How to say 'What time is it?' | American English

9,381 views ・ 2017-06-06

Accent's Way English with Hadar


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:00
Hey guys, it's Hadar, and this is the Accent's Way.
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And today I'm going to teach you how to ask for the time.
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Basically using the phrase, "what time is it?"
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"What time is it?"
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Now, this is the basic phrase.
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You could make it more polite by adding "excuse me", and "please" at the end.
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Or make it more informal, asking your friend, "Hey, what time is it?"
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What time is it?
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So let's break it down.
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The first word has a schwa in it, so it's a W sound, and then a reduced vowel - the
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schwa - 'w'-', 'w'-'.
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And then a T - 'w't'.
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But then, since you connect it to the next word, then the T is held, 'w't', and then
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you release it when you're already saying the word "time", "time".
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Now, when the T appears at the beginning of a word, it is aspirated.
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So it feels like there is a little H after it.
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Listen - 't/h/ime'.
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And then it's the 'ai' as in "my" vowel sound.
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"What time?"
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The "time" is the primary stress of the phrase.
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Therefore, it is going to be longer, louder, and higher in pitch.
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Listen, "what TIME is it?"
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"Is it".
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And then the two other words - "is" an "it" - reduce into two schwas.
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'z't, 'z't, they're connected - 'z't.
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And I just say them together along with the entire phrase.
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"What time is it?"
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'z't, all right?
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The T, as you can hear at the end, is held.
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So I'm not saying 'iz it'.
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Right?
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I don't pop the T.
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I just bring the tongue up and stop the air abruptly, 'z't.
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"What time is it?"
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"What time is it?"
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Hey, can you tell me what time is it please?
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What time is it?
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All right, good.
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So now, I hope you'd never be late again because you'll know how to ask for the time.
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That's it.
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I hope this was helpful.
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Please share this video with your friends if you liked it, and come over to my
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website to check it out, and get more great content, like a "list of the 50 most
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commonly mispronounced words in English".
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Interesting, right?
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So check it out.
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Have a great week, and I'll see you next week in the next video.
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Bye.
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