1.

Rhythm
Pronouncing sentences
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 want? have v, v*, * Arsenal have won to t, Time to go.
your y, yr Whats your name? has z, z*, z*, s* Mark has gone. for f, fr Its for Mike.
he ee Whats he doing? (*only for have as a helping verb) of v, One of the best
his iz Look at his face. can kn I can do it. from frm Its from China.
she shi She looks OK. do d Where do they live? at t Look at it.
her , , r Give her two. does dz, z, s Does it hurt? out t Get out of here.
them m Give them a go. will l, l Samll go. or , r Give or take.
us s Call us tomorrow. are How are you?.
our aa, aar Hes our man. h h is often dropped from the start was wz It was fun.
and n, n Rock and Roll! of a word: Call him. k lim were w, wr We were there.
3. Linking consonants to vowels a Its a boy!
Consonants Vowels
When a word ends in a consonant and the an - n, n Hes an actor
next word starts with a vowel, we give the consonant to the next word. the dh, dhi On the table
turn off. tur noff P i c k u p a piece of p a p e r
p i ka p pee sv pei pa
4. Linking vowels to vowels
Vowels Vowels
When two vowels come together, we separate them with Y, W or R:
Y After: ee Yes, we are yes wee yaa W After: oo Yes, you are yes yoo waa
ei Yes, they are. yes dhei yaa u No, it isnt. nu w di znt
ai my uncle mai yang kl u How are you? hu waa ya
oi a toy airplane a toi ye plein R After all other vowels (Australia & UK)
aa Grandma is grn maa riz
5. The word ending a becomes before another sound a / Tina and John tee n rn jon
Before a pause Before another sound * I saw a film ai s r film
China. chai na China and Spain. chai n rn spein * is sometimes followed by W.
A teacher. a tee cha A teacher went. a tee ch went Some teachers. sm tee chz
6. When do I pronounce R? Australia & UK only before a vowel. USA always
AUS & UK USA
7. When is a T not a t? car. kaa kaar
a) A quick d The vowel can be in very ve ree ve ree
After a vowel, before an unstressed vowel in the next word ! car up kaa rap kaa rap

vtv WAter w da
OR: At the end of a word, before a vowel b) ] A throat stop (OR: t ] Stop Only t + throat stop)
vt v I ate apples ai yei d plz Vowel + T + Pause (comma, full stop):
ct v Were locked out. we lok dut. vt. No hes not. nu wee zno]
OR: Vowel + T + Consonant.
8. When is a D not a d? vt c Not many. no] menee, Scotland sko] lnd
a) d Stop Only d c) Nothing
(OR: d ] Stop Only + throat stop) Vowel + Unvoiced consonant + T + Consonant
Vowel + D + Pause (comma, full stop): v(Uc)tc most people mus pee pl
vd. Good. gud fact finding fk fain ding
b) Nothing OR: n + T + Unstressed vowel
Vowel + Voiced consonant + D + Consonant

ntv WINter wi na
v(Vc)d ground level grun le vl
handshake hn sheik OR: n + T + Another word
nt c/v I dont see them. a dun see dhm
NOTE: T and D can also change before another consonant
Eg: Not bad nob bd See Harrys Saying consonants together page.