Weak Forms In English
Short grammar words such as a, and, to, can and was are usually unstressed in natural speech, so their vowel weakens, most often to schwa /ə/. This is the weak form. The strong form is used when the word is stressed for contrast, said on its own, or comes at the end of a phrase, as in Yes, I can.
Using weak forms is one of the biggest steps towards sounding natural and understanding fast speech.
Strong And Weak Forms (88 Words)
| Word | Strong Form (UK) | Weak Form (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| a | /eɪ/ | /ə/ |
| am | /æm/ | /əm/ |
| an | /æn/ | /ən/ |
| and | /ænd/ | /ənd/or/ən/ |
| are | /ɑː/ | /ə/ |
| as | /æz/ | /əz/ |
| at | /æt/ | /ət/ |
| be | /biː/ | /bi/ |
| because | /bɪˈkɒz/ | /bɪˈkəz/ |
| been | /biːn/ | /bɪn/ |
| but | /bʌt/ /bʌt/ | /bət/ |
| can | /kæn/ /kæn/ | /kən/ |
| could | /kʊd/ | /kəd/ |
| do | /duː/ /duː/ | /də/ before a consonant /du/ before a vowel |
| does | /dʌz/ /dəʊz/ | /dəz/ |
| for | /fɔː/ | /fə/ |
| from | /frɒm/ | /frəm/ |
| had | /hæd/ | /həd/or/əd/ |
| has | /hæz/ | /həz/or/əz/ |
| have | /hæv/ /hæv/ | /həv/or/əv/ |
| he | /hiː/ | /hi/or/i/ |
| he'd | /hiːd/ | /hɪd/or/ɪd/ |
| he'll | /hiːl/ | /hɪl/or/ɪl/ |
| he's | /hiːz/ | /hiz/or/iz/ |
| her | /hɜː/ | /hə/or/ə/ |
| him | /hɪm/ | /ɪm/ |
| his | /hɪz/ | /ɪz/ |
| I'd | /aɪd/ | /əd/ |
| I'll | /aɪl/ | /əl/ |
| I've | /aɪv/ | /əv/ |
| into | /ˈɪn.tuː/ | /ˈɪn.tə/ before a consonant /ˈɪn.tu/ before a vowel |
| is | /ɪz/ | /z/ after a voiced sound /s/ after a voiceless sound |
| it's | /ɪts/ | /əts/ |
| just | /dʒʌst/ /dʒʌst/ | /dʒəst/ |
| let's | /lets/ | /ləts/ |
| me | /miː/ | /mi/ |
| must | /mʌst/ /mʌst/ | /məs/ before a consonant /məst/ before a vowel |
| my | /maɪ/ | /mɪ/or/mə/ |
| not | /nɒt/ | /nt/ in contractions |
| of | /ɒv/ | /əv/ |
| or | /ɔː/ | /ə/ |
| our | /aʊə/or/ˈaʊ.ə/ | /ɑː/ |
| shall | /ʃæl/ | /ʃəl/ |
| she | /ʃiː/ | /ʃi/ |
| she'd | /ʃiːd/ | /ʃɪd/ |
| she'll | /ʃiːl/ | /ʃɪl/ |
| she's | /ʃiːz/ | /ʃiz/ |
| should | /ʃʊd/ | /ʃəd/ |
| so | /səʊ/ | /sə/ |
| some | /sʌm/ | /səm/ |
| such | /sʌtʃ/ | /sətʃ/ |
| than | /ðæn/ | /ðən/ |
| that | /ðæt/ | /ðət/ |
| that's | /ðæts/ | /ðəts/ |
| the | /ðiː/ | /ðə/ before a consonant /ði/ before a vowel |
| their | /ðeə/ | /ðə/ |
| them | /ðem/ | /ðəm/or/əm/ |
| there | /ðeə/ /ðeə/ | /ðə/ |
| there's | /ðeəz/ | /ðəz/ |
| they'd | /ðeɪd/ | /ðəd/ |
| they'll | /ðeɪl/ | /ðəl/ |
| they're | /ðeə/ | /ðə/ |
| they've | /ðeɪv/ | /ðəv/ |
| to | /tuː/ | /tə/ before a consonant /tu/ before a vowel |
| us | /ʌs/ /ˌjuːˈes/ | /əs/ |
| was | /wɒz/ | /wəz/ |
| we | /wiː/ | /wi/ |
| we'd | /wiːd/ | /wɪd/ |
| we'll | /wiːl/ | /wɪl/ |
| we're | /wɪə/ | /wə/ |
| we've | /wiːv/ | /wiv/ |
| were | /wɜː/ | /wə/ |
| what | /wɒt/ | /wət/ |
| what's | /wɒts/ | /wəts/ |
| when | /wen/ | /wən/ |
| where | /weə/ | /wə/ |
| where's | /weəz/ | /wəz/ |
| who | /huː/ | /hu/ |
| who's | /huːz/ | /huz/ |
| will | /wɪl/ /wɪl/ | /wəl/or/əl/ |
| with | /wɪð/ | /wɪð/ before a vowel or a voiced consonant /wɪθ/ before a voiceless consonant |
| would | /wʊd/ | /wəd/or/əd/ |
| you | /juː/ | /ju/or/jə/ |
| you'd | /juːd/ | /jəd/ |
| you'll | /juːl/ | /jəl/ |
| you're | /jɔː/or/jʊə/ | /jə/ |
| you've | /juːv/ | /jəv/ |
| your | /jɔː/ | /jə/ |
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