Learning English

Tim
Hi. I'm Tim and this is my Pronunciation workshop. Here I'm going to show you how English is really spoken. Come on, let's go inside. Where were you born? Where do you come from? Here's what we heard when we asked some people in London their names, and where they come from.

Voxpops
My name's Charlotte, and I'm from Darwin in Lancashire.
My name's Ollie, and I'm from Norfolk.
I'm Amy from London.
Allie, I'm from Northern Ireland.
My name's Victoria. I'm from Cambridge.

Tim
Now they all used the word from, didn't they - but they didn't pronounce it /frɒm/. Listen again: how is it pronounced?

Voxpops
My name's Charlotte, and I'm from Darwin in Lancashire.
My name's Ollie, and I'm from Norfolk.
I'm Amy from London.
Allie, I'm from Northern Ireland.
My name's Victoria - I'm from Cambridge.

Tim
The word from is a preposition; it's usually not that important in a sentence, so it's often unstressed. Now, at the end of the question, "Where do you come from?" It's unstressed, but it is still pronounced /frɒm/. However, when it's unstressed, and it comes in the middle of a sentence, the /ɒ/ changes to schwa, so /frɒm/ becomes /frəm/. This is an example of a weak form, and here are some more examples.

Examples
I borrowed it from my brother.
I read the book from cover to cover.
The nearest post office is not far from here.
Come over any time from seven o'clock.

Tim
Right, now you've heard the examples, and now it's your turn. You know the drill by now: listen and repeat.

Examples
I borrowed it from my brother.
I read the book from cover to cover.
The nearest post office is not far from here.
Come over any time from seven o'clock.

Tim
Well done. And remember, if you want to learn more about pronunciation, then please visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com. And that is about it from the pronunciation workshop for this week. I'll see you soon. Bye bye!