One more trick to sound like native speakers: Learn how to use the ‘weak forms’ of some basic words!
There are about 30 weak forms in English. They are very common words that are pronounced differently from what people are usually taught. are > /ə/ must > /məs/ etc. Let’s learn to pronounce them like natives do and you will be much closer to native rhythm and flow of speech.
Why should we bother to teach weak forms to our students?
- The most important reason is that it will improve the rhythm and flow of our students’ speech. It is one of the keys to native level speaking.
- Secondly, having done this exercise you will most likely realize that you need this information in listening exercises too.
- Thirdly, once you are aware of the existence of the weak forms you will understand why you sometimes miss even simple messages.
- Fouthly, it only takes less than one lesson of your time and then the students can practise the system on their own.
- N.B. First practise slowly and then after a while like native. You will find the pronunciation weird in the beginning.
- Once the sounds of English have been learnt and practising breath group reading is on its way, our next aim towards native speaker pronunciation is to use ‘the weak forms’ of some 30 basic words. Most of them are auxiliary verbs, pronouns or prepositions.
The words to be weakened are: am, are, is, was, were, be, do, does, has, have, had, can, will, shall, would, must, and, as, but, he, his, her, us, them, that, than, some, at, for, to, from
The ‘weakening’ process basically takes place by changing the quality of vowels or leaving out sounds. Here we go …
- The original vowel sound in these words is pronounced as / ə / or / i / : were > wə, are > ə
- Sometimes the / ə / sound is so short that you can barely hear it: can > k(ə)n, some > s(ə)m
- The initial /h/ sound is left out altogether; he > / i: /, her > / ə: /
- One or many sounds are not pronounced at all: would > /d/, and > /n/
- The weak forms below have little meaning and therefore they can be pronounced ‘carelessly’.
I had personally never noticed the system until it was taught us at the university. For instance, are > /ə/ must > /məs/ he > /i:/ etc.
Learn more about the weak forms in the audio file below. Using the weak forms is the natural way to pronounce these words in most cases.
And now move on to the Oral Practice of the weak forms. Press the button and hit the road.
It is good to be aware of the existence of the weak forms. Having done this exercise you will most likely realize that you need this information in listening exercises as well and you can skip these little words that carry very little meaning and focus on the key word of each sentence.
However, it is important to use to use at least some of these weak forms while speaking in English. It will improve the rhythm and flow of your speech.
Before we start practising we need to point out that any of these words may be in a (stressed) position where they MUST be pronounced in their strong form.
For example:
I saw that boy yesterday. Tom has two sisters and I have one. Are you tired? Yes, I am.
A: You weren’t there in time. B: Yes, I was. Five minutes early, in fact.
Let’s now read the strong form and the weak form and then the examples in bits and finally the complete utterances
| Examples | |
| am əm ‘m | When am I to come? Why am I the first one? Am I the last one? I’m over here. I’m very happy now. |
| are ə, ər | They’re late. When are you coming? Are you quite sure? II (before a vowel >) We’re all very tired. They’re always happy to see you. |
| is s / z / iz | My cat’s sleeping. Jim’s very hungry. Jane’s not at home. The bus is coming. The change is bothering me. |
| was wəz | I was in London. He was ill yesterday. She was angry with the boy. |
| were wə(r) | We were in the park. They were cheerful. You were in a disco? |
| be bi | Don’t be so sad! I’ll be right back. You might be right. |
| do də | Why do you often come late? Why do you like her so much? |
| does dəz | Why does he write like this? When does the train leave? |
| can k(ə)n | I can do that. She can play golf well. They can come any time. |
| will ‘l | I’ll be back soon. We’ll show you the way. They’ll be starting the show soon. |
| shall ʃəl | I shall be there in a minute. We shall overcome the problem. Don’t worry! |
| must məs | I must go now. We must phone her at once. We must not forget the date. |
| and (ə)n | you and I / the girls and the boys / Go and find the kids at once. |
| us əz | Tell us what happened. He told us a straight lie. Show us the way, please! |
| he i: | Does he play tennis? Did he win the match? I know he’s not at home. |
| his iz | I met his brother yesterday. Tom and his sister are waiting for you. |
| her ə | We met Jane and her parents last night. We saw her at a party. |
| has s / z / əz | She’s got two cats. Jim has seen the film. He has found the key. / (after s-sound> əz ) The place has changed a lot. / The bus has arrived. |
| have v əv | They’ve learnt the lesson. We’ve got two minutes more. The kids’ve got to come with me. The boys’ve known it all along. |
| had d əd | They had taken the test. We had forgotten it. (after a consonant > əv) The men had eaten at eleven. The kids had gone swimming.. |
| would ‘d | He’d like to come with us. We’d like to show it to you |
| as əz | as good as new / as soon as possible / Do as he says. |
| but bət | But I knew it. He said it but I didn’t believe him. But why not? |
| that ðət | He admits that he did it. She claimed that we had often been late. |
| than ðən | better than anyone / Your car is much faster than mine. |
| some səm | some butter /some milk /some of us / I’ll meet her some other day |
| at ət | at school / at the station / at home / We met her at the railway station. |
| for fə fər | for me / for me and you / Save some of the cake for the children, too fər (before a vowel) for all of us / for everyone / She bought the shirt for Evelyn. |
| to tə | to London / to me / Give it to me. He’s coming to Leeds soon. |
| from frəm | from London / From me with love to you. He’s coming from Leeds. |
TO SUM UP, here are my recommendations to improve your students pronunciation
- practise the sounds of English little by little
- make the pupils pronounce textbook words separately in lessons
- make them read the texts in smaller units / in breath groups
- practise the use the weak forms to get to the right rhythm in English
- introduce the concept of ‘intonation’ and encourage the students to imitate the models (See more about intonation in ‘Classroom phrases’)