Hello, everybody. My name is Emma; and in today's video, we are going to learn
how to pronounce the top ten most common verbs in English. The interesting thing
about the top ten most common verbs are they are all irregular verbs. So, we're
going to look at how to pronounce them in their different forms — including the
present tense, the past tense, and the past participle tense — so you're going
to hear a lot of different pronunciation. And again, this is a very
important lesson, because you will hear these verbs a lot, as well as you will
be using them a lot, because they are the top ten most common ones. And a lot
of the times when students are learning pronunciation, they feel overwhelmed.
They think: "Hmm. There's just so many words. What should I focus on?" Well, I
think that learning the top ten verbs of English and their different forms is a
great way to start with pronunciation because, again, all of these words are
very common. So, let's get started.
The most common verb in English is the verb: "to be" or the "be" verb. Now,
there are different forms of the verb, depending on if we are talking about:
"I", "you", "he", "she", "it", "we", or "they". Okay? So, let's look at the
pronunciation of each of these different parts of the verb. We have: "I am",
"am". This is pronounced just like the letter "m". "I am". Now, usually, when
we're in conversation, we don't say: "I am"; we actually shorten this into a
contraction. We often say: "I'm", "I'm"; "I'm hungry", "I'm tired". So, I can
say: "I am", but I'm more likely to say: "I'm" in conversation. Okay? So, why
don't you repeat after me this word? Because it's hard for many people to
pronounce, but it's so common. "I'm", "I'm". If it helps you to remember, it
rhymes with "time". "Time", "I'm". Okay. Now we have the... the part... the
conjugation of the "be" verb, which is "are". We use "are" with "you", or with
"we": "you are", "we are". Now, remember I said this one sounds like the letter
"m"? This sounds like the English letter "r". "Are". So, it's nice and simple.
When we're talking about the opposite of "are" — when we're talking about the
negative version, which is: "are not", like: "you are not" — we can actually
say: "aren't". So, this is the contraction of "are not": "you aren't",
"aren't". And this is how it's spelt. Notice there's an apostrophe, here. So,
this is another way to say: "are not" — we can say: "aren't". Okay. So, we have
"am", "are", "is". Many students actually mispronounce this word: "is",
and it's a very common word in English. The reason they mispronounce it is
because the "s", here, actually sounds like a "z" sound. So, I'm going to put a
little "z" here to help you remember this. Listen to my pronunciation: "is",
"is". Now, I'm really stressing it; I wouldn't do that in conversation. But
many students actually say: "is", where they pronounce it like an "s", but it's
actually pronounced like a "z" at the end. "is". And then we have, here, the
negative version. So, we can say: "he is", "she is". The negative version is
"is not". Or, if I want to use a contraction, I can say: "isn't",
"isn't". And notice for this, it's two parts: "isn't", and one part is louder
and longer. The first part is louder and longer. So, listen carefully. "Isn't",
"he isn't here", "she isn't here". Okay. So, we've talked about "I'm", so we've
talked about: "I am", "you are", "he is", "she is", "we are", "they are". So,
these are the words we use when we're talking about "be" in the present tense,
or sometimes we use these as what are called "helping verbs". But the main
thing to learn right now is just focus on the pronunciation. This is less about
grammar; more about pronunciation.
Now, if we're talking about the past, like we're talking about yesterday or a
year ago, sometime in the past, we can use the "be" verb in the past tense. So,
we have: "was" and "were". Again, these are... they mean the same thing; we just
use different ones depending on if we're talking about: "I", "you", "he", "she",
"they" or "we". We can say: "I was", "he was", "she was", "it was". So, notice
the pronunciation: "was". Now, if we're talking about: "you" or "they", we can
use "were"; "you were", "they were". Okay? So, it's a short-sounding word:
"were". Now, if we wanted to talk about the negative form of this word, the
pronunciation is: "wasn't", "wasn't". If we wanted to talk about the
pronunciation of this word, in the negative form, we would say: "weren't",
"weren't". "You weren't there", "they weren't there", "we weren't there". So,
those are some examples. Now, the third form of the verb is called the "past
participle". So, a "past participle" you will find in different types of grammar.
