Guys if you want to sound more natural in your English and you want to understand more
of what other people are saying then this is the lesson for you because today we're
going to look at how to pronounce contractions. All that is coming right up, so let's run
the intro.
Alright, let's start with the verb to be. I'm, you're, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're.
I'm, you're, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're. The verb to have. I've, you've, he's, she's,
it's, we've, they've. I've, you've, he's, she's, it's, we've, they've. You'll notice
there that he's, she's and it's can be he is or he has, she is or she has, it is or
it has. So the context of the sentence will tell you which one it is. So look around the
sentence for other clues. For example 'She's really good at football.' She's really good
at football. You can see good is an adjective so she is really good at football. Let's do
the verb will. I'll, you'll, he'll , she'll, it'll, we'll, they'll. I'll, you'll, he'll
, she'll, it'll, we'll, they'll. Now let's look at would or had because again this one
can be either one. So I'd could be I would or I had depending on the context, look at
the sentence to give you clues as to which one it is. So I'd, you'd, he'd, she'd, it'd,
we'd, they'd. I'd, you'd, he'd, she'd, it'd, we'd, they'd. So in the sentence 'I'd love
to go to the cinema' the I'd there is I would love to go to the cinema because of the phrase
would love to, I would love to. Alright, so use the clues within the sentence to help
you understand what the contraction is. Is it would or had? Another common contraction
is let's. It means let us, like 'Let's go to the cinema' but instead of saying 'Let
us go to the cinema' it's let's 'Let's go to the cinema.' It's also common to contract
with a noun. So certainly with names so for example 'Joe's going to the match tonight.'Joe's
is a contraction of Joe is. So Joe's going to the match tonight, Joe is going to the
match tonight. Another example 'Katie'll be at the party tonight.' So Katie'll, that's
quite hard, Katie'll be at the party tonight. Katie will be at the party tonight. So it
becomes 'll so Katie'll be at the party tonight. Quite tricky that one and maybe that's one
where you don't try to say it because it's quite tricky but maybe it's good for receptive
skills. So if you hear other people say something like that you'll know ok I think they've contracted
will in there. So Katie'll be at the party tonight. But yeah if you feel ready to use
that kind of pronunciation fantastic, that would be great.
Ok, let's look at a couple of negative forms. For the verb to be isn't, aren't, wasn't,
weren't. isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't. For do we've got don't, doesn't, didn't. don't,
doesn't, didn't. For have we've got haven't. hasn't, and in the past hadn't. haven't. hasn't,
hadn't.Can not can be contracted to can't. Will not becomes won't. Could not becomes
couldn't and would not becomes wouldn't. Now of course there are variations certainly even
in Britain there are variations of the vowel sounds. So can't, it could be can't in a lot
of places. Up north that softer /æ/ sound the 'a' 'can't instead of /ɑː/. Ok guys
that's a quick look at contractions and how to pronounce them. I think it's super useful
for you guys to start introducing contractions into your spoken English and certainly it's
really useful for your receptive skills to understand what the people around you are
saying. If you are watching TV series, if you are listening to music you are going to
hear contractions all the time. So, be aware of them and if you can try and use them in
your every day English. Alright guys, thank you so much for hanging out with me, I hope
you found it really useful. Remember I've got new videos every Tuesday and every Friday
helping you take your English to the next level. But until next time, this is Tom, the
Chief Dreamer, saying goodbye.