Connected speech links, reduces and changes sounds between words, while stress and intonation carry meaning, attitude and focus. Content words take the stress and function words go weak, so the beat falls on the meaning: The children want to go to the park.
No information at the current level. This view starts at B2: choose B2 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at B2: choose B2 or a higher level.
CheatsheetB2–C2
| Point | Rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weak forms | function words are weak inside a clause, strong at its end | a cup of tea /ə ˈkʌp əv ˈtiː/ | B2 |
| Sentence stress | content words carry the stress; function words stay weak | We want to go to the park. | B2 |
| Linking | a final consonant joins the next vowel; /r/, /j/ and /w/ link vowels | turn off /tɜː.nɒf/ | B2 |
| Elision and assimilation | t and d drop between consonants; a final consonant matches the next | next day /neks deɪ/ · ten boys /tem bɔɪz/ | B2 |
| Intonation | falls for statements and wh-questions, rises for yes-no questions | Where do you live? ↘ / Do you live here? ↗ | B2 |
| Contrastive stress | stress the word that carries the contrast | I didn't say he stole her money. | B2 |
| Informal reductions | you merges with d and t; gonna for going to; h drops | did you /ˈdɪdʒuː/ · going to gonna | C1 |
| Attitude | the same words change meaning with the tune | Really? ↗ / Really? ↘↗ | C1 |
| Focus | new information takes the stress; given words lose it | Who broke it? — Tom broke it. | C1 |
| Trap | statements fall; a final rise sounds like a question | I live in Leeds. ↘ | C1 |
| Key and turns | high key engages, low key closes; falls end turns, rises hold them | That is all from me. ↘ | C2 |
| Stress shift | a stress moves earlier before another stressed syllable | thirteen but thirteen men | C2 |
Strong and weak formsB2
| Word | Weak form | Strong form | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | /ə/ | /eɪ/ | B2 |
| an | /ən/ | /æn/ | B2 |
| the | /ðə/ | /ðiː/ | B2 |
| and | /ən/ | /ænd/ | B2 |
| but | /bət/ | /bʌt/ | B2 |
| to | /tə/ | /tuː/ | B2 |
| of | /əv/ | /ɒv/ | B2 |
| for | /fə/ | /fɔː/ | B2 |
| from | /frəm/ | /frɒm/ | B2 |
| at | /ət/ | /æt/ | B2 |
| can | /kən/ | /kæn/ | B2 |
| was | /wəz/ | /wɒz/ | B2 |
| were | /wə/ | /wɜː/ | B2 |
| have | /həv/ | /hæv/ | B2 |
| has | /həz/ | /hæz/ | B2 |
| had | /həd/ | /hæd/ | B2 |
| do | /də/ | /duː/ | B2 |
| must | /məst/ | /mʌst/ | B2 |
| there | /ðə/ | /ðeə/ | B2 |
| that | /ðət/ | /ðæt/ | B2 |
| some | /səm/ | /sʌm/ | B2 |
| her | /hə/ | /hɜː/ | B2 |
| them | /ðəm/ | /ðem/ | B2 |
| Where the strong form appears | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| At the end of a clause | What are you looking at? / Yes, she can. | B2 |
| In a contrast | It is a gift from Ana, not for her. | B2 |
| For emphasis | I do like it! | B2 |
- Inside a clause, articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns and conjunctions take their weak form.
- Before a vowel, the, to and do become /ðɪ/, /tʊ/ and /dʊ/; for, were and there add /r/.
- As a conjunction, that is weak; as a demonstrative it is strong. I know that she is right. / That one is mine.
- In there is, there is weak; as a word for a place it is strong. There is a bus stop over there.
- US: In US English the strong forms of was, of and from have /ʌ/ in place of /ɒ/.
- The IPA symbols are set out in Sounds and IPA.
Sentence stress and rhythmB2
| Words | In the sentence | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs | stressed | The children want to go to the park. | B2 |
| Question words, negatives, demonstratives and numbers | stressed | I don't know where he lives. | B2 |
| Articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns and conjunctions | weak | The children want to go to the park. /ðə ˈtʃɪldrən ˈwɒnt tə ˈgəʊ tə ðə ˈpɑːk/ | B2 |
- Stressed syllables come at regular beats; the unstressed syllables between them are said faster and shorter.
