Pronunciation: weak and strong forms
What are weak and strong forms?
Some English words – for example at, for, have, and, us – have two pronunciations: one is used when they are not stressed, and the other when they are. Compare:
- I’m looking at /ət/ you.
- What are you looking at /æt/?
Stressed or not?
Most words with two pronunciations are prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, articles and auxiliary verbs. Such words are not usually stressed, because they are generally found together with other more important words which carry the stress. So the unstressed (‘weak’) pronunciation is the normal one. This usually has the vowel /ə/ or no vowel; a few weak forms are pronounced with /ɪ/.
However, these words can be stressed when they are emphasised, or when there is no other word to carry the stress. In these cases the ‘strong’ pronunciation is used. This has the vowel that corresponds to the spelling. Compare:
- I must /məs/ go now.
I really must /mʌst/ stop smoking. (stressed for emphasis) - I was /wəz/ late.
It was /wəz/ raining.
Yes, it was /wɒz/. (stressed at end of sentence: there is no other word to be stressed) - Where have /əv/ you been?
You might have /əv/ told me.
What did you have /hæv/ for breakfast? (non-auxiliary verb)
Contracted negatives always have a strong pronunciation.
- can’t /kɑːnt/
- mustn’t /ˈmʌsnt/
- wasn’t /ˈwɒznt/
List of words with weak and strong forms
The most important words which have weak and strong forms are:
| Weak form | Strong form | |
|---|---|---|
| a | /ə/ | /eɪ/ (unusual) |
| am | /(ə)m/ | /æm/ |
| an | /ən/ | /æn/ (unusual) |
| and | /(ə)n(d)/ | /ænd/ |
| are | /ə(r)/ | /ɑː(r)/ |
| as | /əz/ | /æz/ |
| at | /ət/ | /æt/ |
| be | /bɪ/ | /biː/ |
| been | /bɪn/ | /biːn/ |
| but | /bət/ | /bʌt/ |
| can | /k(ə)n/ | /kæn/ |
| could | /kəd/ | /kʊd/ |
| do | /d(ə)/ | /duː/ |
| does | /dəz/ | /dʌz/ |
| for | /fə(r)/ | /fɔː(r)/ |
| from | /frəm/ | /frɒm/ |
| had | /(h)əd/ | /hæd/ |
| has | /(h)əz/ | /hæz/ |
| have | /(h)əv/ | /hæv/ |
| he | /(h)ɪ/ | /hiː/ |
| her | /(h)ə(r)/ | /hɜː(r)/ |
| him | /(h)ɪm/ | /hɪm/ |
| his | /(h)ɪz/ | /hɪz/ |
| is | /z, s/ | /ɪz/ |
| must | /m(ə)s(t)/ | /mʌst/ |
| not | /nt/ | /nɒt/ |
| of | /əv/ | /ɒv/ |
| our | /ɑː(r)/ | /aʊə(r)/ |
| saint | /s(ə)nt/ (BrE only) | /seɪnt/ |
| shall | /ʃ(ə)l/ | /ʃæl/ |
| she | /ʃɪ/ | /ʃiː/ |
| should | /ʃ(ə)d/ | /ʃʊd/ |
| sir | /sə(r)/ | /sɜː(r)/ |
| some (see here) | /s(ə)m/ | /sʌm/ |
| than | /ð(ə)n/ | /ðæn/ (rare) |
| that (conj.) | /ð(ə)t/ | /ðæt/ |
| the | /ðə, ðɪ/ | /ði:/ |
| them | /ð(ə)m/ | /ðem/ |
| there (see here) | /ðə(r)/ | /ðeə(r)/ |
| to | /tə/ | /tuː/ |
| us | /əs/ | /ʌs/ |
| was | /w(ə)z/ | /wɒz/ |
| we | /wɪ/ | /wiː/ |
| were | /wə(r)/ | /wɜː(r)/ |
| who | /hʊ/ | /huː/ |
| will | /w(ə)l, l/ | /wɪl/ |
| would | /wəd, (ə)d/ | /wʊd/ |
| you | /jʊ/ | /juː/ |
| your | /jə(r)/ | /jɔː(r)/ |