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  • Today, you are getting the next video in the 100 most common words in English series.

  • This is video 10, where we will be covering the last 10 words,

  • that is 91 through 100

  • in the most common words in English list.

  • In this series, we're studying the real pronunciation.

  • This is likely different from what you learned in English class.

  • You see, in American English, we have all sorts of words that are unstressed or even reduced:

  • that means we change the pronunciation.

  • The set of the 100 most common words in American English contains many, many words that reduce.

  • If you haven't already seen video 1 and the other videos in this series,

  • I do suggest you start there.

  • These videos build one on top of the next,

  • so click here to watch video one.

  • In this final video, we do have a couple of great reductions.

  • But our first word, number 91, isn't a word that reduces.

  • The word is 'even', and this is an adjective,

  • an adverb, or a verb.

  • So a content word, usually stressed in a sentence.

  • But as I wrote sample sentences, I was thinking about how

  • sometimes even content words seem unstressed

  • because there are so many other stressed words that are more stressed in a sentence.

  • First, let's study word stress.

  • It's a two-syllable word, with stress on the first syllable,

  • the EE vowel. Ee. Even, ee.

  • The tongue tip is down, touching the back of the bottom front teeth,

  • and the top front part of the tongue arches towards the roof of the mouth, ee.

  • The corners of the lips may pull out a bit.

  • Ee. Even.

  • Then we have V, schwa, N.

  • When the schwa is followed by N, it's absorbed by it, so you don't need to try to make a schwa sound,

  • then an N sound.

  • You can think of just going straight from V right into N, vn, vn, vn.

  • It's flat, low in pitch, and said very quickly.

  • It's an unstressed syllable.

  • Even in our stressed words, unstressed syllables are fast, less clear.

  • Even, even.

  • Let's look at some sample sentences.

  • I didn't make much money, but I did break even.

  • Even numbers can be divided by two.

  • Even, even.

  • In both of these sentences, the word was longer and clearer.

  • But let's look at two other sentences.

  • This one's even better.

  • Here, THIS and BETTER are more stressed, the flow goes UH-uh-UH.

  • This one's even better.

  • BETTER is much more important than EVEN,

  • so I stress that more.

  • This one's even better.

  • This makes 'even' feel unstressed.

  • This one's even, even, even.

  • This one's even better.

  • Do you hear how it's flatter and doesn't have the up-down shape?

  • This one's even, even, even, even, even, even, better.

  • That means it's unstressed.

  • I don't even know what to do.

  • I don't even know what to do.

  • Even, even, even.

  • I don't even know.

  • I don't even, even, even, even.

  • Unstressed, less clear than KNOW and DO.

  • I don't even know what to do.

  • Even, even, even.

  • This makes EVEN feel unstressed.

  • The contrast with the longer, up-down shape of those stressed syllables.

  • So when should you make sure to make it stressed?

  • I would say when it's a verb or a phrasal verb.

  • But if it's an adverb describing a verb, or an adjective describing another adjective,

  • then you can make it unstressed.

  • Because the verb or adjective it's describing will be more stressed.

  • Stressed or unstressed:

  • Even, even.

  • Even, even.

  • Number 92. The word NEW.

  • This is an adjective.

  • It's a content word, it's stressed.

  • If you look it up, depending on the dictionary, it might say that this word has two pronunciations.

  • That's not really true.

  • We only use one, and it's N consonant and oo vowel new, new.

  • The dictionary might give an alternate pronunciation, new, with the EW diphthong like in 'few',

  • new,

  • but I really have not heard anyone use that pronunciation

  • in conversational or business or even more formal English.

  • New. New.

  • You don't want to start with your lips in a tight circle for OO, nooo, nooo, that's not quite right.

  • Start with your lips more relaxed, then bring them in for the OO vowel.

  • New, new, new.

  • Let's look at some sample sentences.

  • There's a new idea.

  • I lost my new camera.

  • She has a new book coming out.

  • New, new, up-down shape of stress, a little longer, it's one of the more clear words in the sentences.

  • Number 93, the word 'want'.

  • Now, we mentioned this when we were looking at number 58, the word him, in the sample sentence,

  • We want him to succeed.”

  • So when do re-visit that sample sentence.

  • But first, let's talk about is it a content word or a function word.

  • Will it generally be stressed, or unstressed in a sentence.

  • It's, a verb, or it can also be a noun.

  • Those are content words, so this word is usually stressed in a sentence.

  • With stressed words, we don't really reduce, we don't drop or change a sound.

  • But every once in a while we do, and 'want' is one of those words.

  • It's a content word, it's stressed, but still, it's not uncommon to drop the T at the end.

  • Let's look at our sample sentence, We want him to succeed.

  • Want him, want him.

  • Want is stressed, but there's no T.

  • I'm dropping the H in him, a very common reduction, and we link the two words together,

  • want him, want him, want him.

  • It's common to do this when the next word begins with a vowel or diphthong:

  • I want everyone to be there.

  • No T.