I'll give you one example. We use it a lot in something called "the present
perfect". So, I might say something like: "I have been to China", "been".
This is a word that many students mispronounce. It's pronounced like:
"bin". I hear many students say: "bean", where they try to make it a long "e",
but it's more like: "been". Okay? So, it's a bit shorter. So, there's a lot of
words we've covered here, but they all mean "be"; they're just different
conjugations or different tenses.
The next word that's the second most common verb in English is: "have", "to
have". So, we have "have" with a "v" sound, or "has" with a "z" sound at the
end. Even though it has an "s", we pronounce it like a "z". So, we can say:
"I have", "you have", "he has", "she has", "they have". So, this is the verb
in the present tense. Now, if we are talking about the past tense, we can use
the verb "had", "had". And we can use this for all of the different
conjugations — "had". So, notice the "a" sound in this: "had". My mouth goes
really big when I pronounce this "a", here: "had". Now, if I wanted to talk
about the negative form of this, I could say: "hadn't". This means "had not" —
"hadn't". And, again, in terms of the past participle, if we're talking about
the present perfect, for example, I can say: "I have had". So, this is the past
participle. If you don't know what a "past participle" is — you're not alone;
it's a very confusing term. The main thing I want to teach here is just the
pronunciation of words you will hear. Again, the grammar is not so important;
it's more about the pronunciation. There's something I forgot. We have the
word "hasn't", "hasn't". "He hasn't". So, notice how that's pronounced. Again,
"n" apostrophe "t" is pronounced almost like: "ent", "ent". "He hasn't". And
this part is usually said quieter and shorter; whereas the "has" part is
longer and louder. Now, if we wanted to practice the pronunciation of the
negative form of "have", we could say... Any guesses? "Haven't". So, again, we
have that "ent" sound at the end, and "have" is said louder and longer.
"Haven't". And this just means "have not". But, again, in conversation, we
don't usually say: "have not"; we usually say: "haven't". Okay. So, we've
covered the first two most common words in English... or verbs in English. And
the nice thing about the rest of what we're going to be doing is there's less
forms of it. The first two have so many different forms, so that's why we've
spent a lot of time on this. But the rest of these have fewer conjugations,
so it will make it easier for you to remember their pronunciations.
So, the next most common word in English is "do", "to do", "oo". So, notice how I
pronounce "do". It's not "doe", even though there's an "o", here. "Do", it
rhymes with "u". So, we have here, what's this letter? This is a "u", "do",
"u". Okay? So, they rhyme. "I do". Then we have the "you" form: "you do". We
have the "he" and "she" form: "he does", "she does". And notice, again, the "s"
sounds more like a "z": "does". Then we have the negative form: "don't", "I
don't know", "don't". And notice this... the vowels between these two actually
kind of change: "do", "oo"; "don't", "own". So, the vowels actually sound
kind of different. And then we have this word: "doesn't". Again, we have the
"ent" and the stress is on the first part; you say that part louder and
longer: "doesn't", "doesn't". Okay. So, these are all the present tense of this
verb. And, again, we're covering so many different ones. Because we're covering:
"I", "you", "he", "she", "it" and "they" and their conjugations for "do". Now
let's look at the past tense. So, again, when we're talking about the past, we're
talking about yesterday, or last week, last month, last year. So, that is this
area. The past tense of "do" is: "did", "did". So, we have, here, a short "i"
sound. Many students mispronounce this word specifically; many students say:
"deed", like, where they make a very long "e" sound, but that's not correct
for this sound. What we're looking for is the short "i" sound. So, look at my
mouth. Notice my mouth is not tight; it's actually quite loose and relaxed.
And it's just very small. So, let's start just with the "id" part. "id",
"i", "id", "did". It's the same "i" you will find in the word: "it". So, the "i"
here has the same sound as the "i" here: "did", "it". Okay?
