Auxiliary Verbs in Everyday Speech
2022-01-07
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1Imagine someone asks you if you can speak English.
2You could say:
3I can speak English.
4Or you could say:
5I can't speak English.
6In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore the connection between grammar and speaking.
7You will learn about small details in these two statements that can teach you a lot about American English.
8In particular, you will learn about how auxiliary verbs are used in everyday speech.
9But first, let's start with a few important terms and ideas.
10In English, we generally divide words into one of two types - content words and function words.
11Content words include nouns, adjectives, and verbs.
12These words are often stressed - meaning said louder or in a higher pitch - in everyday speech.
13Function words are words that have a grammatical purpose.
14Function words include pronouns, prepositions, determiners, and auxiliary verbs.
15These words are less central to expressing exact meaning.
16For this reason, they are generally not stressed in everyday speaking.*
17There are important exceptions, however, as we will see.
18You might be asking yourself the following question:
19What is the connection between word stress, auxiliary verbs, and the example sentences from the beginning of this report?
20The answer is this: Although auxiliary verbs are generally not stressed in their positive form, they are often stressed in their negative form.
21The negative form expresses denial, disagreement, inability, or refusal.
22Think back to the example you heard at the beginning of this report:
23I can speak English.
24Note that the content words such as speak and English are stressed.
25Note that the auxiliary verb can is not stressed. It is in its so-called "weak form."
26The normal form sounds like this: can.
27The weak form sounds like this: can.
28The difference is in the vowel sound.
29Now listen to our other example sentence:
30I can't speak English.
31This has the negative form of can, can't, which is short for cannot. Our statement could have been:
32I cannot speak English.
33Note that in both sentences with the negative auxiliary - can't or cannot - there is stress on the auxiliary verb.
34Let's listen again to our affirmative sentence with the unstressed auxiliary, and our negative sentence with the stressed auxiliary.
35I can speak English.
36I can't speak English.
37The general idea in today's report is that Americans generally stress auxiliary verbs in their negative forms.
38They generally do not stress auxiliary verbs when they are in their positive forms.
39This idea holds for all kinds of auxiliary verbs - could, should, would, and so on.
40The next time you listen to Americans speak, pay careful attention to how the use auxiliary verbs - both in negative and positive forms.
41With time and careful study, you will become much more confident in how you use and pronounce auxiliary verbs.
42I'm John Russell.
1Imagine someone asks you if you can speak English. 2You could say: 3I can speak English. 4Or you could say: 5I can't speak English. 6In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore the connection between grammar and speaking. You will learn about small details in these two statements that can teach you a lot about American English. In particular, you will learn about how auxiliary verbs are used in everyday speech. 7But first, let's start with a few important terms and ideas. 8Definitions 9In English, we generally divide words into one of two types - content words and function words. Content words include nouns, adjectives, and verbs. These words are often stressed - meaning said louder or in a higher pitch - in everyday speech. 10Function words are words that have a grammatical purpose. Function words include pronouns, prepositions, determiners, and auxiliary verbs. These words are less central to expressing exact meaning. For this reason, they are generally not stressed in everyday speaking.* There are important exceptions, however, as we will see. 11When are auxiliary verbs stressed? 12You might be asking yourself the following question: What is the connection between word stress, auxiliary verbs, and the example sentences from the beginning of this report? 13The answer is this: Although auxiliary verbs are generally not stressed in their positive form, they are often stressed in their negative form. The negative form expresses denial, disagreement, inability, or refusal. 14Think back to the example you heard at the beginning of this report: 15I can speak English. 16Note that the content words such as speak and English are stressed. 17Note that the auxiliary verb can is not stressed. It is in its so-called "weak form." 18The normal form sounds like this: can. 19The weak form sounds like this: can. 20The difference is in the vowel sound. 21Now listen to our other example sentence: 22I can't speak English. 23This has the negative form of can, can't, which is short for cannot. Our statement could have been: 24I cannot speak English. 25Note that in both sentences with the negative auxiliary - can't or cannot - there is stress on the auxiliary verb. Let's listen again to our affirmative sentence with the unstressed auxiliary, and our negative sentence with the stressed auxiliary. 26I can speak English. 27I can't speak English. 28Closing Thoughts 29The general idea in today's report is that Americans generally stress auxiliary verbs in their negative forms. They generally do not stress auxiliary verbs when they are in their positive forms. 30This idea holds for all kinds of auxiliary verbs - could, should, would, and so on. 31The next time you listen to Americans speak, pay careful attention to how the use auxiliary verbs - both in negative and positive forms. With time and careful study, you will become much more confident in how you use and pronounce auxiliary verbs. 32I'm John Russell. 33John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 34*You can read more about function words in our recent report, Function Words in Everyday Speech. 35_____________________________________________________________ 36Words in This Story 37auxiliary verb - n. grammar: a verb (such as have, be, may, do, shall, will, can, or must) that is used with another verb to show the verb's tense, to form a question, etc. 38determiner - n. grammar: a word (such as "a," "the," "some," "any," "my," or "your") that comes before a noun and is used to show which thing is being referred to 39exception - n. someone or something that is different from others : someone or something that is not included 40pronounce - v. to make the sound of (a word or letter) with your voice