روز هفتم - ساده کردن AT, AN, CAN

Day 7 - Reducing AT, AN, CAN

Hi. It’s Day 7. Can you find a few minutes to study with me? I got an idea or two to share with you. Let’s start. English with Jennifer Small words like AT and AN are function words. They don’t carry a lot of content in a sentence or phrase, so often we reduce them. We use weaker vowel sounds.

We use a schwa /ə/. It’s a very relaxed sound. [uh] So AT can sound like /ət/. at noon - /et nun/ AN will sound like /ən/. an idea - /ən aɪˈdiə/ CAN is also reduced It’s used as a helping verb, and we reduce it in a question or in a full statement when the main verb is still present. I asked you, “Can you find a few minutes?”

/kən/…Instead of /kæn/ … /kən/ Can you find a few minutes? Note how there’s variation when Americans reduce CAN. Either we use the schwa, which sounds like “uh.” /kən/ Or we use a short I, like in the word “it.” /kɪn/ Listen to these examples. Listen closely. I’ll say a sentence or phrase. You try to understand. That’s all for now. Thanks for watching and happy studies!