How to pronounce the 10 most common verbs in English

Hello, everybody. My name is Emma; and in today's video, we are going to learn

how to pronounce the top ten most common verbs in English. The interesting thing

about the top ten most common verbs are they are all irregular verbs. So, we're

going to look at how to pronounce them in their different forms — including the

present tense, the past tense, and the past participle tense — so you're going

to hear a lot of different pronunciation. And again, this is a very

important lesson, because you will hear these verbs a lot, as well as you will

be using them a lot, because they are the top ten most common ones. And a lot

of the times when students are learning pronunciation, they feel overwhelmed.

They think: "Hmm. There's just so many words. What should I focus on?" Well, I

think that learning the top ten verbs of English and their different forms is a

great way to start with pronunciation because, again, all of these words are

very common. So, let's get started.

The most common verb in English is the verb: "to be" or the "be" verb. Now,

there are different forms of the verb, depending on if we are talking about:

"I", "you", "he", "she", "it", "we", or "they". Okay? So, let's look at the

pronunciation of each of these different parts of the verb. We have: "I am",

"am". This is pronounced just like the letter "m". "I am". Now, usually, when

we're in conversation, we don't say: "I am"; we actually shorten this into a

contraction. We often say: "I'm", "I'm"; "I'm hungry", "I'm tired". So, I can

say: "I am", but I'm more likely to say: "I'm" in conversation. Okay? So, why

don't you repeat after me this word? Because it's hard for many people to

pronounce, but it's so common. "I'm", "I'm". If it helps you to remember, it

rhymes with "time". "Time", "I'm". Okay. Now we have the... the part... the

conjugation of the "be" verb, which is "are". We use "are" with "you", or with

"we": "you are", "we are". Now, remember I said this one sounds like the letter

"m"? This sounds like the English letter "r". "Are". So, it's nice and simple.

When we're talking about the opposite of "are" — when we're talking about the

negative version, which is: "are not", like: "you are not" — we can actually

say: "aren't". So, this is the contraction of "are not": "you aren't",

"aren't". And this is how it's spelt. Notice there's an apostrophe, here. So,

this is another way to say: "are not" — we can say: "aren't". Okay. So, we have

"am", "are", "is". Many students actually mispronounce this word: "is",

and it's a very common word in English. The reason they mispronounce it is

because the "s", here, actually sounds like a "z" sound. So, I'm going to put a

little "z" here to help you remember this. Listen to my pronunciation: "is",

"is". Now, I'm really stressing it; I wouldn't do that in conversation. But

many students actually say: "is", where they pronounce it like an "s", but it's

actually pronounced like a "z" at the end. "is". And then we have, here, the

negative version. So, we can say: "he is", "she is". The negative version is

"is not". Or, if I want to use a contraction, I can say: "isn't",

"isn't". And notice for this, it's two parts: "isn't", and one part is louder

and longer. The first part is louder and longer. So, listen carefully. "Isn't",

"he isn't here", "she isn't here". Okay. So, we've talked about "I'm", so we've

talked about: "I am", "you are", "he is", "she is", "we are", "they are". So,

these are the words we use when we're talking about "be" in the present tense,

or sometimes we use these as what are called "helping verbs". But the main

thing to learn right now is just focus on the pronunciation. This is less about

grammar; more about pronunciation.

Now, if we're talking about the past, like we're talking about yesterday or a

year ago, sometime in the past, we can use the "be" verb in the past tense. So,

we have: "was" and "were". Again, these are... they mean the same thing; we just

use different ones depending on if we're talking about: "I", "you", "he", "she",

"they" or "we". We can say: "I was", "he was", "she was", "it was". So, notice

the pronunciation: "was". Now, if we're talking about: "you" or "they", we can

use "were"; "you were", "they were". Okay? So, it's a short-sounding word:

"were". Now, if we wanted to talk about the negative form of this word, the

pronunciation is: "wasn't", "wasn't". If we wanted to talk about the

pronunciation of this word, in the negative form, we would say: "weren't",

"weren't". "You weren't there", "they weren't there", "we weren't there". So,

those are some examples. Now, the third form of the verb is called the "past

participle". So, a "past participle" you will find in different types of grammar.

