Unit 21. Some, The, From, etc.
Weak Forms of Function Words
Unit 21; Part A
Some words are not usually made prominent (see Unit 10) in conversation. These include the following groups of function words. (For exceptions, see Unit 22.)
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Unit 21; Part B
Some of these function words have a weak form and a strong form. Theweak form is the usual pronunciation, but the strong form is used whenthe word is -
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Unit 21; Part C
Important for listening! It can be difficult to hear the weak forms of function words in fastspeech, particularly when a number of them come together, because theyare often said quickly. Compare: slow speech. When are you taking him to see her? There are some over there. fast speech: When /aj∂/ taking /imt∂/ see /∂/? /ð∂r∂s∂m/ over there. Itis not always necessary to produce weak forms in your own speech inorder to be understood, but they help to make your English sound morefluent and natural. |
Exercises
| Unit 20 Unit 21 Unit 22 | |