5 PRONUNCIATION EXTRA

ADVANCED UNIT 5 5.2

5.1 4A 5.4 STRESS: multi-word verbs Listen and
write six sentences.
PRONUNCIATION TIP
B Underline the multi-word verb in each sentence.
Elision is the omission of one or more sounds (such Listen again and notice how the stress always falls
as a vowel, a consonant or a whole syllable) in a word on the particle.
or phrase, e.g. I don’t like cheese. We had promised.
Fortunately. Dramatically. C Listen again and say the sentences with the
speakers.

1A 5.1 CONNECTED SPEECH: elision Listen to 5 A STRESS IN CHUNKS Match the phrases to the
the story. Notice the elision where you see the stress patterns.
underlined words and crossed out letters. 1 oOooOo a) a commonly-held perception
My grandmother was a secret smoker. Or at least she 2 oOooOoOo b) a fallacy
thought it was a secret, whereas in fact the whole 3 oOoo c) conventional wisdom
family knew. But in order not to upset her we all
4 oOoooO d) debunk a myth
used to play along. When she visited our house,
5 oOooO e) intuitively true
she’d go into the bathroom to smoke. Me and my
brothers would go out into the garden and watch 6 OooO f) recent research
the smoke coming from the bathroom window 7 OoooOo g) uncover the truth
and giggle at our shared secret! 8 oOoO h) verify the rumours

B Listen again and say the story with the speaker.
2A 5.2 Look at another short story about a family
secret. Find examples of elision in the underlined
words and cross out the letters that aren’t
pronounced. Then listen and check.
Our kids had been asking for a dog for about a
year and we had been steadfastly refusing, so when
we finally relented, we decided to keep it a secret. I
went to pick up the pup on my own and asked the
kids and their dad to meet me in the park. When they
saw me with the dog, they asked me whose she was.
When I said, she’s yours, their mouths literally fell
open with surprise. They had had no idea. We were
very proud not to have let the cat (or should that be
‘dog’?!) out of the bag!
B Practise reading the story aloud, paying attention
to the elision.
3 A ELISION IN MODAL VERBS AND RELATED PHRASES
Look at the underlined verbs. Mark any elision by
striking through the letters that are dropped.
1 We should never have promised them a dog.
2 We’d better not tell her we know her secret.
3 I think we ought to tell her.
4 You really needn’t have said anything.
5 You’re not supposed to lie to your kids.
6 In the end we had to tell them.
B 5.3 Listen and check your answers. Then listen
again and say the sentences with the speakers.
B 5.5 Listen and check. Then listen again and
say the phrases with the speakers.
5.3
6A 5.6 PACE and INTONATION: sounding
hesitant/assertive Listen to the sentences below.
Does the speaker sound hesitant (H) or assertive
(A)?
1 Well, I think I have to disagree with you there.      
2 I’m sorry, but I don’t really see the point of what
you’re suggesting.      
3 If you could stop just a moment and think about
it, you’ll see I’m right.      
4 Well, I don’t know about that. It sounds a bit
strange to me.      
5 That may be, but it’s not what I’ve heard.      
6 Really? I’m sorry, but I don’t believe it.      
7 I don’t know how you can say that.      
8 I’m not sure that I follow what you mean.      
B Match the descriptions below with the two tones:
hesitant (H) or assertive (A). Listen again to check
your answers.
1 The voice is fairly staccato.      
2 The voice range is wider.      
3 The pace is slower.      
4 The pace is faster.      
5 There’s a tendency to use rising intonation.      
6 There’s a tendency to use falling intonation.      
C Read the sentences in Exercise 6A using both a
hesitant tone and an assertive tone. Which do you
find most difficult? Why?

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