E P Tips

English Pronunciation Tips

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    • Ear-training 1
    • Ear-training 2
    • Ear-training 3
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    • Ear-training 5
    • Ear-training 6
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    • No syllabic n, thank you!
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  • Names
    • -bo(u)rne
    • -borough -burgh
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  • Sounds
  • Spelling to sound
    • <-se> Episode 1
    • <-se> Episode 2
    • <-se> Episode 3
    • <a> is not ʌ
    • <ai>
    • <al>
    • <au>
    • <bt>
    • <cc>
    • <ch> = k
    • <ch> = ʃ
    • <ea> = e
    • <eak>
    • <ear> = ɜː
    • <ease>
    • <ei> = eɪ
    • <eigh>
    • <eo>
    • <g> = ʒ
    • <gain>
    • <ge> and <gi>
    • <gn>
    • <i> = iː
    • <mb>
    • <ng>
    • <ng> again
    • <o> = uː
    • <on> = ʌn
    • <ood>
    • <ose>
    • <ost>
    • <ou> = uː
    • <ou> = ʌ
    • <ough>
    • <ound>
    • <oup>
    • <our> = ɜː
    • <ove> = ʌv
    • <ove> does not = ʌv
    • <qu> = k
    • <s> = ʒ
    • <ss>
    • <th> = t
    • <ui>
    • <w(h)a> and <qua(w)>
    • <wor> = wɜː
    • Initial <th> = ð
    • Silent <h>
    • Silent <s>
    • Silent <w>
  • Stress
    • -aire
    • -eer
    • -esque
    • -ette
    • -ic and -ical
    • -ity
    • -ocracy
    • -oo
    • -oon
    • -proof
    • -worthy
    • Abbreviations
    • Blue, green, red
    • Roads and Streets
    • Stress variation
    • Stressful Christmas?
  • Symbols
  • Transcriptions
    • Transcription 1
  • Vowels
    • No schwa!
    • Vowel alternation: aɪ ~ ɪ
    • Vowel alternation: eɪ ~ æ
    • Vowel alternation: iː ~ e
    • Vowel alternation: əʊ ~ ɒ
    • ə elision in the first syllable
  • Word endings
    • -(m)ony = (m)əni
    • -(n)gue
    • -ac
    • -ade
    • -age = ɑːʒ
    • -ance
    • -ane
    • -ary and -ory
    • -ate
    • -chief
    • -cious
    • -eous
    • -et
    • -ex(e)
    • -ful(ly)
    • -gm
    • -i = aɪ
    • -ice
    • -ine
    • -ious
    • -ique
    • -ite = ɪt
    • -less
    • -ment
    • -mn
    • -ngle
    • -nomy & -tomy
    • -olic
    • -on
    • -oose
    • -oric(al)
    • -our
    • -our = aʊə
    • -path
    • -pathy
    • -re
    • -sis
    • -sten & -stle
    • -ture
    • -ward(s)
    • Non-silent <e>

Stranding

Look at the sentence below:

He can run faster than I can.

Is there any difference in pronunciation between the first occurrence of can and the second? The answer is yes. The first can be pronounced with a weak form kən if it is unstressed. The second is not usually weak no matter what its stress status is. It is pronounced kæn.

ˈhiː kən rʌn ˈfɑːstə ðən ˈaɪ kæn

The reason is that the second can is stranded. Modal verbs like can and auxiliary verbs like have are usually followed by a main verb. In our sentence this is true of the first, but not of the second occurrence of can. The main verb has been left out here and the modal is stranded. Stranded modals and auxiliaries are always strong. Here are some more examples:

Fred likes cabbage more than Jim does. (= dʌz)

They’ve spent more money than we have. (= hæv)

She made the same mistakes as the candidates had (= hæd) before her.

Stranded words often occur at the end of a sentence, but the last example shows that this is not always the case.
http://blogjam.name/EPTips/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/stranding.mp3
Alternative sound


2013_12_19
Updated 2015_03_27

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    Latest update: 2015_04_18
    Number of tips: 246
    Number of tips with sound: 42

    Latest changes:

    Updated and added sound to -ese

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