Pronouncing sentences

1. Rhythm
There is a regular beat in an English sentence. Stressed syllables are on the beat.
Unstressed syllables have to fit in between the beats.

What are
you
gu
nna
do
on
the
wee
kend?
wo
d
y
ga
n
doo
won
dh
wee
ken
2. Weak forms
Weak Forms help us to make unstressed syllables shorter, so we can fit them in between
the beats.
you
y, ya What do you
have
v, v, *
Arsenal
to t, Time to go.
want?
have won
for f Its for Andy.
your y
Whats your name? has z, z, z, s Mark has
of v,
One of the
he
ee
Whats he doing? gone.
best
his
iz
Look at his face.
can kn
I can do it.
fromfrmIts from China.
she shi
She looks OK.
do d
Where do they
at t Look at it.
her , Give her two.
live?
out t Get out of here.
them m Give them a go.
does
dz, z, s Does it hurt? or
Give or take.
us
s
Call us tomorrow. will l, l
Sam will go.
our aa
Hes our man.
are
How are you?.
and n, n
Rock and Roll!
who oo
Ask whos here.
was wz It was fun.
the dh, dhi Its on the table
were
w We were
a - / an - n, n Its a boy!
wasted.
3. Linking consonants to vowels
*NOTE:
have/has
When a word ends in a consonant and the next sound in the sentence is
a vowel,
v e/z, z, s are
we give the consonant to the next word:
turn off. tur noff Pick up a piece of paper pi ka p pee sv peionly
pa for have as a
helping verb
(auxiliary verb)
4. Linking vowels to vowels
When two vowels come together, we separate them with Y, W or R:
ee, i (ei, ai, i) + Y
oo, u (u, u) + W
*, , , e, aa, a (a, iya, uwa,
are aa
Yes, you are. yes yoo
eya) + R
Yes, we are. yes wee
waa
Tina and John tee n rn
yaa
How are you? hu
jon
*NOTE:
followed
Yes, they are. yes
waa yoo
I sawisasometimes
film ai s
r film
5. Ifdhei
I read
by W.
yaaan R, do I pronounce it?
the USA, they always
In Australia and the UK, we only pronounce R if it is before(In
a vowel.
pronounce it.)
very ve ree
four f
(USA:
The vowel can be in
the next word:
fr)
four AM f rei yem
6. When is a T not a t?
a) A quick d
b) a stop in the throat
After a vowel, before an unstressed
After a vowel and before a pause (comma,

c) Nothing

vowel
full stop):
Afterv.
an unvoiced
consonant
andzno
before a
No hes not.
nu wee
vtv WAter w da
consonant
OR: After a vowel and before a consonant.
OR: At the end of a word and between
most
people
fact finding fk
vc
Notmus
many. pee
nopl
menee
vowels
fain ding
vt v about
I ate apples
7. What
D? ai yei d plz
OR: After n and before an unstressed vowel
Nothing
After a voiced consonant and
before a consonant.

old
ul mn
man
arrived late a raiv leit

ntv WINter wi na
OR: After n at the end of a word and before any
other word
I dont see them. a dun see dhm