Unit 35. She was First.
Pronouncing the Verb Be
Unit 35; Part A
You don't normally put stress on are in the middle of a sentence. Listen to this rhyme. Roses are red, Violets ate blue, Flowers are nice, And so are you! Note: Many speakers pronounce are just as the weak vowel sound /∂/, but if the following word begins with a vowel sound, the /r/ is pronounced too, for example People are angry. (See Unit 39.) |
Unit 35; Part B
The word is (and 's) is not usually spoken as a separate syllable; it is usually joined to the syllable before, for example Snow is / 's white. But if the word before ends with letters like S, CE, GE and CH, it is a new syllable, for example Grass is green. (See Unit 24. ) Listen to the examples.
Note: After a pronoun am, is and are are usually written as a contraction ('m, 's, 're). (See Unit 34.) |
Unit 35; Part C
In the middle of a sentence, was and were are also usually unstressed. Listen to the chant. | ||
She was first. You were last. It was hard. She was fast. You were slow. She was strong. I was tired. It was long. | |
Unit 35; Part D
The verb be is normally unstressed at the start of a sentence too. Listen to this chant. Am I right? Am I wrong? Is it short? Is it long? Are you hot? Are you cold? Were young? Were they old? Is it false? Is it true? Was it me? Was it you? | |
Important for listening! Note that the vowel is very weak in fast speech (see Unit 7 , which looks at weak vowels). am = /∂m/; is = /iz/; are = /∂/; were = /w∂/; was = /w∂z/ Youdon't need to copy the fast speech pronunciation. People willunderstand you if you use careful speech. But you need to be able tounderstand fast speech. Note: The verb be is stressed in negative contractions (e.g. aren't), and at the end of sentences (e.g. Yes, I am). (See Unit 36.) Note: The verb be is also stressed for emphasis or contrast, for example: That can't be John ... Wait a minute... It is John! (See Unit 49.) |
Exercises
| Unit 34 Unit 35 Unit 36 | |