12 Weak forms

Chapter 9 discussed the difference between strong and weak syllables in English. We have
now moved on from looking at syllables to looking at words, and we will consider certain
well-known English words that can be pronounced in two different ways; these are called
strong forms and weak forms. As an example, the word ‘that’ can be pronounced daet
(strong form) or d a t (weak form). The sentence ‘I like that’ is pronounced ai laik daet
(strong form); the sentence ‘I hope that she will’ is pronounced ai haup dot Ji wil (weak
form). There are roughly forty such words in English. It is possible to use only strong
forms in speaking, and some foreigners do this. Usually they can still be understood by
other speakers of English, so why is it important to learn how weak forms are used? There
are two main reasons: first, most native speakers of English find an “all-strong form” pro­
nunciation unnatural and foreign-sounding, something that most learners would wish to
avoid. Second, and more importantly, speakers who are not familiar with the use of weak
forms are likely to have difficulty understanding speakers who do use weak forms; since
practically all native speakers of British English use them, learners of the language need to
learn about these weak forms to help them to understand what they hear.
We must distinguish between weak forms and contracted forms. Certain English
words are shortened so severely (usually to a single phoneme) and so consistently that they
are represented differently in informal writing (e.g. ‘it is’ —>‘it’s5; ‘we have’ —> ‘we’ve’; ‘do
not’ —» ‘don’t’). These contracted forms are discussed in Chapter 14, and are not included
here.
Almost all the words which have both a strong and weak form belong to a category
that may be called function words - words that do not have a dictionary meaning in the
way that we normally expect nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs to have. These function
words are words such as auxiliary verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, etc., all of which are
in certain circumstances pronounced in their strong forms but which are more frequently
pronounced in their weak forms. It is important to remember that there are certain
contexts where only the strong form is acceptable, and others where the weak form is the
normal pronunciation. There are some fairly simple rules; we can say that the strong form
is used in the following cases:
i) For many weak-form words, when they occur at the end of a sentence; for
example, the word ‘of’ has the weak form sv in the following sentence:
‘I’m fond of chips’ aim 'fond sv 'tjips

89
90 English Phonetics and Phonology

However, when it comes at the end of the sentence, as in the following example,
it has the strong form d v :
‘Chips are what I’m fond of’ 'tjips 3 'w D t aim 'fond dv

Many of the words given below (particularly 1-9) never occur at the end of a
sentence (e.g. ‘the’, ‘your’). Some words (particularly the pronouns numbered
10-14 below) do occur in their weak forms in final position.
ii) When a weak-form word is being contrasted with another word; for example:
‘The letter’s from him, not to him’ da 'letaz 'from im not 'tu: im

A similar case is what we might call a co-ordinated use of prepositions:

‘I travel to and from London a lot’ ai 'traevl 'tu: an 'from 'Undan a 'lot
‘A work of and about literature’ a 'w3:k 'd v an a'baot 'litratja
iii) When a weak-form word is given stress for the purpose of emphasis; for
example:
‘You must give me more money’ ju 'mASt 'giv mi 'hid: 'mAni
iv) When a weak-form word is being “cited” or “quoted”; for example:
‘You shouldn’t put “and” at the end of a sentence’
ju 'Judnt put 'send at di 'end av a 'sentans
Another point to remember is that when weak-form words whose spelling
begins with ‘h’ (e.g. ‘her’, ‘have’) occur at the beginning of a sentence, the pro­
nunciation is with initial h, even though this is usually omitted in other contexts.
O AU12 (CD 2), Exs 1-4
In the rest of this chapter, the most common weak-form words will be introduced.

