heres where it come from.

18. of
v Ex: Most of all v Ex: Someone Ive heard of

19. to
t (before consonants) Ex: Try to stop tu (before vowels) Ex: Time to eat tu (in final position) Ex: I dont want to

20. as z
Ex: As much as possible z (in final position) Ex: Thats what it was sold as

21. some
sm (before uncountable nouns or nouns in the plural) Ex: Have some more tea sm (in final position or before a coutable noun) Ex: Ive got some I think some animal broke it.

22. there
e (demonstrative function) Ex: There it is Put it there (before consonants) Ex: There should be a rule r (before vowels) Ex: There is or e (in final position) Ex: There isnt any,is there?

23. can, could kn, kd Ex: They can wait / He could do it kn, kd (in final position) Ex: I think we can / Most of them could 24. have, has, had v, z, d Ex: Which have you seen? Which has been best? Most had gone home hv, hz, hd (in final position) Ex: Yes,we have I think she has / I thought we had

25. shall, should

l or l; d Ex: We shall need to hurry / I should forget it l, d Ex: I think we shall / So you should

26. must
ms (before consonants) Ex: You must try harder mst (before vowels) Ex: He must eat more mst (in final position) Ex: She certainly must

27. do, does a. do: d (before consonants) Ex: Why do they like it? du (before vowels) Ex: Why do all the cars stop? b. does : dz Ex:When does it arrive?

28. am, are, was, were

a. am m Ex: Why am I here ? m Ex: She is not as old as I am b. are (before consonants) Ex: Here are the plates r ( before vowels) Ex: The coats are in there : Ex: I know the Smiths are

c. was Wz Ex: He was here a minute ago Wz Ex: The last record was d. were w (before consonants) Ex: The paper were late wr ( before vowels) Ex: The question were easy w: Ex: They werent as cold as we were.

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