Now, when we're talking about something that is the opposite of "did", we can
talk about "did not". Or in conversation, we often use the word:
"didn't", "didn't". And, again, we have this "nt" so that sounds like "ent", and
you'll notice this part is the part we say louder and longer; it's the stressed
part. "Didn't", "I didn't do it". You'll notice with a lot of these words, the
stress is really important for our pronunciation. We really need to pay
attention to what part we say louder and longer, and what part we say a little
quieter and shorter. If... especially if you want to sound more like a local
speaker of English or if you feel people don't understand you well — making sure
that you're using the stress correctly is very important to improving your
pronunciation. So we have "did" and "didn't". Now, what's the past
participle of "do"? The past participle is: "done", "done", "un", "done". So,
this... the "o" in this is not: "don"; it's a smaller "o" sound — it's: "un",
"done". So, it rhymes with: "un" So, this "u" sound, it sounds like "un". The
"o" in here sounds like: "done"; they rhyme. Okay? So, maybe that can help you
with the pronunciation. So, we've covered the top three English verbs and
how to pronounce them. We've covered a lot of actually... a lot of words. Now,
let's look at the rest of the words in English and their pronunciations.
Okay, so we've already covered a lot of different words. So, now let's cover the
fourth most common word which is: "say" — the verb "to say" something; "say".
So, we often say: "I say", "you say", "we say", "they say". Notice how I
pronounce this? So, it's one syllable: "say", and it kind of sounds like "a",
in terms of the pronunciation. The verb... Or, sorry. The vowel sounds like
"a": "say"; "a". Okay? So, it's an "a" sound, like the letter "a"; it rhymes —
"say". Now, the pronunciation of this word really changes when we add an "s",
even the vowel sound changes in this. So, I said: "say". When we're talking
about "he" or "she", or "it", it becomes: "says", "says". And notice the
"s" here? So, this "s" actually sounds like a "z" sound; a "z" sound: "says",
"says". It kind of reminds me of the pronunciation — I don't know if you know
about the candy — we call it "Pez", where you have, like, an animal or
something, and you lift the head up, and a little piece of candy pops out. "Pez".
The vowel sounds similar: "says". So, listen, again, to the difference between
these two words and the vowel, specifically: "say", "says"; "say". And
notice my lips are really tight here? "Say", "says". So, even the way my mouth
moves is different. So, this is in the present. Now, if we're talking about
yesterday, or last week, or the past tense, we would say: "said", "said". It
rhymes with the name "Ed". "Said". Can you say this word? "Said". And if we're
talking about the past participle... So, for example, in the present perfect, I
can say: "I have said"— it's the exact same pronunciation and the same word as
the past. So, the past participle and the past tense are the same, so that
makes it a little bit easier for you. It's just: "said" and "said".
Now, the fifth most common word in English... not word; verb, is: "get",
"to get". So, again, this is our present tense column. If I'm talking about "I":
"I get it", "you get", "we get", "they get", "get", "get". Now, when we add an
"s" here for "he" and "she": "he gets it", "she gets it", "gets". Does this
sound like a "z" or like an "s"? So, listen carefully: "gets", "gets". It's
actually an "s" sound. So, this sounds like an "s". We've talked about a lot of
other words where the "s" sounds like a "z"; in this case, the "s" actually
sounds like an "s", so that makes it a little bit easier. "Gets". Now, the past
tense of this word is: "got", "got". So, we change the "e" to an "o" to make the
past tense. "Yesterday, I got it", "got". So, this rhymes with a lot of
different words. We can... it rhymes with: "caught"; "got". It rhymes with:
"bought", which is the past tense of "buy"; "ah". So, let's practice the verb
here. "ah", "ot", "ot". And now let's add the "g": "got", "got". Okay. So,
that's the past tense. Now, if we're talking about the past participle, or
the verb we use when we use "have" in front of it or "had", we use the word:
"gotten", "gotten". "I have gotten great marks", "I have gotten it", "gotten".
So, what do you notice about where the stress is? What part do we say louder
and longer? "gotten". Well, if you said this part is louder and longer, you are
correct. There's two parts to the pronunciation of this word, and the
first part is louder; the second part is quieter. "Gotten", "she has gotten it".
Okay? So, we have done: "say", "get".
Now, let's do the sixth most common word... verb, which is: "make", "make".