1 ‘the’
Weak forms: 5a (before consonants)
‘Shut the door’ 'jAt da 'da:
di (before vowels)
‘Wait for the end’ 'weit fa di 'end
2 ‘a’, ‘an’
Weak forms: a (before consonants)
‘Read a book’ 'ri:d a 'buk
an (before vowels)
‘Eat an apple’ 'i:t an 'aepl
3 ‘and’
Weak form: an (sometimes n after t, d, s, z, J)
‘Come and see’ 'kAm an 'si:
‘Fish and chips’ 'fij n 'tjips
 12 W eak forms 91

4 ‘but’
Weak form: bat
‘It’s good but expensive’ its 'gud bat ik'spensiv
5 ‘that’
This word only has a weak form when used in a relative clause; when used with
a demonstrative sense it is always pronounced in its strong form.
Weak form: dat
‘Theprice is the thing that annoys me’ 6a 'prais iz 6a '0 ig
6at a'noiz mi
6 ‘than’
Weak form: 6an
‘Better than ever’ 'beta 6an 'eva
7 ‘his’ (when it occurs before a noun)
Weak form: iz (hizat the beginning of a sentence)
‘Take his name’ 'teik iz 'neim
(Another sense o f‘his’, as in ‘it was his’, or ‘his was late’, always
has the strong form)
8 ‘her’
When used with a possessive sense, preceding a noun; as an object pronoun, this
can also occur at the end of a sentence.
Weak forms: a (before consonants)
‘Take her home’ 'teik a 'haum
ar (before vowels)
‘Take her out’ 'teik ar 'aut
9 ‘your’
Weak forms: ja (before consonants)
‘Take your time’ 'teik ja 'taim
jar (before vowels)
‘On your own’ 'on jar 'aun
10 ‘she’, ‘he’, ‘we’, ‘you
This group of pronouns has weak forms pronounced with weaker vowels than
the i:, u: of their strong forms. I use the symbols i, u (in preference to i, u) to
represent them. There is little difference in the pronunciation in different places
in the sentence, except in the case o f‘he’.
Weak forms:
a) ‘she’ Ji
‘Why did she read it?’ 'wai did Ji 'ri:d it
‘Who is she?’ 'hu: 'iz Ji
b) ‘he’ i (the weak form is usually pronounced without h except at
the beginning of a sentence)
‘Which did he choose?’ 'w itj did i 'tjuiz
‘He was late, wasn’t he?’ hi waz 'leit 'wDznt i
92 English Phonetics and Phonology

c) ‘we’ wi
‘How can we get there?’ 'hau kan wi 'get dea
‘We need that, don’t we?’ wi 'ni:d daet 'daunt wi
d) ‘you’ ju
‘What do you think?’ 'wDt da ju 'Girjk
‘You like it, do you?’ ju 'laik it 'du: ju
1 1 ‘him’
Weak form: im
‘Leave him alone’ 'liiv im a'laun
‘I’ve seen him’ aiv 'si:n im
12 ‘her’
Weak form: 3 (ha when sentence-initial)
‘Ask her to come’ 'disk a ta 'kAm
‘I’ve met her’ aiv 'met a
13 ‘them’
Weak form: dam
‘Leave them here’ 'li:v dam 'hia
‘Eat them’ 'i:t 6 am
14 ‘us’
Weak form: as
‘Write us a letter’ 'rait as a 'leta
‘They invited all of us’ dei in'vaitid 'oil av as

The next group of words (some prepositions and other function words) occur in their
strong forms when they are in final position in a sentence; examples of this are given.
Number 19, ‘to’, is a partial exception.

15 ‘at’
Weak form: at
‘I’ll see you at lunch’ ail 'si: ju at 'lAnf
In final position: aet
‘What’s he shooting at?’ 'wots i 'Juitir) set
16 ‘for’
Weak form: fa (before consonants)
‘Tea for two’ 'ti: fa 'tu:
far (before vowels)
‘Thanks for asking’ 'Gaeijks far 'aiskirj
In final position: fa:
‘What’s that for?’ 'wots 'daet fa:
17 ‘from’
Weak form: fram
‘I’m home from work’ aim 'haum fram 'w3:k
 12 W eak forms 93

