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 oret
(strong form) or ogt (weak form). The sentence 'I like that' is pronounced a1 lark oret
(strong form); the sentence 'I hope that she will' is pronounced ar hgup ogt fi w,l (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's'; '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 gv in the following sentence:
'I'm fond of chips' aim 'fond gy 'tf1ps

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 ov:
'Chips are what I'm fond of' 'tJ1ps g 'wot aim 'fond ov
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' og 'letgz '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' a1 'tnevl 'tu: gn 'from 'lAndgn g 'lot
'A work of and about literature' g 'w3:k 'ov gn g'baut 'htrntJg
iii) When a weak-form word is given stress for the purpose of emphasis; for
example:

'You must give me more money' ju 'mAst '91v mi 'm:,: '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 'Judqt put 'rend gt oi 'end gv g 'sentgns
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.
0 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: og (before consonants)
'Shut the door' 'JAt og 'd:,:
oi (before vowels)
'Wait for the end' 'we1t fa oi 'end
2 'a', 'an'
Weak forms: g (before consonants)
'Read a book' 'ri:d g 'buk
gn (before vowels)
'Eat an apple' 'i:t gn 'repl
3 'and'
Weak form: gn (sometimes q after t, d, s, z, J)
'Come and see' 'kAm gn 'si:
'Fish and chips' 'f1J q 'tJ1ps
 12 Weak forms 91

4 'but'
Weak form: b;:"Jt
'It's good but expensive' its 'gud bgt 1k'spens1v
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: O;:"Jt
'The price is the thing that annoys me' 0;:"J 'pra1s 1z 0;:"J '011)
O;:"Jt ;:"J'n::nz mi
6 'than'
Weak form: O;:"Jn
'Better than ever' 'bet;:"J O;:"Jn 'ev;:"J
7 'his' (when it occurs before a noun)
Weak form: 1z (h1z at the beginning of a sentence)
'Take his name' 'te1k 1z 'ne1m
(Another sense of'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: ;:"J (before consonants)
'Take her home' 'te1k ;:"J 'h;:"Jum
;:"Jr (before vowels)
'Take her out' 'te1k ;:"Jr 'aut
9 'your'
Weak forms: j;:"J (before consonants)
'Take your time' 'te1k j;:"J 'ta1m
j ;:"Jr (before vowels)
'On your own' 'on j;:"Jr ';:"Jun
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 1, u) to
represent them. There is little difference in the pronunciation in different places
in the sentence, except in the case of 'he'.
Weak forms:
a) 'she' Ji
'Why did she read it?' 'wa1 did Ji 'ri:d 1t
'Who is she?' 'hu: '1z Ji
b) 'he' i (the weak form is usually pronounced without h except at
the beginning of a sentence)
'Which did he choose?' 'w1tJ did i 'tJ u:z
'He was late, wasn't he?' hi W;:"JZ 'le1t 'wozr,tt i
92 English Phonetics and Phonology

c) 'we' Wl
'How can we get there?' 'hau k;;,n wi 'get oe;;,
'We need that, don't we?' wi 'ni:d oret 'd;;,unt wi
d) 'you' ju
'What do you think?' 'wot d;;, ju '0nJk
'You like it, do .you?' ju 'laik It 'du: ju
11 'him'
Weak.form: Im
'Leave him alone' 'li:v Im ;;,'faun
'I've seen him' aiv 'si:n Im
12 'her'
Weak.form: ;;, (h;;, when sentence-initial)
'Ask her to come' 'o:sk;;, t;;, 'kAm
'I've met her' aiv 'met ;;,
13 'them'
Weak form: o;;,m
'Leave them here' 'li:v o;;,m 'hI;;,
'Eat them' 'i:t o;;,m
14 'us'
Weak form: ;;,s
'Write us a letter' 'rait ;;,s ;;, 'let;;,
'They invited all of us' oeI rn'vaihd ':,:l ;;,v ;;,s

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: ;;it
'I'll see you at lunch' ad 'si: ju ;;it 'lAnf
In final position: ret
'What's he shooting at?' 'wots i 'Ju:tII] ret
16 'for'
Weak form: f;;, (before consonants)
'Tea for two' 'ti: fa 'tu:
f;;,r (before vowels)
'Thanks for asking' '0rel)ks far 10:skIIJ
In final position: b:
'What's that for?' 'wots 'oret b:
17 'from'
Weak form: fr;;,m
'I'm home from work' aim 'h;;,um fr;;,m 'w3:k
 12 Weak forms 93