I'll give you one example. We use it a lot in something called "the present

perfect". So, I might say something like: "I have been to China", "been".

This is a word that many students mispronounce. It's pronounced like:

"bin". I hear many students say: "bean", where they try to make it a long "e",

but it's more like: "been". Okay? So, it's a bit shorter. So, there's a lot of

words we've covered here, but they all mean "be"; they're just different

conjugations or different tenses.

The next word that's the second most common verb in English is: "have", "to

have". So, we have "have" with a "v" sound, or "has" with a "z" sound at the

end. Even though it has an "s", we pronounce it like a "z". So, we can say:

"I have", "you have", "he has", "she has", "they have". So, this is the verb

in the present tense. Now, if we are talking about the past tense, we can use

the verb "had", "had". And we can use this for all of the different

conjugations — "had". So, notice the "a" sound in this: "had". My mouth goes

really big when I pronounce this "a", here: "had". Now, if I wanted to talk

about the negative form of this, I could say: "hadn't". This means "had not" —

"hadn't". And, again, in terms of the past participle, if we're talking about

the present perfect, for example, I can say: "I have had". So, this is the past

participle. If you don't know what a "past participle" is — you're not alone;

it's a very confusing term. The main thing I want to teach here is just the

pronunciation of words you will hear. Again, the grammar is not so important;

it's more about the pronunciation. There's something I forgot. We have the

word "hasn't", "hasn't". "He hasn't". So, notice how that's pronounced. Again,

"n" apostrophe "t" is pronounced almost like: "ent", "ent". "He hasn't". And

this part is usually said quieter and shorter; whereas the "has" part is

longer and louder. Now, if we wanted to practice the pronunciation of the

negative form of "have", we could say... Any guesses? "Haven't". So, again, we

have that "ent" sound at the end, and "have" is said louder and longer.

"Haven't". And this just means "have not". But, again, in conversation, we

don't usually say: "have not"; we usually say: "haven't". Okay. So, we've

covered the first two most common words in English... or verbs in English. And

the nice thing about the rest of what we're going to be doing is there's less

forms of it. The first two have so many different forms, so that's why we've

spent a lot of time on this. But the rest of these have fewer conjugations,

so it will make it easier for you to remember their pronunciations.

So, the next most common word in English is "do", "to do", "oo". So, notice how I

pronounce "do". It's not "doe", even though there's an "o", here. "Do", it

rhymes with "u". So, we have here, what's this letter? This is a "u", "do",

"u". Okay? So, they rhyme. "I do". Then we have the "you" form: "you do". We

have the "he" and "she" form: "he does", "she does". And notice, again, the "s"

sounds more like a "z": "does". Then we have the negative form: "don't", "I

don't know", "don't". And notice this... the vowels between these two actually

kind of change: "do", "oo"; "don't", "own". So, the vowels actually sound

kind of different. And then we have this word: "doesn't". Again, we have the

"ent" and the stress is on the first part; you say that part louder and

longer: "doesn't", "doesn't". Okay. So, these are all the present tense of this

verb. And, again, we're covering so many different ones. Because we're covering:

"I", "you", "he", "she", "it" and "they" and their conjugations for "do". Now

let's look at the past tense. So, again, when we're talking about the past, we're

talking about yesterday, or last week, last month, last year. So, that is this

area. The past tense of "do" is: "did", "did". So, we have, here, a short "i"

sound. Many students mispronounce this word specifically; many students say:

"deed", like, where they make a very long "e" sound, but that's not correct

for this sound. What we're looking for is the short "i" sound. So, look at my

mouth. Notice my mouth is not tight; it's actually quite loose and relaxed.

And it's just very small. So, let's start just with the "id" part. "id",

"i", "id", "did". It's the same "i" you will find in the word: "it". So, the "i"

here has the same sound as the "i" here: "did", "it". Okay?