In final position: from

‘Here’s where it came from’ 'hiaz wear it 'keim from
18 ‘o f
Weak form: av
‘Most of all5'maust av 'oil
In final position: d v
‘Someone I5ve heard of 5'sAmwAn aiv 'h 3:d dv
19 ‘to5
Weak forms: ta (before consonants)
‘Try to stop5'trai ta 'stop
tu (before vowels)
‘Time to eat5'taim tu 'i:t
In final position: tu (it is not usual to use the strong form tu:; the
pre-consonantal weak form ta is never used)
‘I don't want to5ai 'daunt 'wont tu
20 ‘as5
Weak form: az
‘As much as possible5az 'mAtJ az 'posabl
In final position: aez
‘That5s what it was sold as5'daets 'wot it waz 'sauld aez
21 ‘some5
This word is used in two different ways. In one sense (typically, when it occurs before
a countable noun, meaning “an unknown individual55) it has the strong form:
‘I think some animal broke it5ai 'Oirjk SAm 'aemmal 'brauk it
It is also used before uncountable nouns (meaning “an unspecified amount of55)
and before other nouns in the plural (meaning “an unspecified number of55); in
such uses it has the weak form sam
‘Have some more tea5'hav sam 'mo: 'ti:
In final position: SAm
Tve got some5aiv 'gDt SAm
22 ‘there5
When this word has a demonstrative function, it always occurs in its strong form
dea (dear before vowels); for example:
‘There it is5'dear it iz
‘Put it there5'put it 'dea
Weak forms: da (before consonants)
‘There should be a rule56 a 'Jud bi a 'ru:l
dar (before vowels)
‘There is5dar 'iz
In final position: the pronunciation may be da or dea.
‘There isn't any, is there?5dar 'iznt eni iz da
o r dar 'iznt eni iz dea
94 English Phonetics and Phonology

The remaining weak-form words are all auxiliary verbs, which are always used in conjunc­
tion with (or at least implying) another (“full”) verb. It is important to remember that in
their negative form (i.e. combined with ‘not’) they never have the weak pronunciation, and
some (e.g. ‘don’t’, ‘can’t’) have different vowels from their non-negative strong forms.
23 ‘can’, ‘could’
Weak forms: kan, kad
‘They can wait’ '5 ei kan 'weit
‘He could do it’ 'hi: kad 'du: it
In final position: kaen, kud
‘I think we can’ ai '9 ir)k wi 'kaen
‘Most of them could’ 'maust av dom 'kud
24 ‘have’, ‘has’, ‘had’
Weak forms: av, az, ad (with initial h in initial position)
‘Which have you seen?’ 'witj av ju 'si:n
‘Which has been best?’ 'witJ az bi:n 'best
‘Most had gone home’ 'maust ad gon 'haum
In final position: haev, haez, haed
‘Yes, we have’ 'jes wi 'haev
‘I think she has’ ai 'Girjk Ji 'haez
‘I thought we had’ ai '0o:t wi 'haed
25 ‘shall’, ‘should’
Weak forms: Jal or Jl; Jad
‘We shall need to hurry’ wi Jl 'ni:d ta 'hAri
‘I should forget it’ 'ai Jad fa'get it
In final position: Jael, Jud
‘I think we shall’ ai 'Gigk wi 'Jael
‘So you should’ 'sao ju 'Jud
26 ‘must’
This word is sometimes used with the sense of forming a conclusion or deduc­
tion (e.g. ‘she left at eight o’clock, so she must have arrived by now’); when
‘must’ is used in this way, it is less likely to occur in its weak form than when it is
being used in its more familiar sense of obligation.
Weak forms: mos (before consonants)
‘You must try harder’ ju mas 'trai 'haida
mast (before vowels)
‘He must eat more’ hi mast 'i:t 'mo:
In final position: mAst
‘She certainly must’ Ji 's 3itnli ' m A S t
27 ‘do’, ‘does’
Weak forms:
‘do’ da (before consonants)
‘Why do they like it?’ 'wai da dei 'laik it
 12 W eak forms 95

