Pronunciation insight 7

Negative forms
In spoken English, was / wasn't, were / weren't and could / couldn't are usually weak forms and the negative forms are often contracted.
1Play the recording, listen and repeat. 

  • 1/wəz/Who was at the party?

  • 2/wɒznt/Tim wasn't there.

  • 3/wə/My parents were happy.

  • 4/wɜ:nt/They weren't rich.

  • 5/kəd/He could dance well.

  • 6/kʊ[d]nt/I couldn't watch TV last night.


Negative forms
In spoken English, was/wasn't, were/weren't and could/couldn't are usually weak forms and the negative forms are often contracted.
2Play the recording and listen to the sentences. Choose a tick (✔) for affirmative verbs and a cross (✘) for negative verbs. 

  • 1I _______ ✘ at school today. I _______at home.

  • 2I _______dance when I was younger, but I _______sing.

  • 3We _______safe. The road _______dangerous.

  • 4You _______popular, because you _______play football really well.

  • 5Josh _______cycle to school, because it _______near his house.

  • 6You _______happy last night. I _______worried about you.

  • 7Kelly and I _______well. We _______at the cinema.

  • 8They _______go to the concert, because they _______get tickets.

Answers
Negative forms
In spoken English, was/wasn't, were/weren't and could/couldn't are usually weak forms and the negative forms are often contracted.
3Play the recording, listen, and complete the sentences. 

  • 1I  at school today. I  at home.

  • 2I  dance when I was younger, but I  sing.

  • 3We  safe. The road  dangerous.

  • 4You  popular, because you  play football really well.

  • 5Josh  cycle to school, because it  near his house.

  • 6You  happy last night. I  worried about you.

  • 7Kelly and I  well. We  at the cinema.

  • 8They  go to the concert, because they  get tickets.

Answers
Negative forms
/w/ is a difficult sound for many learners of English. Start by practising the /u:/ sound – your mouth makes the same shape when you say /u:/ and /w/.
uuu … where
/w/ is silent when it comes before r: write, wrong
/w/ can be silent when it comes before h and o: two, who
4Play the recording, listen to the sentences and underline the letters that make the /w/ sound. 

  • 1       .

  • 2          ?

  • 3         ?

  • 4       .

  • 5   ?

  • 6      ?


5Practise saying the sentences in exercise 4. Pay attention to the pronunciation of /w/. 
Answers