Now, when we're talking about something that is the opposite of "did", we can

talk about "did not". Or in conversation, we often use the word:

"didn't", "didn't". And, again, we have this "nt" so that sounds like "ent", and

you'll notice this part is the part we say louder and longer; it's the stressed

part. "Didn't", "I didn't do it". You'll notice with a lot of these words, the

stress is really important for our pronunciation. We really need to pay

attention to what part we say louder and longer, and what part we say a little

quieter and shorter. If... especially if you want to sound more like a local

speaker of English or if you feel people don't understand you well — making sure

that you're using the stress correctly is very important to improving your

pronunciation. So we have "did" and "didn't". Now, what's the past

participle of "do"? The past participle is: "done", "done", "un", "done". So,

this... the "o" in this is not: "don"; it's a smaller "o" sound — it's: "un",

"done". So, it rhymes with: "un" So, this "u" sound, it sounds like "un". The

"o" in here sounds like: "done"; they rhyme. Okay? So, maybe that can help you

with the pronunciation. So, we've covered the top three English verbs and

how to pronounce them. We've covered a lot of actually... a lot of words. Now,

let's look at the rest of the words in English and their pronunciations.

Okay, so we've already covered a lot of different words. So, now let's cover the

fourth most common word which is: "say" — the verb "to say" something; "say".

So, we often say: "I say", "you say", "we say", "they say". Notice how I

pronounce this? So, it's one syllable: "say", and it kind of sounds like "a",

in terms of the pronunciation. The verb... Or, sorry. The vowel sounds like

"a": "say"; "a". Okay? So, it's an "a" sound, like the letter "a"; it rhymes —

"say". Now, the pronunciation of this word really changes when we add an "s",

even the vowel sound changes in this. So, I said: "say". When we're talking

about "he" or "she", or "it", it becomes: "says", "says". And notice the

"s" here? So, this "s" actually sounds like a "z" sound; a "z" sound: "says",

"says". It kind of reminds me of the pronunciation — I don't know if you know

about the candy — we call it "Pez", where you have, like, an animal or

something, and you lift the head up, and a little piece of candy pops out. "Pez".

The vowel sounds similar: "says". So, listen, again, to the difference between

these two words and the vowel, specifically: "say", "says"; "say". And

notice my lips are really tight here? "Say", "says". So, even the way my mouth

moves is different. So, this is in the present. Now, if we're talking about

yesterday, or last week, or the past tense, we would say: "said", "said". It

rhymes with the name "Ed". "Said". Can you say this word? "Said". And if we're

talking about the past participle... So, for example, in the present perfect, I

can say: "I have said"— it's the exact same pronunciation and the same word as

the past. So, the past participle and the past tense are the same, so that

makes it a little bit easier for you. It's just: "said" and "said".

Now, the fifth most common word in English... not word; verb, is: "get",

"to get". So, again, this is our present tense column. If I'm talking about "I":

"I get it", "you get", "we get", "they get", "get", "get". Now, when we add an

"s" here for "he" and "she": "he gets it", "she gets it", "gets". Does this

sound like a "z" or like an "s"? So, listen carefully: "gets", "gets". It's

actually an "s" sound. So, this sounds like an "s". We've talked about a lot of

other words where the "s" sounds like a "z"; in this case, the "s" actually

sounds like an "s", so that makes it a little bit easier. "Gets". Now, the past

tense of this word is: "got", "got". So, we change the "e" to an "o" to make the

past tense. "Yesterday, I got it", "got". So, this rhymes with a lot of

different words. We can... it rhymes with: "caught"; "got". It rhymes with:

"bought", which is the past tense of "buy"; "ah". So, let's practice the verb

here. "ah", "ot", "ot". And now let's add the "g": "got", "got". Okay. So,

that's the past tense. Now, if we're talking about the past participle, or

the verb we use when we use "have" in front of it or "had", we use the word:

"gotten", "gotten". "I have gotten great marks", "I have gotten it", "gotten".

So, what do you notice about where the stress is? What part do we say louder

and longer? "gotten". Well, if you said this part is louder and longer, you are

correct. There's two parts to the pronunciation of this word, and the

first part is louder; the second part is quieter. "Gotten", "she has gotten it".

Okay? So, we have done: "say", "get".

Now, let's do the sixth most common word... verb, which is: "make", "make".

