WEAK A ND ST RONG

FO RM S
and Nathalie Juayek.
Paula Godoy
 The English language is a stress-timed language. This means
some words are stressed when we speak, while others are not.
In phonetics, stress is the degree of emphasis given to a sound
or syllable in speech, also called lexical stress or word stress.
Unlike some other languages, English has variable stress, here is
where “Weak and Strong” forms appear..
 strong forms.

In English language, a word takes its strong form when we:

A. Pronounce the word alone
B. Put emphasis on the word
 weak forms.

Grammatical words are words These words have

that help us construct the no stress, and so
sentence but they don't mean they are
anything. weakened.
 Sometimes weak forms are easy
to spot, because we use
Weak forms are very often contractions in the spelling to
pronounced with a schwa, and show it:
so are very weak and
sometimes a bit difficult to
hear properly.

I am French (strong form) .

I'm French (weak form).
why is it important to learn
about
strong and weak forms?
 Of course, because the proper use of weak
and strong forms is essential for the correct
pronunciation of the English language, since it
is one of the most difficult features for non-
native learners to acquire.
 WHICH WORDS HAVE WEAK
AND STRONG FORMS?

Prepositions. Auxiliary verbs. Modal verbs.

Possesive
Pronouns.
adjectives.

Possesive
Articles. Articles.
pronouns.
WHICH WORDS HAVE ONLY
STRONG FORMS?

Nouns. Main verbs.

Adjectives. Adverbs.
 WHEN DO WEAK FORMS
BECOME STRONG?
At the end of a sentence.
Negatives.

 WHEN DO WEAK FORMS

BECOME STRONG?

Auxiliary or modal Double stress for

substitutes or includes
emphasis.
the main verb.
 IT'S TIME FOR LISTENING!

https://www.uv.es/anglotic/phonology/suprasegmental_pho

nology/function_words/function_words_01/
THANK YOU!