Understanding and Teaching the Pronunciation of English.pdf

thing. The only di"erence is whether or not they have
standard written forms replacing the “lost” sounds with an
apostrophe.

12.2 COMMON CONTRACTIONS 12.2 COMMON CONTRACTIONS 12.2 COMMON CONTRACTIONS

Verb + Not Be

Do

Have

Modals

Isn’t, aren’t, wasn’t, weren’t

Doesn’t, don’t, didn’t

Hasn’t, haven’t, hadn’t

Can’t, couldn’t, won’t, wouldn’t, mustn’t,

shouldn’t

Pronoun +

Be

I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’re, they’re,

that’s. There’s (although it’s not a pronoun)

Question

word + verb

Be

will

What’s, where’s, when’s, who’s, why’s, how’s,

what’ll, who’ll

Pronoun +

Auxiliary

Verb

Will

Would

Have

I’ll, you’ll, he’ll, she’ll, it’ll, we’ll, they’ll

I’d, you’d, he’d, she’d, it’d, we’d, they’d

I’ve, you’ve, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’ve, you’ve

Simplification of consonant clusters

In Chapter 4, we’ve already learned about another example
of omission: Speakers often simplify clusters of three of more
consonants by omitting a middle consonant, but not the !rst
or last consonant. This happens most often when the middle
consonant is a stop, /θ/, or /ð/. The remaining consonants
can be stretched out to last a little longer (if they’re both the

same) or linked together following the rules described earlier

in this section. For example:

The tests seem hard. /stss/ ⇒ /ss/

He’s a kind man. /ndm/ ⇒ /nm/

The facts seem clear. /ktss/ ⇒ /kss/

Three months /nθs/ ⇒ /ns/

This type of omission is normal and accepted, although most

speakers are not consciously aware that it’s happening. It’s

!ne to teach it as a way of coping with di#cult consonant

clusters, but it’s not necessary to force students to follow it.

Loss of /t/ after /n/

When the sounds /nt/ come between syllables and the !rst

syllable is stressed, /t/ is sometimes omitted:

winter ⇒ /wɪnɚ/ (sounds the same as winner)

dentist ⇒ /dɛnɪst/ wanted ⇒ /wɑnəd/

Unlike the changes described in the previous section, some

listeners might notice and disapprove of this sound change.

It’s good to be able to recognize words with the missing /t/,

but it’s best not to encourage students to use this particular

sound change.

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