"I make", "you make", "we make", "they make". It rhymes with "cake". So, we

have the word: "cake"; "make". So, they sound very similar. Now, if I wanted to

talk about "he" or "she", or "it", I use the word: "makes", "makes". Now, what do

you notice about the "s", here? Is the "s" pronounced like a "z" or like an

"s"? So, listen carefully: "makes", "makes". It's actually pronounced like

an "s"; it's not a "z" sound. So, the "s" sounds like an "s": "makes". And

notice it's only one syllable; it's not: "makes"; "makes". So, it's one part.

Now, if we're talking about the past tense — sorry — the past tense of this

word, we say: "made", "made"; "ade", "made". So, let's start just with the...

this part. Pronounce this: "ade", "a", "ade". Now, if we had the "m": "made",

"made". One thing you can do when you're learning how to pronounce different

words is you can actually look at what your mouth is doing with a mirror.

You'll notice that for some of these vowel sounds, my mouth goes really big;

and for other vowel sounds, my mouth actually goes small. Or sometimes my

mouth goes really tight; sometimes it goes more loose. So, watch what my lips

are doing, and then when you pronounce these vowels, you can use a mirror and

try to do a similar positioning of your lips. Okay. So, we talked about the past

tense: "made"; now, let's talk about the past participle: "I have made it",

"made". So, it's the same pronunciation as the past tense, and it's actually the

same word, so this is nice and easy. That one will be easy for you to

remember.

The seventh most common verb in English is the verb: "go", "to go". Now, I can

use: "I go". And notice the vowel sound, here; it's nice and easy. We have an

"o", and in this case, it actually... the vowel sounds like the letter: "go",

"o". This one's easier to remember. Now, when we are talking about: "he" or

"she", we need to add "es", and it becomes: "goes", "goes". Now, what do

you notice about the "s" sound, here? Is it a "z" sound, like a "z"; or is it a

"s" sound, like an "s"? "Goes". It's actually a "z" sound. So, this sounds

more like a "z". So, my main point with this is: Anytime you see an "s" at the

end of an English word, you should always think: "Is it going to be a 's'

sound or a 'z' sound?" Because the "s" in English, the writing of the "s" —

this letter — can be either a "z" sound or an "s" sound, so it's something to

pay attention to. Now, the past tense of "go" is "went", "went". "I went to the

bookstore", "went". Let's just do this part. "ent", "ent". Notice my lips are

not stretched? They're nice and loose: "ent". And I'm not doing any big mouth

movements with this; everything's relaxed and kind of small. Now, I can

add the "w": "went", "I went to the bookstore." Now, the... so, we've talked

about the past tense: "went". Now, let's talk about the past participle. The past

participle of "go" is "gone", so the vowel changes. "Gone". "Go"; "gone", "he

is gone", "on". It rhymes with... sounds more like "on", "on", "gone". Okay? "I

have gone to bed", "I went to bed", "I go to bed". So, these all have the same

meaning; the difference is we're using different tenses and the words are

slightly different, but they are all forms of the word "go". So, we've

covered seven of the most common verbs in English and their pronunciations.

Let's look at the last three. We are almost finished.

So, the eighth most common word in... or most common verb — sorry — in English is

"know", "I know". What do you notice about the "k", here? Do we pronounce it?

Do we say: "k-now"? No, the "k" is actually silent; we don't pronounce the

"k". We need it there when we spell it, but not when we pronounce this word. So,

if I'm talking about: "I know", "you know", "we know", "they know" — the

pronunciation is just like the word: "no". Okay? So: "I know", "we know",

"they know". So, it's easier, I think, to pronounce than some of the other

words we've been looking at. Now, when we are talking about "he" or "she" — we

need to add this "s", here. So, we would say: "he knows", "she knows". What do

you notice about the "s" sound? Does it sound like a "z" or like a "s"? Is it a

"z" sound or an "s" sound at the end? "Knows", "knows". It's a little bit of a

"z" sound. Okay? So, we've covered the present tense. If we're talking about

the past, again, like last week, last month, in 1996, the past, we would use

the word: "knew", "knew". So, again, the "k" is silent. You'll notice that the

letter for the vowel in the middle is different; it's now an "e", and the

pronunciation is different. We have: "know", "knew", "ew". So, it has that

"ew" sound in it. So, let's just start by saying: "ew", and now let's add the

"n": "knew", "knew". You might also know this word: "new", like "old" and "new" —

same pronunciation. Now, when we're talking about the past participle, or

the third part of the verb, or the verb we use when we have "have" or "had" in

front of it, we use this: "known", "known". So, let's just start with the

ending first: "own", so we have that "o" sound in it. "own". And then we can add

the "n": "known". And, again, the "k" is silent. So, we have: "know", "knew", and

"known".