"I make", "you make", "we make", "they make". It rhymes with "cake". So, we
have the word: "cake"; "make". So, they sound very similar. Now, if I wanted to
talk about "he" or "she", or "it", I use the word: "makes", "makes". Now, what do
you notice about the "s", here? Is the "s" pronounced like a "z" or like an
"s"? So, listen carefully: "makes", "makes". It's actually pronounced like
an "s"; it's not a "z" sound. So, the "s" sounds like an "s": "makes". And
notice it's only one syllable; it's not: "makes"; "makes". So, it's one part.
Now, if we're talking about the past tense — sorry — the past tense of this
word, we say: "made", "made"; "ade", "made". So, let's start just with the...
this part. Pronounce this: "ade", "a", "ade". Now, if we had the "m": "made",
"made". One thing you can do when you're learning how to pronounce different
words is you can actually look at what your mouth is doing with a mirror.
You'll notice that for some of these vowel sounds, my mouth goes really big;
and for other vowel sounds, my mouth actually goes small. Or sometimes my
mouth goes really tight; sometimes it goes more loose. So, watch what my lips
are doing, and then when you pronounce these vowels, you can use a mirror and
try to do a similar positioning of your lips. Okay. So, we talked about the past
tense: "made"; now, let's talk about the past participle: "I have made it",
"made". So, it's the same pronunciation as the past tense, and it's actually the
same word, so this is nice and easy. That one will be easy for you to
The seventh most common verb in English is the verb: "go", "to go". Now, I can
use: "I go". And notice the vowel sound, here; it's nice and easy. We have an
"o", and in this case, it actually... the vowel sounds like the letter: "go",
"o". This one's easier to remember. Now, when we are talking about: "he" or
"she", we need to add "es", and it becomes: "goes", "goes". Now, what do
you notice about the "s" sound, here? Is it a "z" sound, like a "z"; or is it a
"s" sound, like an "s"? "Goes". It's actually a "z" sound. So, this sounds
more like a "z". So, my main point with this is: Anytime you see an "s" at the
end of an English word, you should always think: "Is it going to be a 's'
sound or a 'z' sound?" Because the "s" in English, the writing of the "s" —
this letter — can be either a "z" sound or an "s" sound, so it's something to
pay attention to. Now, the past tense of "go" is "went", "went". "I went to the
bookstore", "went". Let's just do this part. "ent", "ent". Notice my lips are
not stretched? They're nice and loose: "ent". And I'm not doing any big mouth
movements with this; everything's relaxed and kind of small. Now, I can
add the "w": "went", "I went to the bookstore." Now, the... so, we've talked
about the past tense: "went". Now, let's talk about the past participle. The past
participle of "go" is "gone", so the vowel changes. "Gone". "Go"; "gone", "he
is gone", "on". It rhymes with... sounds more like "on", "on", "gone". Okay? "I
have gone to bed", "I went to bed", "I go to bed". So, these all have the same
meaning; the difference is we're using different tenses and the words are
slightly different, but they are all forms of the word "go". So, we've
covered seven of the most common verbs in English and their pronunciations.
Let's look at the last three. We are almost finished.
So, the eighth most common word in... or most common verb — sorry — in English is
"know", "I know". What do you notice about the "k", here? Do we pronounce it?
Do we say: "k-now"? No, the "k" is actually silent; we don't pronounce the
"k". We need it there when we spell it, but not when we pronounce this word. So,
if I'm talking about: "I know", "you know", "we know", "they know" — the
pronunciation is just like the word: "no". Okay? So: "I know", "we know",
"they know". So, it's easier, I think, to pronounce than some of the other
words we've been looking at. Now, when we are talking about "he" or "she" — we
need to add this "s", here. So, we would say: "he knows", "she knows". What do
you notice about the "s" sound? Does it sound like a "z" or like a "s"? Is it a
"z" sound or an "s" sound at the end? "Knows", "knows". It's a little bit of a
"z" sound. Okay? So, we've covered the present tense. If we're talking about
the past, again, like last week, last month, in 1996, the past, we would use
the word: "knew", "knew". So, again, the "k" is silent. You'll notice that the
letter for the vowel in the middle is different; it's now an "e", and the
pronunciation is different. We have: "know", "knew", "ew". So, it has that
"ew" sound in it. So, let's just start by saying: "ew", and now let's add the
"n": "knew", "knew". You might also know this word: "new", like "old" and "new" —
same pronunciation. Now, when we're talking about the past participle, or
the third part of the verb, or the verb we use when we have "have" or "had" in
front of it, we use this: "known", "known". So, let's just start with the
ending first: "own", so we have that "o" sound in it. "own". And then we can add
the "n": "known". And, again, the "k" is silent. So, we have: "know", "knew", and
"known".
