Name: TO BE Contractions -- American English Pronunciation
Uploaded: 2017-07-01T17:19:40.000Z
Duration: 10 min 21 s
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In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to learn some Vietnamese cooking,

and you're going to study contraction of the verb TO BE.

Basic passive voice

One thing to note about these contractions is that no extra syllable is added. We'll

go over the pronunciations. You'll notice that some of them have two different pronunciations.

That's because there can be a reduced pronunciation. I do recommend that you use the reduced pronunciation.

Any time you can make a short word shorter it's going to add better rhythmic contrast

So, I am. I'm. I'm. You are. This can be 'your' or, better yet, let's reduce it, 'yer'. Notice

how quick it is. When we reduce it, it's going to be very, very fast, and it must be linked to

the next word. 'We are' can be 'we're', or 'we're', or, better yet, wur, wur. Reduced.

'They are' can be 'they're', or, reduced, thur. He is, she is, it is. This will be come he's,

she's, it's. Notice that the S in 'it's' is pronounced as an S sound, unvoiced. That's

because the sound before is the T, also an unvoiced sound. It's, it's. However, the S

in 'he's' and 'she's' is a Z sound. That's voiced, because the sound before, a vowel,

was voiced. He's, she's, it's. TS can be a tough sound, and I do have a video on how

to make that sound. So let's take a look at some contractions in everyday conversation.

>> Alright, Annie. So after you peel the cucumber, you're going to slice the cucumber into rounds.

And then you're going to flatten the rounds, and slice them lengthwise again to make it

Did you notice the contraction of 'you are' to 'yer'? Yer, you're going to. Listen again.

into a nice julienne. >> How's this, HaQuyen?

How's this? How's, how's, zz, zz, with a Z sound. It's good. It is, it's, it's, with

>> How's this, HaQuyen? >> It looks good, looks good, it's good.

>> Well, if we look at the way Mark's chopping his mushrooms, we can see that he's doing

quite a good job of it. >> Thanks, HaQuyen.

Mark's, Mark's. The last sound of Mark's name is the K sound, unvoiced. So the apostrophe

S is also unvoiced. Ks, ks, Mark's, Mark's. We also heard 'he's', where the apostrophe

S is a Z sound. He's, he's, he's doing. Listen again.

Here, Natalie, speaking of HaQuyen, said that's, that's, that's because, with the TS sound.

She's, she's a good teacher. She's a, she's a, where the apostrophe S is a Z sound. Listen

>> That's because she's a good teacher. >> Well, I'm going to dice up this cucumber

as I was instructed. >> I'm going to keep dicing the mushrooms.

Here, both Annie and Mark said I'm gonna. So, they have contracted I AM and also reduced

'going to' to 'gonna'. I'm gonna. Notice how 'I'm' is the most stressed syllable in that

fragment. I'm gonna. That's because 'going' is a helping verb here, not the main verb.

The main verb is stressed. For example, Annie said 'I'm gonna dice'. I'm gonna dice, Stressing

>> Well, I'm going to dice up this cucumber as I was instructed.

>> I'm going to keep dicing the mushrooms. >> Hey Annie, when are the noodles going to

be ready? >> They're going to be ready in about 10 minutes.

They're gonna. Did you hear how Annie reduced 'they're' to thur, thur, thur, they're gonna.

>> Hey Annie, when are the noodles going to be ready?

>> They're going to be ready in about 10 minutes.

>> I think we're all set with the basil. >> Thanks, Lori.

We're all set. Did you hear Lori's reduction of 'we're' to wur, wur, wur, we're all set.

All set is a common idiom meaning ready, or not in need of anything. Here, she is saying

the basil is ready for the dish. I use it often at a restaurant, for example, when a

waiter asks if there is anything more I need. Nope, I'm all set, I'll say. Listen again.

>> I love HaQuyen. She's such an effective teacher.

>> That's true. HaQuyen, thanks so much for teaching us how to make all this amazing food.

>> Thanks for coming and joining me to eat all this wonderful food.

>> Any time. We will eat your food any time. >> Yes, we will.

She's, she's, she's such, with the apostrophe S pronounced as a Z. That's, that's true,

>> I'm crushing it over here, as you may be able to see.

>> He's crushing it. >> I'm adding noodles.

>> I'm adding tofu. >> I'm waiting for shrimp.

I'm. Lots of I'm in this clip. Also Mark used the idiom 'to crush' -- meaning he thinks

he is doing an excellent job of making a summer roll. There are lots of different ways to

use the word 'crush'. For example to say you have a crush on someone means you like that

person, you have romantic interest in that person. Let's listen again to all these I'm

That chicken's looking good. Natalie contracted 'chicken is' to chicken's, that chicken's

looking good. And it was good. It was delicious! Listen again.

>> There is onion in there. >> There's no onion in there.

>> Wait, where's the onion? Oh, spring onion.

There's no onion in there, where's the onion. There's, where's. Both of these words end

in the R sound, a voiced consonant, so the apostrophe S is a Z sound. There's, there's.

Where's, where's. There's no onion, where's the onion. Listen again.

>> Annie, hold it up. >> Look at that. That's absolute perfection.

You've got to love Annie's enthusiasm. That's absolute perfection. That's, that's, again,

Subtitles ListPlay Video

TO BE Contractions -- American English Pronunciation

pronunciation

tough

enthusiasm

aware