The ninth most common word is: "take", "take". Now, "take" rhymes with the word

"cake" or "make". So, it's the same verb sound. "a", it has that "a" sound in it,

like the letter "a" or like "eh", "a". "Take". "I take", "you take", "we take".

Notice they all have the same pronunciation. Now, when we're talking

about: "he" or "she", we have to add the "s". Now, does this "s" sound like a "z"

sound or a "s" sound? Is it a "z" sound or an "s" sound? Listen carefully.

"Takes", "takes". It's actually a "s" sound or an "s" sound. So, we're not

going to add a "z" here; it sounds like an "s". "Takes", "he takes", "she

takes". And that can be really challenging for students to pronounce,

because you have a "k" and an "s" sound together. So, when we pronounce the

"ks", our tongue is doing a lot of work. So, if this takes you some time to

learn, that's okay, because it is a very difficult sound to make. Now, when we're

talking about the past tense of "take", we say the word: "took". "Yesterday, I

took the bus", "took", "ook". Now, the vowel, here, it sounds like the vowel

sound in "book", "ook". Okay? So, it's a shorter vowel. So, I want you to repeat

after me— let's just start with the vowel sound: "ook", "ook". Now, let's

add the "t": "took", "I took the bus", "took". So, we've talked about the past

tense. Now, let's talk about the past participle; the third form of the verb:

"taken", "taken". There's a famous movie with, I think, Liam Neeson called:

"Taken". So, notice, again, the vowel here sounds like "a": "ta", and then the

"en" sounds like "in" — "taken". What part am I saying louder and longer? Just

like a lot of our verbs, the first part is pronounced louder and longer:

"taken". All right.

So, guess what, guys? We are on number ten. We have made it; we have learned so

many different words and their pronunciations today. So, just... let's

do the last one, and then we can celebrate. The tenth most common word...

verb — I don't know why I keep making the same mistake, but the tenth most

common verb is: "come", "come", "come to my house", "come". So, notice how the

verb in "come" sounds: "ome", it actually sounds like: "um": "come". Now,

what do you no-... and the "c", you'll notice, is pronounced like a "k" or a

"k" sound. "Come", "I come", "we come". Now, when we're talking about "he" or

"she": "he comes home", "she comes home". Notice the "s" — does it sound

like a "z" sound or an "s" sound? "Comes", "comes". It's actually a "z"

sound; a little bit of a "z" sound. It's really hard for students to notice the

"s" or "z" difference because it's at the very end; and when we speak and

pronounce things, usually, the vowel is so loud that some of these other parts

are said kind of quietly. So, if you're not hearing the difference between the

"z" sound or the "s" sound, that's okay. It's hard to hear the difference. But

this sounds more like a "z" than a "s". Now, if we're talking about the past

tense, we change the vowel to an "a", and we can say: "came". So, notice I

have the "a" sound in the vowel? "Came". And if we're talking about the past

participle: "I have" or "you have come". Again, this is the same pronunciation as

our present word. "Come", "come", "came", "come".

And there you have it. These are the most common verbs you will hear in

English. They're all very important, and they're all irregular. So, if you're

going to focus on learning pronunciation, I would recommend

starting with these ten verbs; they're very important. One thing you'll notice

is the vowels change a lot or the pronunciation of the vowels, and so this

is something you're going to really want to pay attention to. How do we pronounce

the vowels in these different words? So, thank you so much for watching. I really

appreciate it. You can come visit my website at www.teacheremma.com. There,

you can find some free resources, as well as you can subscribe if you're

interested in getting more English resources. If you want to practice what

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And, there, you will actually find a quiz where you can practice everything

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So, thank you so much for watching; and, until next time, take care.