In final position: from

'Here's where it came from' 'higz wegr It 'keim from
18 'of'
Weak form: ;'}V

'Most of all' 'mgust gv '::,:l

In final position: OV

'Someone I've heard of' 'sAmwAn aiv 'h3:d ov

19 'to'
Weak forms: tg (before consonants)
'Try to stop' 'traI tg 'stop
tu (before vowels)
'Time to eat' 'taim tu 'i:t
In final position: tu (it is not usual to use the strong form tu:; the
pre-consonantal weak form tg is never used)
'I don't want to' aI 'dgunt 'wont tu
20 'as'
Weak form: gz
'As much as possible' gz 'mAtf gz 'posgbl
In final position: rez
'That's what it was sold as' 'orets 'wot It wgz 'sguld rez
21 'some'
This word is used in two different ways. In one sense (typically, when it occurs before
a countable noun, meaning "an unknown individual") it has the strong form:
'I think some animal broke it' ai '0IIJk sAm 'remmgl 'brguk It
It is also used before uncountable nouns (meaning "an unspecified amount of")
and before other nouns in the plural (meaning "an unspecified number of"); in
such uses it has the weak form sgm
'Have some more tea' 'hgv sgm 'm::,: 'ti:
In final position: sAm
'I've got some' a1v 'got sAm
22 'there'
When this word has a demonstrative function, it always occurs in its strong form
oeg (oegr before vowels); for example:
'There it is' 'oegr It IZ
'Put it there' 'put It 'oeg
Weak forms: og (before consonants)
'There should be a rule' og 'Jud big 'ru:l
ogr (before vowels)
'There is' ogr 'Iz
In final position: the pronunciation may be og or oeg.
'There isn't any, is there?' ogr 'Izr,it eni IZ og
OT ()gr I IZf,lt eni IZ oeg
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 negatiye 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:
'They can wait' 'oe1 k~n 'we1t
'He could do it' 'hi: bd 'du: 1t
In final position: kren, kud
'I think we can' a1 '0nJk wi 'kren
'Most of them could' 'm~ust ~v o~m 'kud
24 'have', 'has', 'had'
Weak forms: ~v, ~z, ~d (with initial h in initial position)
'Which have you seen?' 'w1tJ ~v ju 'si:n
'Which has been best?' 'w1tJ ~z bi:n 'best
'Most had gone home' 'm~ust ~d gon 'h;Jum
In final position: hrev,hrez,hred
'Yes, we have' 'jes wi 'hrev
'I think she has' ai '01IJk Ji 'hrez
'I thought we had' a1 '0::,:t wi 'hred
25 'shall', 'should'
Weak forms: J;Jl or fl; J;Jd
'We shall need to hurry' wi fl 'ni:d t;J 'hAri
'I should forget it' 'a1 J;Jd fo'get 1t
In final position: Jrel, Jud
'I think we shall' ai '01IJk wi 'Jrel
'So you should' 's;Ju 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: m;Js (before consonants)
'You must try harder' ju ID;JS 'tra1 'ha:d;J
m;Jst (before vowels)
'He must eat more' hi m;Jst 'i:t 'm::,:
In final position: mAst
'She certainly must' Ji 's3:tr;ili 'mAst
27 'do', 'does'
Weak forms:
'do' d~ (before consonants)
'Why do they like it?' 'wa1 d;J oe1 'la1k 1t
 12 Weak forms 95

du (before vowels)
'Why do all the cars stop?' 'wa1 du '::,:l ()g 'ka:z 'stop
'does' dgz
'When does it arrive?' 'wen dn It g'ra1v
In final position: du:, dAz
'We don't smoke, but some people do' 'wi: dgunt 'smguk bdt
'sAm pi:pJ 'du:
'I think John does' ai '0uJk 'd3on dAz
28 'am', 'are', 'was', 'were'
Weak forms: ;:)ffi

'Why am I here?' 'wa1 gm a1 1h1;:)

d (before consonants)
'Here are the plates' 'hI;:)r g og 'ple1ts
;:)f (before vowels)

'The coats are in there' og 'k;:)uts ;:)f m 'Oe;:)

W;:)Z

'He was here a minute ago' hi W;:)Z 'h1gr d 'mm1t ;:) 9;:)u
1

W;:) (before consonants)

'The papers were late' 0;:) 'peip;:)z W;:) 'le1t

wgr (before vowels)
'The questions were easy' 0;:) 'kwestf;:)llZ wgr 'i:zi
In final position: rem, a:, woz, w3:
'She's not as old as I am' f1z 'not ;:)Z 'guld ;:)Z 'a1 rem
'I know the Smiths are' ai 'n;:)U 0;:) 'sm10s a:
'The last record was' og 'lo:st 'rek::,:d woz
'They weren't as cold as we were' oe1 'w3:nt gz 'kguld gz
'wi:w3:

Notes on problems and further 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).

Written 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.
a1 wont po:k ko:r ;:)Uvg
96 English Phonetics and Phonology

2 Of all the proposals, the one that you made is the silliest.
:,:1 pr~p:mzJz w AD me1d 1z sdi~st
3 Jane and Bill could have driven them to and from the party.
d3em - bd dnvIJ. po:ti
4 To come to the point, what shall we do for the rest of the week?
kAm p:,mt wot rest wi:k
5 Has anyone got an idea where it came from?
eDiwAD got aid1~ we~r 1t ke1m
6 Pedestrians must always use the crossings provided.
p~destri~Dz :,:lwe1z ju:z krosIIJZ pr~va1d1d
7 Each one was a perfect example of the art that had been
i:tJ w AD p3:f1kt 1gzo:mpJ mt bi:n
developed there.
d1vel~pt