du (before vowels)
‘Why do all the cars stop?’ 'wai du 'oil da 'kaiz 'stop
‘does’ daz
‘When does it arrive?’ 'wen daz it a'raiv
In final position: du:, dAZ
‘We don’t smoke, but some people do’ 'wi: daunt 'smauk bat
'sAm pi:pl 'du:
‘I think John does’ ai '0 ir)k 'd 3Dn dAz
28 ‘am’, ‘are’, ‘was’, ‘were’
Weak forms: am
‘Why am I here?’ 'wai am ai 'hia
a (before consonants)
‘Here are the plates’ 'h ia r a 6 a ' p l e i t s
ar (before vowels)
‘The coats are in there’ da 'kauts ar in 'dea
waz
‘He was here a minute ago’hi waz 'hiar a 'minit a'gau
wa (before consonants)
‘The papers were late’ da 'peipaz wa 'leit
war (before vowels)
‘The questions were easy’da 'kwestfanz war 'i:zi
In final position: aem, a:, w d z , W 3 i
‘She’s not as old as I am’/iz 'not az 'auld az 'ai aem
‘I know the Smiths are’ ai 'nau da 'smi0s a:
‘The last record was’ da ' l a i s t 'r e k a id w d z
‘They weren’t as cold as we were’ dei 'w3int az 'kauld az
'wi: W 3 :

Notes on problem s and fu rth e r reading

This chapter is almost entirely practical. All books about English pronunciation devote
a lot of attention to weak forms. Some of them give a great deal of importance to using
these forms, but do not stress the importance of also knowing when to use the strong
forms, something which I feel is very important; see Hewings (2007:48-9). There is a very
detailed study of English weak forms in Obendorfer (1998).

W ritte n exercise

In the following sentences, the transcription for the weak-form words is left blank. Fill in
the blanks, taking care to use the appropriate form (weak or strong).
1 I want her to park that car over there,
ai wont pa:k ka:r auva
96 English Phonetics and Phonology

Of all the proposals, the one that you made is the silliest.
oil prapauz|z w a ii meid iz siliast
Jane and Bill could have driven them to and from the party.
d3ein bil drivn pa:ti
To come to the point, what shall we do for the rest of the week?
kAm point WDt rest wi:k
Has anyone got an idea where it came from?
eniwAn got aidia wear it keim
Pedestrians must always use the crossings provided,
padestrianz oilweiz ju:z krDsirjz pravaidid
Each one was a perfect example of the art that had been
i:tf wAn p3:fikt igzaimpl a:t bi:n
developed there,
divelapt
188 Recorded exercises

Exercise 3 S tre s s -m o v in g s u ffix e s

When you hear the stem word, say it with the suffix added and put the stress on the last
syllable of the stem.
advantage+-ous injure+-ious (injurious)
photo+-graphy tranquil+-ity (tranquillity)
proverb+-ial reflex+-ive
climate+ -ic (climatic) embryo+-logy
Exercise 4 C o m p o u n d w o rd s
When you hear the number, say the item.
a) First element adjectival, stress on second element
1 loudspeaker 4 second-class
2 bad-tempered 5 three-wheeler
3 headquarters
b) First element nominal, stress on first element
1 typewriter 4 suitcase
2 car ferry 5 teacup
3 sunrise
c) Mixture of types (a) and (b)
1 long-suffering 4 red-blooded
2 gunman 5 gearbox
3 shoelace 6 overweight
Exercise 5 W o rd -c la ss p a irs
You will hear the number of the item and its word-class. Stress the second syllable if it is a
verb; stress the first syllable if it is a noun or adjective.
1 abstract (adjective) 10 object (noun)
2 conduct (verb) 11 perfect (adjective)
3 contract (noun) 12 permit (verb)
4 contrast (verb) 13 present (adjective)
5 desert (noun) 14 produce (verb)
6 escort (noun) 15 protest (noun)
7 export (verb) 16 rebel (verb)
8 import (noun) 17 record (noun)
9 insult (verb) 18 subject (noun)

A udio U n it 12 W eak form s

Words occurring in their weak forms are printed in smaller type than stressed words and
strong forms, for example:
'we can 'wait 'wi: kan 'w e it
 Audio U nit 12 W eak forms 189

