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 forros and weak forros. As an example, the word 'that' can be pronounced oret
(strong form) or cbt (weak form). The sentence 'I like that' is pronounced a1 laik oret
(strong form); the sentence 'I hope that she will' is pronounced ar h;Jup O;Jt Ji wrl (weak
form). There are roughly forty such words in English. It is possible to use only strong
forms in speaking, and sorne 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 ali 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 forros. 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 sorne fairly simple rules; we can say that the strong form
is used in the following cases:
i) Por many weak-form words, when they occur at the end of a sentence; for
example, the word 'of' has the weak form ;JV in the following sentence:
'I'm fond of chips' arm 'fond ;JV 'tJ1ps
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' 'tfrps g 'wot arm 'fond ov
Many of the words given below (particularly 1-9) never occur at the end of a
sentence (e.g. 'the', 'your'). Sorne 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' ó;;i 'let;;iz 'from rm not 'tu: rm
A similar case is what we might call a co-ordinated use of prepositions:
'I travel to and from London a lot' ar 'tr:evl 'tm ;;in 'from 'lAnd;;in g 'lot
'A work of and about literature' g 'w3:k 'ov gn g'baut 'litrgtJg
iii) When a weak-form word is given stress for the purpose of emphasis; for
example:
'You must give me more money' ju 'mAst 'grv 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 'fudr¡t put ':end ;;it ói 'end ;;iv g 'sent;;ins
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, Exs 1-4
In the rest of this chapter, the most common weak-form words will be introduced.
1 'the'
Weak forms: ó;;i (before consonants)
'Shut the door' 'fAt ó;;i 'd;:,:
ói (before vowels)
'Wait for the end' 'wert fa ói 'end
2 'a', 'an'
Weak forms: g (before consonants)
'Read a book' 'ri:d g 'buk
;;in (before vowels)
'Eat an apple' 'i:t ;;in ':epl
3 'and'
Weak form: ;;in (sometimes r¡ after t, d, s, z, f)
'Come and see' 'kAm :m 'si:
'fish and chips' 'frf I) 'tfrps
12 Weak forms 91
4 'but'
Weak forro: bgt
'It's good but expensive' 1ts 'gud bgt 1k'spens1v
5 'that'
This word only has a weak forro when used in a relative clause; when used with
a demonstrative sense it is always pronounced in its strong forro.
Weak forro: Ógt
'The price is the thing that annoys me' Óg 'pra1s 1z Óg '9nJ
ogt g'n::nz mi
6 'than'
Weak forro: Ógn
'Better than ever' 'betg Ógn 'evg
7 'his' (when it occurs before a noun)
Weak forro: 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 forro)
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 forros: g (before consonants)
'Take her home' 'te1k g 'hgum
gr (before vowels)
'Take her out' 'te1k gr 'aut
9 'your'
Weak forms: jg (before consonants)
'Take your time' 'te1k jg 'ta1m
jgr (before vowels)
'On your own' 'on jgr 'gun
10 'she', 'he', 'we', 'you'
This group of pronouns has weak forros pronounced with weaker vowels than
the i:, u: of their strong forros. 1 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 forros:
a) 'she' Ji
'Why did she read it?' 'wa1 d1d Ji 'ri:d 1t
'Who is she?' 'hu: '1z Ji
b) 'he' i (the weak forro is usually pronounced without h except at
the beginning of a sentence)
'Which did he choose?' 'w1tJ d1d i 'tJu:z
'He was late, wasn' t he?' hi wn 'le1t 'wozi;it i
92 English Phonetics and Phonology
c) 'we' wi
'How can we get there?' 'hau k,m wi 'get Óeg
'We need that, don't we?' wi 'ni:d óret 'dgunt wi
d) 'you' JU
'What do you think?' 'wot dg ju '811Jk
'You like it, do you?' ju 'la1k It 'du: ju
11 'him'
Weak form: 1m
'Leave him alone' 'li:v 1m g'lgun
'I've seen him' a1v 'si:n 1m
12 'her'
Weak form: g (hg when sentence-initial)
'Ask her to come' 'a:sk g tg 'kAm
'I've met her' a1v 'met g
13 'them'
Weak form: ogm
'Leave them here' 'li:v <'bm 'h1g
'Eat them' 'i:t Ógm
14 'us'
Weak form: gs
'Write us a letter' 'ra1t gs g 'letg
'They invited ali of us' óe1 m'vait1d ':,:l gy gs
The nex:t group of words (sorne 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: gt
'1'11 see you at lunch' ad 'si: ju gt 'lAnJ
In final position: ret
'What's he shooting at?' 'wots i 'Ju:t11J ret
16 'for'
Weak form: fa (before consonants)
'Tea for two' 'ti: fa 'tu:
far (before vowels)
'Thanks for asking' '0reJJkS far 'a:skIJJ
In final position: fo:
'What's that for?' 'wots 'óret fo:
17 'from'
Weak form: frgm
'I'm home from work' aim 'hgum frgm 'w3:k
12 Weak forms 93
In final position: frnm
'Here's where it carne from' 'h1gz wegr 1t 'ke1m from
18 'of'
Weak form: gy
'Most of ali' 'mgust gv ':,:l
In final position: DV
'Someone I've heard of' 'sAmwAn a1v 'h3:d ov
19 'to'.