- Sentences with the same number of stresses take about the same time. Dogs eat bones. / The dogs are eating the bones.
LinkingB2
| Link | Rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consonant to vowel | a final consonant moves to the next syllable | turn off /tɜː.nɒf/ · pick it up /ˈpɪ.kɪ.tʌp/ | B2 |
| Linking r | written r is pronounced before a vowel | far away /ˌfɑː.rəˈweɪ/ · later on /ˈleɪ.tə.rɒn/ | B2 |
| Intrusive r | /r/ is added after /ɔː/, /ɑː/ and /ə/ before a vowel | law and order /ˌlɔː.rənˈɔː.də/ · sofa and chair /ˈsəʊ.fə.rən.tʃeə/ | B2 |
| Glide j | /j/ joins /iː/, /eɪ/, /aɪ/ and /ɔɪ/ to a vowel | I agree /aɪ.jəˈgriː/ · say it /seɪ.jɪt/ | B2 |
| Glide w | /w/ joins /uː/, /əʊ/ and /aʊ/ to a vowel | go on /gəʊ.wɒn/ · how about /ˌhaʊ.wəˈbaʊt/ | B2 |
- In IPA, a dot marks a syllable break.
- US: US English pronounces every r, so it has no linking r and no intrusive r.
- US: Between vowels US English says t as a flap /ɾ/, so get it is /ˈgeɾɪt/.
ElisionB2
| Lost sound | Rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| t and d | t or d disappears between two consonants | next day /neks deɪ/ · old man /əʊl mæn/ · last night /lɑːs naɪt/ | B2 |
| Unstressed vowel | an unstressed vowel is lost in some words | comfortable /ˈkʌmftəbl/ · interesting /ˈɪntrəstɪŋ/ · different /ˈdɪfrənt/ | B2 |
AssimilationB2
| Change | Before | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| /n/ → /m/ | /p/ · /b/ · /m/ | ten boys /tem bɔɪz/ · handbag /ˈhæmbæg/ | B2 |
| /d/ → /b/ | /p/ · /b/ · /m/ | good morning /gʊb ˈmɔːnɪŋ/ · road map /rəʊb mæp/ | B2 |
| /t/ → /p/ | /p/ · /b/ · /m/ | that man /ðæp mæn/ · right place /raɪp pleɪs/ | B2 |
| /n/ → /ŋ/ | /k/ · /g/ | ten girls /teŋ gɜːlz/ · in case /ɪŋ keɪs/ | B2 |
- The last sound of a word changes to match the first sound of the next word.
Intonation: the main tunesB2
| Tune | Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall ↘ | statements, wh-questions and commands | I live in Leeds. ↘ / Where do you live? ↘ | B2 |
| Rise ↗ | yes-no questions | Do you live in Leeds? ↗ | B2 |
| Fall-rise ↘↗ | reservation, with something left unsaid | The room was clean. ↘↗ | B2 |
| Rise-rise-fall | lists | We need eggs, ↗ milk, ↗ and bread. ↘ | B2 |
- A tone unit is a stretch of speech with one tune; short pauses separate tone units.
- The nucleus is the main stressed syllable of a tone unit, usually on its last content word. I have lost my keys.
- For the tunes of questions and tags, see Questions and negatives and Question Tags.
Contrastive stressB2
| Stress on | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| I didn't say he stole her money. | Someone else said it. | B2 |
| I didn't say he stole her money. | I never said it. | B2 |
| I didn't say he stole her money. | I only hinted at it. | B2 |
| I didn't say he stole her money. | I said another person stole it. | B2 |
| I didn't say he stole her money. | He took it in another way. | B2 |
| I didn't say he stole her money. | He stole someone else's money. | B2 |
| I didn't say he stole her money. | He stole something else of hers. | B2 |
- Stress the word that differs from what the listener expects; the other words keep their normal weight.
