Strong Forms & Weak Forms

Strong forms & Weak forms Strong forms: stressed forms Weak forms: unstressed forms Mary at least has never pretended she could sing.

WordsStrong VowelsWeak Vowels at /  //  / has /  //  / she /  ://  / could /  //  /

1.a[ ei ] [ ə ] We’ve got a dog. 2.an[æ n ][ ən ] Take an apple. 3.her[h ə: ][h ə ] [ ə: ] [ ə ]What’s her name? 4.his[h iz ][iz] John had his haircut. 5.some [s ʌm ] [s əm ] [s m ]Get me some water. 6.your [j ɔ :] [j ə ] Take your time. 7.him [ him ] [ im ] Give him a pen. 8.do [ du: ] [ də ] [ d ] What do you do on Sundays? How are strong forms changed into weak forms?

There is a tendency for vowels in unstressed syllables to shift towards the schwa (central position).

1.the difference in vowel sounds 2.the absence of a sound 3.the difference in the length of a vowel A weak form of a word is generally distinguished from a strong one by

From strong vowels to weak ones /  / –Prepositions at for from of to –Aux verbs am are can do does had has have must shall should was were will would –Adverbs conjunctions articles a an and as but some than that the –Pronouns her them us you your

From strong vowels to weak ones /  / –be been he him his she we /  / dropping –Weak forms which drop their initial /  / except at the beginning of utterances –had has had have he her him his Many function words in English have two or more pronunciations: a stressed form (or strong form) and one or more unstressed forms (or weak forms).

1.determiners 2.pronouns 3.connectives 4.auxiliary verbs 5.prepositions The weak form can be classified into 5 groups:

Importance of learning unstressed forms Most native speakers of English find an “all- strong form” pronunciation very unpleasant. Learners who are not familiar with the use of weak forms are likely to have difficulty understanding native speakers.