  • Want everyone, want everyone.

  • We want her to do to better.

  • Want her, want her.

  • Dropping the H, 'want' is now followed by a vowel, and so I dropped the T.

  • Want her, want her.

  • I want another one.

  • Want another, want another.

  • Dropped T.

  • In all of these sentences it was stressed, longer, with the up-down shape of stress.

  • But, at the same time it was reduced.

  • The T was dropped.

  • What if the next word begins with a consonant?

  • Then we make that a Stop sound.

  • Just like with N'T endings, it's a nasally stop sound because of the N, want, want, nt, nt, nt, nt, nt.

  • So as you're making the N, you make an abrupt stop by the air stopping airflow.

  • Want, want.

  • And that the stop sound.

  • I want that.

  • Want that.

  • I want that

  • I want this one, want, nt, nt, nt, want.

  • Ok, we've talked about the ending a lot, what about the rest of the word?

  • It begins with the W consonant, then you have your choice of two vowels,

  • AH as in FATHER or AW as in LAW, according to the dictionary.

  • Let's try them out, AH, Father, AH, wa-, want. Want. Or AW, LAW, want, want.

  • Want or AH, LAW, AH, Want, Want, want.

  • Those both work, but I also hear a lot of Americans saying 'want', ah, law want.

  • this is what I do, with the UH as in BUTTER vowel.

  • Waa--, want, want.

  • I don't want that, want, waaa--, want.

  • Want.

  • So you have your choice of three vowels.

  • You're also probably familiar with the reduction 'wanna'.

  • This is want + to, and we drop the T.

  • I think in this reduction, it's especially common to use the UH vowel, wanna, wanna.

  • I know, they 'wanna' see you.

  • Wanna.

  • So a stressed word, but we might reduce it.

  • Number 94, a function word that does often reduce, the word 'because'.

  • Just like with the word 'want' the stressed syllable here might be pronounced with the AH as in FATHER vowel,

  • because, the AW as in LAW vowel, because, or the UH as in BUTTER Vowel, because.

  • Because, because, because.

  • But this words is a conjunction, a preposition, that is, a function word, and so we often reduce it.

  • We say it really quickly and not too clearly, and we change it, even the stressed syllable, to be the schwa.

  • Because, because, because, because, because, because.

  • OR we go even further, and we drop the first syllable, cuz, cuz.

  • You've probably seen people write C-U-Z,

  • I don't like that. I don't like writing reductions, though it's really common.

  • But speaking reductions, that's great.

  • That's wonderful English.

  • Let's look at a few example.

  • We're late 'cuz' there was a traffic jam. Cuz, cuz.

  • Late cuz.

  • Or I could say, we're late because there was a traffic jam.

  • Because, because, because.

  • Either way, one syllable or two, it's unstressed, reduced, not fully pronounced.

  • They're staying home 'cuz' of the storm.

  • She's grounded 'cuz' of her grades.

  • 'Grounded' means in trouble, facing restrictions, usually this is something parents

  • do teenagers for breaking rules or bad behavior.

  • The 'cuz' or because reduction.

  • Number 95, the word 'any'.

  • This word can be stressed or unstressed in a sentence, but it doesn't reduce.

  • We don't drop or change a sound, we just make the quality different to make it stressed or unstressed:

  • ANY vs. any.

  • Any.

  • We would stress this word when using it as an adjective describing a noun:

  • any kid would love that.

  • What kind of kid?

  • Any kid.

  • At any rate, that's a good deal.

  • Any kid, any rate.

  • Otherwise, it can sound unstressed: Do you feel any better?

  • FEEL any BETTER?

  • Feel any, any, any, any, any.

  • There it's not that up down shape here compared to FEEL and BETTER: Feel any better?

  • any, any, any, any.

  • Lower in pitch and flatter.

  • Unstressed

  • We also use 'any' for an unknown amount.

  • Then it sounds unstressed: Do you have any money?

  • Have any, any, any, any.

  • Do you have any time?

  • Any, any, any, said quickly, flat and low in pitch.

  • Any, any.

  • The pronunciation: We have the EH as in BED vowel, EH, eh-n, the N consonant and an unstressed EE.

  • Any, any.

  • Any or any.

  • Number 96, wow, we're getting close to the end!

  • Number 96 is 'these'.

  • This word can be stressed or unstressed, depending on how it's being used, but we don't reduce it.

  • Voiced TH, EE vowel, weak ending these.

  • I want to point out that when this word is unstressed, I'll even say any time it doesn't begin a thought group,

  • it's common to cheat the pronunciation of the TH a little bit.

  • It still sounds like a TH to us, but we'll make it without bringing the tongue tip through the teeth:

  • These, these.

  • We make it like this. These, these, these.

  • The tongue tip is just behind the teeth, the, the, the, these, then it pulls down for the E vowel.

  • You might see my tongue behind the teeth, the --, these, these, but I'm not really bringing it out.

  • tttttthhhhese, these.

  • Instead It's these, these, these.

