How to Pronounce Contractions in American English | English with Jennifer

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with  Jennifer. Do you know the game "Never have I  

ever"? There are different versions, but basically  it's a fun party game to find out what silly,  

strange, and surprising things people have done.  It's supposed to provoke laughter not judgment.  

So, everyone takes a turn. If I'm first,  I'll state something I haven't done like,  

"Never have I ever met a movie star" or "Never  have I ever changed a flat tire all by myself."  

If you've done this thing, then you put one finger  down. Once you've put all fingers down, you're  

out of the game. The winner is the person with at  least one finger up. So have you ever met a movie  

star? I haven't. Although I have met a couple  of TV actors. I once met Scotty from Star Trek.  

Can you change a flat tire by yourself I can't.  I've never done it. I really should learn.  

As you know, contractions are common in  spoken English. You need to be able to  

understand them and be understood when you  use them. Don't try to avoid contractions.  

Using them will help you sound more natural  in everyday English. How about we go over  

contractions? We'll practice saying them  together. Would you like that? Let's start.

There's quite a long list to go through, but let's  not rush. Listen and repeat. Follow my model. And  

don't leave early. Stick around until the end  and we'll do some oral reading together. Okay?  

Adding an -s can create an /s/  or a /z/ sound. Pronounce S as  

/z/after a vowel sound. She is,  she has. She's. She's my friend.

She's done that.

He is, he has. He's. He's my friend.

He's met someone famous.

Who is, who has. Who's. Who's that?

Who's done that?

Pronounce S as /s/ after a voiceless  consonant. It is, it has. It's. It's fun.

It's been a while.

Let us. Let's. Let's continue.

What's that? It's a vase.  That's a picture of two faces.  

Wait a second. There's more  than one way to look at it.

Let's focus on other contractions  with the verb BE. I am, I'm.

You are, you're. We are, we're.

They are, they're.

Note how vowel sounds change depending on whether  they're stressed or unstressed. I'm the only one.

I'm going.

You're the only one. You're going.

We're the only ones.

We're going.

They're the only ones.

They're going.

Next, let's practice contractions  with WILL. I will, I'll.

I'll be okay.

You will, you'll. You'll be okay.

She will, she'll.

She'll be okay.

He will, he'll. He'll be okay.

It will, it'll. Note my use of a flap t here. The  flap t sounds like a /d/. It'll. It'll be okay.

We will, we'll. We'll be okay.

They will, they'll. They'll be okay.

Now we'll move on to contractions with HAVE,  HAD, and WOULD. I have, I've. I've been there.

You have, you've. You've been there.

We have, we've. We've been there.

They have, they've. They've been there.

Who had, who would. Who'd. Who'd seen it?

Who'd have known?

I had, I would. I'd. I'd never done that.

I'd love it.

You had, you would. You'd. You'd never done that.

You'd love it.

She had, she would. She'd. She'd never done that.

She'd love it.

He had, he would. He'd. He'd never done that.

He'd love it.

We had, we would. We'd. We'd never done that.

We'd love it.

They had, they would. They'd.  They'd never done that.

They'd love it.

It had, it would. It'd. It'd.

This is more common as a spoken form.  I don't think I use it much with the  

verb "would," but the form is used by some  people. It'd. As in, "It'd never happened."

It'd be wonderful.

I've never seen anything like that  before. Who'd have thought that possible?

Are you ready for more? We're going to move on  to negative contractions. These short forms are a  

bit more challenging in American English because  usually they make use of a glottal stop. First,  

practice the glottal stop  between two vowel sounds.

Uh-oh.

Uh-uh.

This is the same sound that American English  speakers use and words like: mountain,  

fountain, button. We're cutting off the  sound here. Mountain, fountain, button.  

We put the glottal stop at the  end of contractions like "can't."

Cannot, can't. I can't see it.

Do not, don't. I don't see it.

Is not, isn't. She isn't coming.

Are not, aren't. We aren't coming.

Was not, wasn't. It wasn't fair.

We're not, weren't. They weren't happy.

Will not, won't. They won't agree.

Could not, couldn't. I couldn't do that.

Would not, wouldn't. I wouldn't do that.

Should not, shouldn't. You shouldn't do that.

Must not.

You mustn't think that way.

Has not, hasn't. She hasn't been the same.

Have not, haven't. They haven't been the same.

Had not, hadn't. It hadn't happened before.

In this last group, the contractions  with HAVE will sound either like "of"  

or "uh." Could have. Could've.

("Coulda")

I could've done more.

I could've done more.

Would have, would've.

("Woulda")

I would've done more.

I would've done more.

Should have, should've.

("Shoulda")

I should've done more.

I should've done more.

Might have, might've.

("Mighta")

I might've done more.

I might've done more.

Let's review some of the contractions  by reading a short story aloud.

It could 've been you. He could've been anyone.  He might've been you. He'd been stuck in a place  

where he felt he couldn't move forward. He wanted  change but didn't know how to make it happen.  

He'd listen to advice, but none of it felt right.  Then he realized he'd been looking in all the  

wrong places. He hadn't been asking the right  questions either. Instead of endlessly searching  

all around him, he looked within and found the  answers. His life began to change for the better.  

Today he's happier. Now he'll tell you  that the world is full of possibilities.  

He focuses on what he can do and not on what he  can't. All that's needed is time and the desire  

to learn. He doesn't regret anything.  He wouldn't call the past wasted years.  

He's accepted that some lessons take more time to  master. Don't we all have something more to learn?

You can use that text for more practice.  Record yourself today. Practice for a few  

days and record again. Then compare the  two readings. Have you made progress?  

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