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Weak and Strong Forms

The document discusses weak and strong forms of function words in English. Function words have dual pronunciations with either full or reduced vowels. Weak forms are the normal pronunciation as function words are usually unstressed. Strong forms are used when function words occur at the end of a sentence, are negated, are pronounced alone, or are emphasized.

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45 views1 page

Weak and Strong Forms

The document discusses weak and strong forms of function words in English. Function words have dual pronunciations with either full or reduced vowels. Weak forms are the normal pronunciation as function words are usually unstressed. Strong forms are used when function words occur at the end of a sentence, are negated, are pronounced alone, or are emphasized.

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ranoucharaoui
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Weak and Strong Forms

Words are divided into two types: content words and function words. The former are words
that carry meaning and contribute to the lexical significance of the whole utterance. This
class groups nouns, main verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Function words, on the other hand, are those words that are mainly used to serve a
grammatical purpose: link two words/clauses, identify the position of something in reference
to something else, etc. This class includes prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, etc.

In English, the latter category of words has a dual pronunciation: strong and weak. What
makes the difference between both pronunciations is the replacement of full vowels by their
reduced counterparts: /ə/, /ʊ/ and /ɪ/.

E.g. From = /frɒm/ Vs. /frəm/

She = /ʃi:/ Vs. /ʃɪ/

You = /ju:/ Vs. /jʊ/

Important: You should bear in mind that the weak form is the normal pronunciation as
these words are usually unstressed.

When do weak forms become strong?

In the following circumstances, function words are pronounced in their strong forms:

 When they occur at the end of the sentence/utterance:

E.g.1: Where are you from?

E.g.2: Yes, I am.

 When the function word is negated:

E.g. I can’t speak German (the stress is always on ‘not’ even when it is abbreviated)

 When the function word is pronounced on its own, as a ‘citation form’:

E.g. You shouldn’t put ‘and’ at the end of a sentence

 When the function word is emphasized/contrasted with another word:

E.g.1: I do like your car.

E.g.2: I said at five o’clock, not before.

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