The ninth most common word is: "take", "take". Now, "take" rhymes with the word
"cake" or "make". So, it's the same verb sound. "a", it has that "a" sound in it,
like the letter "a" or like "eh", "a". "Take". "I take", "you take", "we take".
Notice they all have the same pronunciation. Now, when we're talking
about: "he" or "she", we have to add the "s". Now, does this "s" sound like a "z"
sound or a "s" sound? Is it a "z" sound or an "s" sound? Listen carefully.
"Takes", "takes". It's actually a "s" sound or an "s" sound. So, we're not
going to add a "z" here; it sounds like an "s". "Takes", "he takes", "she
takes". And that can be really challenging for students to pronounce,
because you have a "k" and an "s" sound together. So, when we pronounce the
"ks", our tongue is doing a lot of work. So, if this takes you some time to
learn, that's okay, because it is a very difficult sound to make. Now, when we're
talking about the past tense of "take", we say the word: "took". "Yesterday, I
took the bus", "took", "ook". Now, the vowel, here, it sounds like the vowel
sound in "book", "ook". Okay? So, it's a shorter vowel. So, I want you to repeat
after me— let's just start with the vowel sound: "ook", "ook". Now, let's
add the "t": "took", "I took the bus", "took". So, we've talked about the past
tense. Now, let's talk about the past participle; the third form of the verb:
"taken", "taken". There's a famous movie with, I think, Liam Neeson called:
"Taken". So, notice, again, the vowel here sounds like "a": "ta", and then the
"en" sounds like "in" — "taken". What part am I saying louder and longer? Just
like a lot of our verbs, the first part is pronounced louder and longer:
So, guess what, guys? We are on number ten. We have made it; we have learned so
many different words and their pronunciations today. So, just... let's
do the last one, and then we can celebrate. The tenth most common word...
verb — I don't know why I keep making the same mistake, but the tenth most
common verb is: "come", "come", "come to my house", "come". So, notice how the
verb in "come" sounds: "ome", it actually sounds like: "um": "come". Now,
what do you no-... and the "c", you'll notice, is pronounced like a "k" or a
"k" sound. "Come", "I come", "we come". Now, when we're talking about "he" or
"she": "he comes home", "she comes home". Notice the "s" — does it sound
like a "z" sound or an "s" sound? "Comes", "comes". It's actually a "z"
sound; a little bit of a "z" sound. It's really hard for students to notice the
"s" or "z" difference because it's at the very end; and when we speak and
pronounce things, usually, the vowel is so loud that some of these other parts
are said kind of quietly. So, if you're not hearing the difference between the
"z" sound or the "s" sound, that's okay. It's hard to hear the difference. But
this sounds more like a "z" than a "s". Now, if we're talking about the past
tense, we change the vowel to an "a", and we can say: "came". So, notice I
have the "a" sound in the vowel? "Came". And if we're talking about the past
participle: "I have" or "you have come". Again, this is the same pronunciation as
our present word. "Come", "come", "came", "come".
And there you have it. These are the most common verbs you will hear in
English. They're all very important, and they're all irregular. So, if you're
going to focus on learning pronunciation, I would recommend
starting with these ten verbs; they're very important. One thing you'll notice
is the vowels change a lot or the pronunciation of the vowels, and so this
is something you're going to really want to pay attention to. How do we pronounce
the vowels in these different words? So, thank you so much for watching. I really
appreciate it. You can come visit my website at www.teacheremma.com. There,
you can find some free resources, as well as you can subscribe if you're
interested in getting more English resources. If you want to practice what
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And, there, you will actually find a quiz where you can practice everything
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So, thank you so much for watching; and, until next time, take care.