Weak forms: tg (before consonants)
'Try to stop' 'tra1 tg 'stop
tu (before vowels)
'Time to eat' 'ta1m 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 'mAtJ n 'posgbl
In final position: rez
'That's what it was sold as' 'órets 'wot 1t wgz 'sguld rez
21 'sorne'
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 sorne animal broke it' ai '8nJk sAm 'remmgl 'brguk 1t
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 sgrn
'Have sorne more tea' 'hgv sgrn 'rn:,: 'ti:
In final position: sArn
Tve got sorne' aiv 'got sArn
22 'there'
When this word has a dernonstrative function, it always occurs in its strong forrn
óeg (óem before vowels); for example:
'There it is' 'Óegr 1t 1z
'Put it there' 'put 1t 'óeg
Weak forrns: Óg (before consonants)
'There should be a rule' Óg 'Jud bi g 'ru:l
Ógr (before vowels)
'There is' Ógr '1z
In final position: the pronunciation rnay be Óg or óeg.
'There isn't any, is there?' Ógr 1zr¡t eni 1z Óg
1
or Ógr 'rzr¡t eni rz óeg
94 English Phonetics and Phonology
The remaining weak-farm words are all auxiliary verbs , which are always used in conjunc
tion with (or at least implying) another ("full") verb. lt is important to remember that in
their negative farm (i.e. combined with 'not') they never have the weak pronunciation , and
sorne (e.g. 'don't', 'can't') have different vowels from their non-negative strong farms.
23 'can', 'could'
Weak farms: bn,bd
'They can wait' 'óe1 k;:m 'we1t
'He could do it' 'hi: bd 'du: 1t
In final position: kren,kud
'I think we can' a1 '811Jk wi 'kren
'Most of them could' 'm;-mst ;::,v ó;::,m 'kud
24 'have', 'has', 'had'
Weak farms: ;::,v, gz, ;::,d (with initial h in initial position)
'Which have you seen?' 'witf ;::,v ju 'si:n
'Which has been best?' 'w1tf n bi:n 'best
'Most had gone home' 'm;::,ust ;::,d gon 'h;::,um
In final position: hrev,hrez,hred
'Yes , we have' 'jes wi 'hrev
'I think she has' a1 '811Jk fi 'hrez
'I thought we had' a1 '8�:t wi 'hred
25 'shall', 'should'
Weak farms: f;::,l or fl; f ;::,d
'We shall need to hurry' wi n 'ni:d tg 'hAri
'I should farget it' 'a1 f;::,d fa'get 1t
In final position: frel,fud
'I think we shall' aI '811Jk wi 'frel
'So you should' 's;::,u ju 'fud
26 'must'
This word is sometimes used with the sense of farming 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 farm than when it is
being used in its more familiar sense of obligation.
Weak farms: m;::,s (befare consonants)
'You must try harder' ju m;::,s 'tra1 'ha:d;::,
m;::,st (befare vowels)
'He must eat more' hi m;::,st 'i:t 'm�:
In final position: mAst
'She certainly must' fi 's3:trµi 'mAst
27 'do', '<loes'
Weak farms:
'do' d;::, (befare consonants)
'Why do they like it?' 'wa1 d;::, óe1 'la1k 1t
12 Weak forms 95
du (before vowels)
'Why do ali the cars stop?' 'wa1 du ':,:l og 'ko:z 'stnp
'<loes' dgz
'When <loes it arrive?' 'wen dgz 1t g'ra1v
In final position: du:, dAz
'We don't smoke, but sorne people do' 'wi: dgunt 'smguk bgt
'sAm pi:pJ 'du:
'I think John <loes' a1 '8n;¡k 'd3nn dAz
28 'am', 'are', 'was', 'were'
Weak forms: gm
'Why am I here?' 'wa1 gm a1 'h1g
g (before consonants)
'Here are the plates' h1gr g og ple1ts
1 1
gr (before vowels)
'The coats are in there' og 'kguts gr rn 'oeg
wgz
'He was here a minute ago' hi wgz h1gr g 'mrn1t g'ggu
1
wg (before consonants)
'The papers were late' og 'pe1pgz wg le1t
1
wgr (before vowels)
'The questions were easy' og 'kwestJgnz wgr 'i:zi
In final position: rem, o:, wnz, w3:
'She's not as old as I am' J1z 'nnt gz 'guld gz a1 rem
1
'I know the Smiths are' a1 'ngu og 'sm18s o:
'The last record was' og 'lo:st 'rek:,:d woz
'They weren't as cold as we were' óe1 'w3:nt gz 'kguld gz
'wi: W3:
Notes on problems and further reading
This chapter is almost entirely practica!. All books about English pronunciation devote
a lot of attention to weak forms. Sorne of them give a great <leal 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 wnnt po:k ko:r guvg
96 English Phonetics and Phonology
2 Of all the proposals, the one that you made is the silliest.
::i:l prap;mz¡z wAn me1d 1z siliast
3 Jane and Bill could have driven them to and from the party.
d3em bil dnvr;i po:ti
4 To come to the point, what shall we do for the rest of the week?
kAm p::imt wot rest wi:k
5 Has anyone got an idea where it carne from?
eniwAn got a1d1a wear 1t ke1m
6 Pedestrians must always use the crossings provided.
padestrianz ::i:lwe1z ju:z kroSilJZ pravaid1d
7 Each one was a perfect example of the art that had been
i:tJ wAn p3:f1kt 1gzo:mp¡ o:t bi:n
developed there.
d1velapt