  • This is an important shortcut for non-native speakers

  • since so many of them struggle with the full pronunciation of the TH sound.

  • Th, th, th, thse, these, the tongue tip isn't at the roof of the mouth, and it's not pointing down.

  • It's pressing the backs of the teeth and then pulling away.

  • These, these.

  • Let's look at some examples.

  • First, sentences where they're not stressed:

  • Everyone wants one of these.

  • These, these, these.

  • We need these to be cut in half.

  • These, these, these.

  • Simple TH pronunciation where the tip does not come thru.

  • Now lets make it stressed, like at the beginning of the sentence:

  • These are great.

  • These people need help.

  • These, these, tongue tip is coming thru and we have that up-down shape, a little longer, a little clearer.

  • These.

  • Number 97, give.

  • This is a verb, and verbs are content words, which means they're stressed and they don't reduce.

  • Except certain ones can reduce, and this is one of them.

  • Give, G consonant, IH vowel, V consonant.

  • I'll give you that for your birthday.

  • Give.

  • I'll give you.

  • Stressed, fully pronounced.

  • We're going to give her a discount.

  • Give, give, again stressed and fully pronounced.

  • But with 'me', it's common to reduce this.

  • It's still a verb and it's still stressed, but we drop the final V sound:

  • Gimme that.

  • Gi-- stressed, but no V.

  • Gimme, Gimme that.

  • In fact, sometimes you might see it written GIMME.

  • Gimme, gimme, gimme.

  • Gimme that.

  • Can you gimme more time?

  • So the G-I syllable is still stressed, gi -- even though we're dropping the final V.

  • This is just like 'want'.

  • It's a content word, a stressed word, and yet, in certain cases, we drop the final sound.

  • Isn't it interesting?

  • As you study how Americans really speak,

  • you see that the full pronunciation often isn't the most natural or common pronunciation.

  • If all you learned was the book pronunciation, you'd have a pretty hard time putting sentences together naturally.

  • That's what this video series is about.

  • Getting you to see it's not always about a full, clear pronunciation in English.

  • Let's keep going.

  • Number 98, the word 'day'.

  • This is always a noun, and it is always stressed. We don't reduce it!

  • Out of all of the most common words that we've studied so far, almost 100, this is only number 25

  • that is never unstressed or reduced.

  • Wow!

  • D consonant, AY as in SAY diphthong.

  • First drop your jaw, a-, then arch the top front part of the tongue towards the roof of the mouth.

  • and the jaw relaxes up.

  • Ay, day, day.

  • I need another day to finish.

  • What day is he coming back?

  • Let's call it a day.

  • Day, day, up-down shape of stress, longer clearer.

  • That last sentence, let's call it a day, is an idiom that means, let's stop doing what we're doing.

  • It usually refers to work.

  • For example, if I'm working late at night, David might come up to my office and say,

  • Rachel, why don't you call it a day?

  • Number 99, the word 'most'.

  • This can be several different parts of speech, but all uses are content words.

  • So this word is generally stressed.

  • But it still might get a small reduction, and that's because of the ending cluster.

  • This is just like number 88, first, or number 57, just.

  • When the word is followed by a consonant, it's common to drop the T.

  • Most people like it.

  • Most people.

  • Most people.

  • It's the most challenging part.

  • Most challenging

  • Most challenging

  • Most people, most challenging.

  • We drop this T because it comes between two consonants

  • and sometimes we do that to make speech smoother.

  • To make the transition between two words smoother.

  • If the word is followed by a word that begins with a vowel or diphthong, or at the end of your thought group,

  • then do make the T: I got most of the questions right.

  • Here it's followed by a vowel.

  • Most of the, most of the, most, and I'am making a T.

  • Most. Most.

  • M consoant, OH diphthong, mo-.

  • Jaw drop then lip rounding Mo-, most.

  • Then the ST cluster.

  • Most.

  • Number 100! The final word! Us.

  • This word is a pronoun, a function word, and so it's not normally stressed.

  • It's unstressed.

  • They took us to the movies.

  • Took us, us, us, us.

  • They gave it to us for our anniversary.

  • Gave it to us, us, us, us, us.

  • You could write this in IPA as schwa-S.

  • Fully pronounced, it's UH as in BUTTER – S.

  • US, but unstressed, us, us, us.

  • If it's the last word in a sentence, I would stress it: This belongs to us.

  • Us, up-down shape of stress.

  • But usually, us, us, us, unstressed.

  • Flat in pitch said very quickly.

  • Wow. There it is, the whole list, the 100 most common words in English, how Americans pronounce them.

  • I started this project to show students how frequently we reduce words,

  • and the contrast of stressed and unstressed words.

  • I feel like we still have a lot to learn from this list.

  • Let's do one more video together, where we look at the list as a whole

  • and come up with your pronunciation strategies.

  • Join me for the last video in this series, which will coming up next week, Tuesday morning eastern time.

  • That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.

Today, you are getting the next video in the 100 most common words in English series.

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