Prof.

Francisco Zabala - 2014

Strong & Weak Forms

Remember that the strong forms of the following words are used only under exceptional circumstances. Italics
indicate that a sound may be optional.

Auxiliaries & Verb ‘to be’

Weak Form Strong Form Conjunctions
Am /’m .?l+ l. .zl. Weak Form Strong Form
Are/ ’re .?. .@9. And .?m'c(. .zm'c(.
Be .ah. .ah9. As .?y. .zy.
Been .ah9m+ aHm. But .a?s. .aUs.
Can .j'?(m. .jzm. Than .C'?(m. .Czm.
Could .j?c+ jTc. .jTc. That .C?s. .Czs.
.c?.+Consonant Prepositions
Do .ct9. Weak Form Strong Form
.ct.+Vowel
.c?y. .cUy. At .?s. .zs.
Does
.'g(?c+ c. .gzc. For .e?. .eN9.
Had/ ’d
From .eq'?(l. .eqPl.
Has/ ’s .'g(?y+ r+ y. .gzy.
.'g(?u+ u. .gzu. Of .?u. .Pu.
Have/ ’ve
Is /’s .Hy+ r+ y. .Hy. .s?.+Consonant
To .st9.
Must .l?rs. .lUrs. .st. + Vowel
Shall .R'?(k. .Rzk. Others
Should .R?c+ RTc. .RTc. Weak Form Strong Form
Was .v?y. .vPy. There .C?. .Cd?.
Were /’re .v?. .v29. Some .r'?(l. .rUl.
Will/ ’ll .vHk+ v'?(k+ k. .vHk.
Would .v?c+ vTc. .vTc.

Personal Pronouns Possessive Adjectives

Subjective Objective
Weak Form Strong Form Weak Form Strong Form Weak Form Strong Form
I .`H. Me .lh. .lh9. My .l`H.
You .it. .it9. You .it. .it9. Your .iN9.
He .'g(h. .gh9. Him .'g(Hl. .gHl. His .'g(Hy. .gHy.
She .Rh. .Rh9. Her .'g(?. .g29. Her .'g(?. .g29.
It .Hs. It .Hs. Its .Hsr.
We .vh. .vh9. Us .?r. .Ur. Our .`'T(?+ @9.
They .CdH. Them .C'?(l. .Cdl. Their .Cd?.

Articles
Indefinite Definite
Weak Form Strong Form Weak Form Strong Form
A .?. .dH. .Ch.+Vowel
The .Ch9.
An .?m. .zm. .C?.+Consonant