Lesson 14 - Pronunciation of unstressed words
Imitation
Repeat after the reader using the same intonation. If you need to, slow down the playback speed or pause after each sentence.
Homework answers
Here are the answers from last class's homework.
IPA story dictation
ˈnɛvɚ gɪv ˈʌp
ɪn‿ˈnaɪntin ˈsɛvənɾi ˈnaɪn ə ˈsmɑl ˈpleɪn ˈkræʃt‿ɪn tə ðə ˈmaʊntənz‿əv ˈsʌðɚn kæləˈfɔrnjə
ˈðɪs‿ɪz‿ə ˈstɔri əv ˈdɛθ ˈlaɪf ɛŋ ˈkɝəʤ
ðɛr wɚ ˈfɔr pipəl ɪn ðə ˈpleɪn
ðə ˈpaɪlət ə ˈfɑðɚ hɪz‿iˈlɛvən jɪr oʊld ˈsʌn ɛn ə ˈjʌŋ ˈwʊmən
ðə ˈpaɪlət‿ɛn ðə ˈfɑðɚ wɚ ˈkɪld‿ɪn ðə ˈkræʃ
ðə ˈbɔɪ ˈnu ðəʔ hɪz ˈfɑðɚ wəz ˈdɛd wɛn hi ˈʧraɪd‿tə weɪk hɪm ˈʌp ɛnd‿i ˈwʊdənʔ weɪk‿ˈʌp
ðə ˈbɔɪ ɛn ðə ˈjʌŋ ˈwʊmən ˈhʌɾəld‿ɪn ðə ˈsnoʊ fɔr ˈsɪks‿ˈaʊɚz
ðeɪ wɚ ˈhoʊpɪŋ tə bi ˈrɛskjud bəʔ ˈnoʊwən ˈkeɪm
ðeɪ dəˈsaɪdəd ðeɪ ˈmʌs ˈʧraɪ tə ˈklaɪm ˈdaʊn ðə ˈʧrɛʧɚəs ˈmoʊntən ɔr ˈɛls ðeɪ wʊd ˈfriz tə dɛθ
ðeɪ biˈgæn tə ˈklaɪm ˈdaʊn ðə ˈmaʊntən ɛn ðə ˈwʊmən ˈfɛl ˈtu ˈhʌndrəd ˈmiɾɚz tu‿ɚ ˈdɛθ
ðə ˈjʌŋ ˈbɔɪ wəz ˈlɛft‿ˈɑl‿əˈloʊn
hi wəz ˈhɝt‿ɛn ˈboʊθ hɪz ˈhænz hæd ˈbroʊkən ˈboʊnz
Sentence stress
Is ˈthat the ˈboy?
The ˈbooks can be ˈput on the ˈtable.
She ˈlikes to ˈplay ˈvolleyball on ˈTuesdays.
The ˈold ˈgreen ˈcar and the ˈnew ˈblue ˈcar are ˈnot to be ˈsold.
ˈAsk ˈSusan to pick ˈup the ˈletter from the ˈpost office.
ˈRun ˈquickly!
Be ˈcareful on the ˈice so that you ˈdon't fall ˈdown.
ˈTake ˈtwo ˈeggs from the ˈchicken house and ˈput them in the reˈfrigerator.
Is ˈfather ˈcoming ˈhome to ˈeat with us?
ˈThose are the ˈchildren who ˈhelped me ˈfind my ˈglasses.
Do you ˈknow how to ˈdo it?
Pronunciˈation is ˈnot ˈalways ˈeasy for ˈeveryone.
ˈWhere can you ˈtake it to?
I'm ˈbuying my ˈticket ˈnow.
Do you ˈknow that you ˈwon't ˈgo?
Remember
- If you have two nouns, the first one is stressed.
- If you have a two word verb, the second one is stressed.
Review
Stressed words
- Nouns
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Numbers
- Adverbs
- Wh- question words
- Some pronouns (this, that, these, those, myself, himself)
- Single words
Unstressed words
- Articles
- Pronouns
- Helping verbs
- Conjunctions
- Prepositions
Pronunciation of Unstressed Words
These are the 10 most common words in English:
- the
- of
- and
- a
- to
- in
- is
- you
- that
- it
Notice that all of these words are usually unstressed. (The word "that" can be stressed depending on its meaning.)
Vowels in unstressed syllables often change their pronunciation to /ə/ or /ɪ/.
- delicious
- reply
- automatically
The same thing happens in unstressed words:
| Word | Stressed | Unstressed | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | eɪ | ə | Do you want a good book? |
| an | æn | ən | Have an orange. |
| and | ænd | ən, n, ɛn | We saw Jack and Jill. And then what did you do? |
| are | ɑr | ɚ | Mary and Jane are sisters. |
| as | æz | əz | You're as sweet as sugar. |
| can | kæn | kən, kɛn | I can do it. Can you come? |
| for | fɔr | fɚ | Is this for me? |
| from | frʌm | frəm | This is from my brother. |
| have | hæv | əv | We should have waited longer. |
| has | hæz | əz, s, z | The storm has already passed. |
| had | hæd | əd, həd | The children had eaten. |
| of | ʌv | əv | I'm thinking of you. |
| or | ɔr | ɚ | I want three or four. |
| that | ðæt | ðət | He is the one that got away. |
| than | ðæn | ðən | Mine's nicer than yours. |
| to | tu | tə | Go to school. |
| was | wʌz | wəz | It was good. |
| the | ði | ðə | He lives in the white house. |
| at | æt | ət | Come at 6:00. |
| he | hi | i | Can he come? |
| her | hɝ | ɚ | Give her the phone. |
| him | hɪm | ɪm | Give him the money. |
| his | hɪz | ɪz | Is this his book? |
| them | ðɛm | ðəm, əm | Give them the tickets. |
| you | ju | jə | Can you dance? |
| your | jɔr | jɚ | Is your father home? |
| do | du | də | What do you want? |
| will | wɪl | wəl, əl, l | Class will finish at noon. |
| would | wʊd | əd, d | Mary would like it. |
Words at the beginning or end of a sentence may be pronounced more clearly:
- Have they come?
- I don't want to.
- I'll give it to you.
When "the" comes before a word that starts with a vowel, it's pronounced /ði/ rather than /ðə/.
- the entrance
- the ant