100 most common words in American English#
1. THE#
the [ðə]
Said very quickly with a schwa, when next word begins with a consonant.
- The most.
- The cat.
the [ði]
Said very quickly with the EE vowel, when next word begins with vowel or diphthong.
- The other.
2. BE#
be [bi]
Means the verb TO BE, conjugated.
- I am
- You are
- He is
- She is
- It is
- We are
- They are
They will almost always be said in a contraction.
I AM#
I am becomes
I'm [aɪm]
Sometimes you'll even hear as just the M sound.
- I'm sorry.
[m‿'sɔɹi]
YOU ARE#
you are becomes
you're [jəɹ]
Super fast, basically no vowel.
- You're going to be okay.
HE IS#
he is becomes
he's [hiz]
SHE IS#
she is becomes
she's [ʃiz]
IT IS#
it is becomes
it's [ɪts]
Sometime we reduce this even further we change a sound, we dropped the vowel.
it is becomes
it's [ts]
- It's cool.
[ts‿kul] - It's awesome.
[ts‿'ɔ səm] - It's raining.
[ts‿'ɹeɪn ɪŋ]
WE ARE#
we are becomes
we're [wəɹ]
Very fast.
- We're running late.
THEY ARE#
they are becomes
they're [ðəɹ]
Very fast, the vowel changes.
- They're okay.
3. TO#
to [tu]
reduces to [tə]
The vowel changes to the schwa, said very quickly.
And sometimes, the true T at the beginning changes to more of a D sound or a Flap T.
- Let's go to the beach.
[goʊ‿də]
4. OF#
of [ʌv]
reduces to [əv]
or [ə]
Schwa, very light V, said very quickly. And actually, you'll often hear this word without the "v", then it's just the schwa.
- I'm kind of tired.
[kaɪnd‿ə]
5. AND#
and [ænd]
reduces to [æn]
or [ən] (can sound just like "n")
AA vowel followed by N consonant: the tongue is lifted in the back for AA, Aaaa. Then relaxes before the N. Aa-uh.
First reduction is just dropping the D.
- And I think it will be okay.
Another reduction is to just asy the N sound.
- cookies and cream.
- salt and pepper.
- black and white.
- up and down.
- left and right.
6. A, AN#
a [eɪ]
reduces to [ə]
an [æn]
reduces to [ən]
Very fast, very little movement for the mouth.
7. IN#
in [ɪn]
We don't drop or change a sound here. We don't reduce. But it is still unstressed. This mean it should be really short, less clear.
- He's in love.
- She's in a hurry.
8. THAT#
that [ðæt]
reduces to [ðət]
We reduce the vowel from AA to the schwa.
The ending T sound depends on the beginning of the next word.
Flap T if followed by vowel or diphthong.
- that I
Stop T if followed by a consonant.
- that she
9. HAVE#
have [hæv]
This will often be used as a contraction, which is already a reduction.
I HAVE#
I have becomes
I've
- I've been wanting to see that.
YOU HAVE#
You have becomes
You've
HE HAS#
He has becomes
He's [hiz]
SHE HAS#
She has becomes
She's [ʃiz]
IT HAS#
It has becomes
It's [ɪts]
WE HAVE#
We have becomes
We've
THEY HVAE#
They have becomes
They've [ðeɪv]
"They've" sounds like deiv when it's unstressed.
10. I#
I [aɪ]
Usually said very quickly, more like "aa".
- I think so.
11. IT#
it [ɪt]
This word doesn't reduce in a sentence, we don't drop or change a sound, but it said very quickly.
And the pronunciation of the T depends on the next word.
Stop T if followed by a consonant.
- It won't be.
[ɪt | woʊnt]
Flap T if followed by a vowel or diphthong.
- it always [ɪd‿'ɔl weɪz]
12. FOR#
for [fɔɹ]
reduces to [fəɹ]
- This is for work.
- I got it for my birthday.
13. NOT#
not [nɑt]
Often be contracted n't in conversation. Not release the T, it's an abrupt stop of air in the N to signify the T.
- didn't
- doesn't
- can't
- shouldn't
- won't
If we don't use a contraction, then we're often stressing it. And we'll probably do a Stop T.
- I do not want to see her right now.
14. ON#
on [ɔn]
This word doesn't reduce. We don't change any sounds. But it is unstressed.
- Put it on the table.
15. WITH#
with [wɪθ]
voiced TH:
[wɪð]
unvoiced TH:
[wɪθ]
This word doesn't reduce. None of the sounds change. But, it is unstressed.
- It's with the other one.
16. HE#
he [hi]
reduces to [i]
Often we drop the H, and have just the EE sound.
- What does he want?
[dəz‿i]
17. AS#
as [æz]
reduces to [əz]
- He's as tall as me.
18. YOU#
you [ju]
reduces to [jə]
- What are you doing?
19. DO#
do [du]
reduces to [də]
- What do you think?
20. AT#
at [æt]
reduces to [ət]
Flap T if followed by a vowel or diphthong.
Stop T if followed by a consonant.
- She's at school.
[ət | skul]
21. THIS#
this [ðɪs]
It's usually going to be pronounced a lot more quickly than that, unstressed.
- This is what I'm talking about.
Sometimes it's more stressed.
- Not that one, this one.
22. BUT#
but [bʌt]
reduces to [bət]
- I wanted to stop in, but I was already running late.