Vowel changes
The vowel in a reduced form often changes to /ə/:
You → /yə/
From → /frəm/
To → /tə/
Did you FLY from New YORK to ChiCAgo?
Common expressions
Some common expressions with modals or similar verbs have
their own reduced forms. (More of these are listed in Box
9.5.) For example:
Going to → /ˈɡʌnə/ (sometimes written gonna)
Want to → /ˈwɑnə/ (sometimes written wanna)
Have to → /ˈhæftə/ (sometimes written hafta)
Have got to → /(əv) ˈɡɑtə/ (sometimes written gotta)
Could have → /ˈkᴜdə/ (sometimes written coulda)
Should have → /ˈ∫ᴜdə/ (sometimes written shoulda)
These reduced pronunciations are commonly used in many
types of speech in all but very formal situations. However, it’s
important not to use the written forms—gonna, wanna,
hafta, and so forth—in formal, business, or academic writing.
The written forms should only be used in very casual
situations, like notes or emails to a close friend.
When don’t we reduce function words?
There are some situations when function words should not be
reduced. This usually happens in one of these situations:- When we want to emphasize the function word
- When the function word is in a position that needs to be
stressed in order to make the rhythm right - When they’re actually main verbs, not auxiliary verbs
Let’s look more closely at each of these situations.
For emphasis: Sometimes a function word is very
important to the meaning of a sentence. In this case, we
emphasize it by using its full form, not its reduced form. For
example:We MIGHT go with you, but we haven’t decided.
Put your book ON the desk, not UNDER it.
A: Would you rather be rich or good-looking?
B: I want to be rich AND good-looking!(We’ll read more about this type of emphasis in Chapter 10:
“Thought Groups and Prominence.”)To maintain rhythm: We don’t reduce be verbs, modals, or
other auxiliary verbs when there’s not another word soon
after it that will receive stress, such as a main verb, predicate
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