Informal reductionsC1
| Full form | In speech | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| did you | /ˈdɪdʒuː/ | What did you say? | C1 |
| meet you | /ˈmiːtʃuː/ | Nice to meet you. | C1 |
| going to | gonna /ˈgənə/ | It is gonna rain. | C1 |
| want to | wanna /ˈwɒnə/ | I wanna go home. | C1 |
| have to | hafta /ˈhæftə/ | We hafta leave now. | C1 |
| got to | gotta /ˈgɒtə/ | I gotta go. | C1 |
| kind of | kinda /ˈkaɪndə/ | It is kinda cold. | C1 |
| let me | lemme /ˈlemi/ | Lemme see. | C1 |
| don't know | dunno /dəˈnəʊ/ | I dunno. | C1 |
| tell him | /ˈtelɪm/ | Did you tell him? | C1 |
| and | /n/ | fish and chips | C1 |
| t before a consonant | /ʔ/ | football | C1 |
- Before you and your, a final /d/ or /t/ merges with /j/ into /dʒ/ or /tʃ/.
- After another word, he, him, his, her, have, has and had lose /h/.
- Informal reductions suit casual speech; formal speech keeps the full forms.
Intonation and attitudeC1
| Tune | Attitude | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall ↘ | flat, final or uninterested | Really. ↘ / Thanks. ↘ | C1 |
| Rise ↗ | interest, or a real question | Really? ↗ / Oh yes? ↗ | C1 |
| Fall-rise ↘↗ | doubt or disbelief | Really? ↘↗ / Oh yes? ↘↗ | C1 |
| Rise-fall ↗↘ | strong feeling: surprise, warmth or irony | Really? ↗↘ / Thanks! ↗↘ | C1 |
- The tune carries the attitude, so the same words change meaning.
Intonation and grammarC1
| Point | Rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defining relative clause | one tone unit, with no pause | The students who passed the exam were pleased. | C1 |
| Non-defining relative clause | its own tone unit, with a pause on each side | The students, ↗ who passed the exam, ↗ were pleased. ↘ | C1 |
| Parenthetical phrase | lower and faster, in a tone unit of its own | The film, I think, was too long. | C1 |
| Echo question | repeats the word heard with a rise, to check or to show surprise | I am moving to Oslo. — Oslo? ↗ | C1 |
| Open list | a final rise shows that the list goes on | Bring pens, ↗ paper, ↗ ink, ↗ | C1 |
- For the tunes of question tags, see Question Tags.
Focus and new informationC1
| Point | Rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New information | the nucleus falls on the word that adds something new | There is a letter for you. | C1 |
| Given words | words already in the conversation lose their stress | I wanted the red car, but they only had the blue car. | C1 |
| Clefts | the stress falls on the word in focus | It was Tom who broke it. / What I need is a rest. | C1 |
| Answers | the answer word takes the stress and the rest is weak | Who broke it? — Tom broke it. | C1 |
Pitch range and keyC2
| Pitch | Effect | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High key | engagement, surprise or excitement | You have got the job? ↗ | C2 |
| Low key | finality, seriousness or calm | That is my decision. ↘ | C2 |
| Wide range | enthusiasm | It was absolutely wonderful! | C2 |
| Narrow range | boredom or restraint | It was fine. | C2 |
- Key is the overall height of the voice; range is the distance between its highest and lowest notes.
Stress shiftC2
| Before a pause | Before a stressed syllable | |
|---|---|---|
| He is thirteen. | thirteen men | C2 |
| She is Japanese. | Japanese food | C2 |
| It is unknown. | unknown author | C2 |
- The rhythm rule: a word's stress moves to an earlier syllable before another stressed syllable.
Hesitation and discourse structureC2
| Signal | Effect | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filler | a level tone holds the turn while you think | I think, um, we should wait. | C2 |
| New topic | the pitch starts high again after a pause | That is the budget. ↘ Now, the schedule. | C2 |
| Fall ↘ | ends the turn | That is all from me. ↘ | C2 |
| Rise ↗ | keeps the floor: more is coming | First we call the client, ↗ and then … | C2 |
Typical errorsC1
| Wrong | Right | Rule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I want to go to the park. | I want to go to the park. | stress content words only; function words stay weak | C1 |
| I live in Leeds. ↗ | I live in Leeds. ↘ | a statement ends in a fall; a rise sounds like a question or a doubt | C1 |
| turn off /tɜːn ʔɒf/ | turn off /tɜː.nɒf/ | link a final consonant to the vowel that follows | C1 |
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The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.Start over
The AlphabetA0The 26 letters of the English alphabet and their names, used to spell words aloud.