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TESOL/Weak forms
High-frequency words in English often have alternative forms used in unstressed speech, such as conversation, called weak forms, which are reduced forms of those words. Weak forms pose difficulty to learners of English as a second language by making listening comprehension more difficult, which can lead a learner to mishear a word which may cause the learner to infer a different context despite evidence following the misunderstood word.
High frequency weak forms
These are 51 high-frequency weak forms in English:
| word | weak form |
|---|---|
| a | ə |
| an | ən |
| any | nɪ |
| some | səm sm |
| the | ðə |
| at | ət |
| for | fə |
| from | frəm |
| of | əv ə |
| to | tə |
| and | ənd nd n |
| but | bət |
| as | əz |
| than | ðən ðn |
| that | ðət |
| who | υ hυ |
| there | ðe ðə (+r) |
| he | ɪ hɪ |
| her | ə hə |
| him | ɪm |
| his | ɪz |
| I | ʌ |
| me | mɪ |
| we | wɪ |
| she | ʃɪ |
| them | ðəm ðm |
| us | əs |
| you | jə |
| your | jə |
| our | ɑ: ʌ |
| am | əm |
| are | ə |
| be | bɪ |
| been | bɪn |
| was | wəz |
| were | wə |
| can | kən kn |
| could | kəd kd |
| do | dυ də |
| does | dəz dz |
| had | həd əd |
| has | həz əz |
| have | həv əv |
| must | məst |
| shall | ʃəI ʃI |
| should | ʃəd ʃd |
| will | wəl əI I |
| would | wυd wəd d |
| -n’t | n |
| Saint | sənt snt |
| Sir | sə |
Homophonous weak forms
From the point of view of the listener, homophonous weak forms are identical. They sound the same. When a learner hears these forms, they have to focus to determine which word the speaker is thinking of:
| weak form | intended word |
|---|---|
| ə |
|
| əv |
|
| ən |
|
| əz |
|
| jə |
|
References
- ↑ Gimson 1994
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