Phonetic Transcription

Strong and Weak Forms

Subjective Personal Pronouns

STRONG WEAK
I /aɪ/
You /juː/ /jʊ/
He /hiː/ /hɪ/ Initial, after vowels
She /ʃiː/ /ɪ/ Optional after consonants
It /ɪt/ /ʃɪ/
We /wiː/ /wɪ/
They /ðeɪ/

What he said was true.

/wɒt hɪ sed wəz truː//
/wɒt ɪ sed wəz truː//

- In transcriptions we normally use the weak form.

- We use the strong form when a pronoun is together with a contracted modal auxiliary or
a contracted form of the verb “to be”.
Exceptions
she's /ʃiːz/
he'd /hiːd/ you're /jʊə/

we'll /wiːl/ we're /wɪə/

Verb “To Be”
Verb Form Strong Form Weak Form
be /biː/ /bɪ/
is /ɪz/ /ɪz/
/z/ contracted after voiced sound
/s/ contracted after voiceless sound
am /æm/ /əm/
/m/ contracted
are /ɑː/ /ə/ before consonant
/ɑːr/ /ər/ before vowel
was /wɒz/ /wəz/
were /wɜː/ /wə/ before consonant
/wɜːr/ /wər/ before vowel
being /ˈbiːɪŋ/
been /biːn/ /bɪn/
isn’t /ˈɪznt/
aren’t /ɑːnt/ Contracted negative forms are
always strong and stressed.
wasn’t /wɒznt/
weren’t /wɜːnt/

Examples of the contracted form of is.

The cat’s nice. /ðə kæts naɪs//
Tom’s here. /tɒmz hɪə//
The cup’s on the table. /ðə kʌps ɒn ðə ˈteɪbl//

We use the strong form in the following cases:

- When the verb “to be” comes at the end of the sentence.
e.g. Peter thought I wasn’t angry but I was.
/ˈpiːtə θɔːt aɪ wɒznt ˈæŋgrɪ bət aɪ wɒz//
- Yes, they were. /jes/ ðeɪ wɜː//
- In question tags
It wasn’t very cold yesterday, was it? /ɪt wɒznt ˈvɛrɪ kəʊld ˈjestədeɪ/ wəz ɪt//
- When the verb “to be” expresses what must/should/is going to happen.
They are to be found. /ðeɪ ɑː tə bɪ faʊnd//
When am I to come? /wen æm aɪ tə kʌm//
We are to be married. /wɪ ɑː tə bɪ ˈmærɪd//
 THE

Strong Weak
/ðiː/ /ðə/ before consonants
/ði/ before vowels

A/AN

Strong Weak
/eɪ/ /ə/ before consonants
/æn/ /ən/ before vowels

AT

Strong Weak

/æt/ /ət/

FOR
Strong Weak

/fɔː/ /fə/ before consonants

/fɔːr/ /fər/ before vowels

FROM

Strong Weak

/frɒm/ /frəm/

AND

Strong Weak

/ænd/ /ənd/ before vowels. e.g. Tom and I.

- Citation form. E.g. This is the conjunction and. /tɒm ənd aɪ/
- Contrast. E.g. I said “and” not “or”.
/ən/ before consonants (optional before vowels)
- Emphasis. E.g. John and Jane came. e.g. Tom and Peter. /tɒm ən ˈpiːtə/
 TO

Strong Weak

/tuː/ /tə/ before consonants

(except /w/)
E.g. I came to London.
/aɪ keɪm tə ˈlʌndən//

/tʊ/ -before vowels and /w/

E.g. I went to war.
/aɪ went tʊ wɔː//
-At the end of a sentence
Who are you talking to?
/huː ə jʊ ˈtɔːkɪŋ tʊ//

BUT
Strong Weak

/bʌt/ /bət/ Conjunction

When it means “except”
E.g. All but George hated the pizzas.
/ɔːl bʌt ʤɔːʤ ˈheɪtɪd ðə ˈpiːtsəz//

THAT

Strong Weak

/ðæt/ /ðət/ linker

Demonstrative pronoun or adjective
E.g. I want that. That book.
/aɪ wɒnt ðæt/ ðæt bʊk//

THERE

Strong Weak

/ðeə/ /ðə/ There is

Adverb of place Existential
/ðeər/ /ðər/ There are
 /s/ /z/ /ɪz/
PLURAL FORMS
- Cats /kæts/ t voiceless + s voiceless

- Dogs /dɒgz/ g voiced + z voiced

- Churches /ˈʧɜːʧɪz/
- Passes /ˈpɑːsɪz/

THIRD PERSON SINGULAR VERBS

- Walks /wɔːks/

- Lives /lɪvz/
- Sees /siːz/

- Finishes /ˈfɪnɪʃɪz/
- Judges /ˈʤʌʤɪz/

POSSESSIVE ‘S
- Dog’s plate /dɒgz pleɪt/

- Cat’s plate /kæts pleɪt/

- George’s plate /ˈʤɔːʤɪz pleɪt/

- Dashe’s plate /ˈdæʃɪz pleɪt/

Past Tense of Regular Verbs (-ed)

Voiceless consonant + -ed = t walked /wɔːkt/

-ed Voiced sound + -ed = d lived /lɪvd/
Verb ending in /t/ or /d/ adds /ɪd/ visited /vɪzɪtɪd/