Exercise 1 S en ten ces f o r r e p e titio n

Listen and repeat:
We can 'wait for the 'bus wi kan 1w e it fa da 'bAS
' How do the 'lights 'work? 'hau da da 1lait s 'W3:k
There are some 'new 'books I must 'read 6ar a sam 'n jlll 'b u k s a i mas
'ri:d
She 'took her 'aunt for a 'drive ji 't u k ar 'a : n t far a 'draiv
The 'basket was 'full of 'things to 'eat da 'b a is k it waz 'fu l av 'Oirjz tu 'i:t
' Why should a ' m a n ' earn ' more than a 1woman? ' wai Jad a 1m aen ' 3: n
' mo : dan a 'wumon
You 'ought to 'have your 'own 'car ju 'o :t ta 'haev jar 'a u n 'k a i
He 'wants to 'come and 'see us at 'home hi 'w o n ts ta 'kA m an 'sii as
at 'h a u m
'Have you 'taken them from 'that 'box? 'haev ju 't e i k a n dam fram
'daet 'b D k s
It’s ' true that he w as1late, but h is ' car could have' broken ' down it s ' t r u :
dat i waz 'le it bat iz 'k a : kad av 'b r a u k a n 'd a u n
I shall 'take as 'much as I 'want a i Jl 't e i k az 'm A tJ az a i 'w o n t
'Why am I 'too 'late to 'see him to'day? 'w a i am a i 'tu : 'le i t ta 'si:
im t a 'd e i

Exercise 2 W e a k f o r m s w it h p re -v o c a lic a n d p re -c o n s o n a n ta l fo r m s

DIFFERENT VOWELS
When you hear the number, say the phrase, using the appropriate weak form:
the 1 the apple di aepl 2 the pear do pea
to 3 to Edinburgh tu ednbro 4 to Leeds to liidz
do 5 so do I sou du ai 6 so do they sou do dei
LINKING CONSONANT
a/an 7 an ear on 10 8 a foot 0 fut
(The other words in this section have “linking r”.)
her 9 her eyes hor aiz 10 her nose ho nouz
your 11 your uncle jar Ar)kl 12 your friend jo frend
for 13 for Alan for aelon 14 for Mike fo maik
there 15 there aren’t dor a:nt 16 there couldn’t do kudnt
are 17 these are ours di:z or auaz 18 these are mine di:z o main
were 19 you were out ju: wor aut 20 you were there ju: wo deo

Exercise 3 T ra n s c rip tio n

(Note: this exercise is a long one, and it is possible to go directly to Exercise 4 if you
wish.)
190 Recorded exercises

Write the following sentences in transcription, taking care to give the correct weak forms
for the words printed in smaller type.
1 'Leave the 'rest of the 'food for 'lunch
2 'Aren’t there some 'letters for her to 'open?
3 'Where do the 'eggs 'come from?
4 'Read his 'book and 'write some 'notes
5 At 'least we can 'try and 'help
Now correct your transcription, using the version in the answers section.
Exercise 4 P ro n u n c ia tio n o f w e a k fo r m s
This exercise uses the sentences of Exercise 3. When you hear the number, say the sentence,
giving particular attention to the weak forms. (1-5)

A udio U n it 13 Revision

Exercise 1 R e a d in g u n fa m ilia r w o rd s f r o m tra n s c rip tio n

The following are British place names written in transcription*. When you hear the
number, say the word, making sure that the stress is correctly placed. You will then hear
the correct pronunciation, which you should repeat.
1'ksultjists
2kai'lail
3'herifad
4'skAn0o:p
5gla'moigan
6,holi'hed
7'fraemlirjam
8'sauO'end
9 'tfeltnam
10 .invs'nes
Exercise 2 T ra n s c rip tio n o f u n fa m ilia r w o rd s
The following are also place names. Each will be said twice; write what you hear in tran­
scription, including stress marks. (1-10)

Now check your transcriptions with the correct version.

Exercise 3 Stress p la c e m e n t in sentences
Put a stress mark 1before each syllable you would expect to be stressed in the following
sentences. For example, given the sentence ‘I think I’ll be late for work’ you should mark
the words ‘think’, ‘late’ and ‘work’ like this:
I 'think 111be 'late for 'work

* Spelling is given in the Answers section.