Geor-... Eh, shit.
...forget to... shit.
Hi everyone, my name's Max
and today we are going to look at something which is hopefully going to
help you understand more fast English. First of all, don't forget to subscribe
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Fortnightly means every two weeks. It's not going to be a long newsletter.
It's just going to consist of five or six tips related to the English language and
learning English. If you would like to receive that, you can click on the link
in the description. The first one will be sent on Monday. Today we are going to
look at some very common reductions. A reduction is when a sound in a word
changes or disappears. Contractions are examples of reductions. I've already done
several videos on contractions and if you would like to watch those, you'll
find the links in the description. When people speak quickly they normally use
lots of reductions, and to be honest, most native speakers don't even realise they do it.
I want to emphasise that I'm doing this video mainly to help your
comprehension. I don't recommend that you make a big effort to try to use them
when you speak. If you're regularly listening to English and practicing your
speaking, then you'll probably start to use them automatically.
You'll notice that throughout this video I'll be saying we OFTEN
reduce this word to "this". That's because we don't reduce these words all the time.
We only reduce them when we're not
emphasising them. If we're speaking slowly and clearly, we also often don't
reduce them. In addition, not all native speakers speak the same. I'm not just
talking about different accents. Even people with the same accent sometimes
have different speech habits.
The first word is "and". This is often reduced to /ən/. /ən/.
In Australia we often eat with a knife and fork. Knife and fork.
Frank, I'm sick and tired of your nonsense. Sick and tired.
The second word is "as". This is often reduced to /əz/. /əz/.
The clouds are so dark outside it's as if it were nighttime. As if. As if.
Frank can't run as fast as George. As George.
When I use this construction, I normally don't reduce the first "as". So I say: "as fast as".
But you can say "as fast as". So that would be: Frank can't run as fast as George.
As fast as George.
To be honest, George doesn't technically run - he hops.
The third word is "but". "But" is often reduced to /bət/. /bət/ .
I know ice cream isn't healthy, but I eat it anyway. But I eat it. But I eat it
Frank is often naughty, but I still love him. But I still. But I still.
The next word is "can". This is often reduced to /kən/. /kən/.
He can speak four languages. He can. He can.
Can you do it now? No, but I can do it later.
Personally when I start a sentence with "can", I normally say "can". Can you do it now?
But you can say it either way. Be careful here because you can't reduce
"can't". We don't say /kənt/. We always say "can't", or in American English: "can't".
The next word is "for". This is often reduced to /fə/. /fə/.
This book is for you. For you.
If the next word starts with a vowel sound, we normally pronounce the R.
For example: This book is for Andrew. For Andrew.
In standard American English you always pronounce the R.
For example: This book is for you. For you.
This book is for me. For me.
The next word is "from". This is often reduced to /frəm/. /frəm/.
I'm from Australia. From Australia.
She took her pen from the table. From the table.
The next word is "of". This is often reduced to /əv/ or /ə/.
Would you like a glass of water? Glass of water.
Or you could say: Would you like a glass of water? Glass of water.
No, I'd like a glass of wine.
The final word for today is "to". This is often reduced to /tə/.
They asked me to wait. To wait.
I think I'll give this to Frank. To Frank.
I hope you found that useful. If you did, please hit the thumbs up
and share it with anyone you know who is also learning English.
Remember that if you would like to sign up for my free newsletter,
you need to click on the link in the description. See you next time.
Frank you smell, that's why you need deodorant.
Well, maybe you should have had a shower.