How To Pronounce CONTRACTIONS | ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

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.