Look at the sentence below:<\/p>\n
He can run faster than I can.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Is there any difference in pronunciation between the first occurrence of can <\/em>and the second? The answer is yes. The first can be pronounced with a weak form k\u0259n<\/span> if it is unstressed. The second is not usually weak no matter what its stress status is. It is pronounced k\u00e6n<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\u02c8hi\u02d0 k\u0259n r\u028cn \u02c8f\u0251\u02d0st\u0259 \u00f0\u0259n \u02c8a\u026a k\u00e6n<\/span><\/p>\n
The reason is that the second can <\/em>is stranded. Modal verbs like can <\/em>and auxiliary verbs like have <\/em>are usually followed by a main verb. In our sentence this is true of the first, but not of the second occurrence of can<\/em>. 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:<\/p>\n
Fred likes cabbage more than Jim does. (=\u00a0d\u028cz<\/span>)<\/p>\n
They’ve spent more money than we have. (= h\u00e6v<\/span>)<\/p>\n
She made the same mistakes as the candidates had (= h\u00e6d<\/span>) before her.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Stranded words often occur at the end of a sentence, but the last example shows that this is not always the case.
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