American Accent Training

Chapter 1 American Intonation

The American Speech Music                                        

What to Do with Your Mouth to Sound American

One of the main differences between the way an American talks and the way the rest of the world talks is that we don't really move our lips. (So, when an American says, "Read my lips!" what does he really mean?) We create most of our sounds in the throat, using our tongue very actively. If you hold your fingers over your lips or clench your jaws when you practice speaking American English, you will find yourself much closer to native-sounding speech than if you try to pronounce every ... single ... sound ... very ... carefully.

If you can relate American English to music, remember that the indigenous music is jazz. Listen to their speech music, and you will hear that Americans have a melodic, jazzy way of producing sounds. Imagine the sound of a cello when you say, Beddy bada bida beader budder (Betty bought a bit of better butter) and you'll be close to the native way of saying it.

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Because most Americans came from somewhere else, American English reflects the accent contributions of many lands. The speech music has become much more exaggerated than British English, developing a strong and distinctive intonation. If you use this intonation, not only will you be easier to understand, but you will sound much more confident, dynamic, and persuasive.

Intonation, or speech music, is the sound that you hear when a conversation is too far away to be clearly audible but close enough for you to tell the nationality of the speakers. The American intonation dictates liaisons and pronunciation, and it Indicates mood and meaning. Without intonation, your speech would be flat, mechanical, and very confusing for your listener. What is the American intonation pattern? How is it different from other languages? Foa egzampuru, eefu you hea ah Jahpahneezu pahsohn speakingu Ingurishu, the sound would be very choppy, mechanical, and unemotional to an American. Za sem vey vis Cheuman pipples, it sounds too stiff. A mahn frohm Paree ohn zee ahzer ahnd, eez intonashon goes up at zee end ov evree sentence, and has such a strong intonation that he sounds romantic and highly emotional, but this may not be appropriate for a lecture or a business meeting in English.

The Oxford Dictionary of New Words

The Oxford Dictionary of New Words:

A popular guide to words in the news

 PREFACE Preface

          This is the first dictionary entirely devoted to new words and meanings to have been published by the Oxford University Press. It follows in the tradition of the Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary in attempting to record the history of some recent additions to the language, but,unlike the Supplement, it is necessarily very selective in the words,phrases, and meanings whose stories it sets out to tell and it stands as an independent work, unrelated (except in the resources it draws upon) to the Oxford English Dictionary.

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          The aim of the Oxford Dictionary of New Words is to provide an informative and readable guide to about two thousand high-profile words and phrases which have been in the news during the past decade; rather than simply defining these words (as dictionaries of new words have tended to do in the past), it also explains their derivation and the events which brought them to prominence, illustrated by examples of their use in journalism and fiction. In order to do this, it draws on the published and unpublished resources of the Oxford English Dictionary, the research that is routinely carried out in preparing new entries for that work, and the word-files an databases of the Oxford Dictionary Department.

The 4000 English Words Essential for an Educated Vocabulary

Contents

ABOUT THIS BOOK................................ 5

THE WORDS............................................. 7

WORD ANALYSIS............................... 103

 IDIOM AND USAGE ............................ 117

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Learn English in 30 Days PDF

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Past Tenses, Past continuous tense

Past tense

Structure of past simple 
Structure of past continuous
 

Here is how to form the past simple tense in English.

Structure of past simple
positive	negative	question
I arrived yesterday. You arrived yesterday. He/she/it arrived. We arrived. They arrived.	I didn't (did not) arrive. You didn't (did not) arrive. He/she/it didn't arrive. We didn't arrive. They didn't arrive.	Did I arrive yesterday? Did you arrive? Did he/she/it arrive? Did we arrive? Did they arrive?

Past simple - common mistakes
Common mistakes	Correct version	Why?
I was work in London.	I worked in London.	In positive sentences, a helping verb such as 'was' or 'did' is not used.
He worked in London?	Did he work in London?	The helping verb 'did' is used in past simple questions.
Worked he in London?	Did he work in London?	The helping verb 'did' is used in past simple questions.
Did he wrote a letter?	Did he write a letter?	The main verb is used in the infinitive form in questions and negatives.
He didn't wrote a letter.	He didn't write a letter.	The main verb is used in the infinitive form in questions and negatives.

Past continuous tense

The past continuous tense is also sometimes called the past progressive.

Here is how to form the past continuous in English.

Structure of past continuous
positive	negative	question
I was reading a book. He/she was talking. It was raining.	I wasn't (was not) reading. He/she wasn't talking.  It wasn't raining.	Was I reading? Was he/she talking? Was it raining?
You were reading a book. We were waiting. They were drinking.	You weren't (were not) reading. We weren't talking. They weren't drinking.	Were you reading? Were we waiting? Were they drinking?

Past continuous - common mistakes
Common mistakes	Correct version	Why?
I waiting for him almost two hours.	I was waiting for him almost two hours.	To form the past continuous we use was/were + ing.
What did he doing when you saw him?	What was he doing when you saw him?
We were playing tennis every morning.	We played tennis every morning.	We use the past simple for repeated actions in the past.
They watched TV when I came.	They were watching TV when I came.	We use the past continuous when we want to say what was happening (what was in progress) at a particular time in the past.

Present Tenses, Present continuous tense

A list of all English tenses, including:

- the structure of each tense
- explanations of usage
- examples of common errors and how to avoid making them.

Present tenses

• Structure of present simple
• Structure of present continuous

How to form the present simple tense in English.

Structure of present simple
positive	negative	question
I work in a bank. You work in a bank. We work in a bank. They work in a bank.	I don't (do not) work. You don't (do not) work. We don't (do not) work. They don't (do not) work.	Do I work in a bank? Do you work in a bank? Do we work in a bank? Do they work in a bank?
He works in a bank. She works in a bank. The bank opens at 9 o'clock.	He doesn't (does not) work. She doesn't (does not) work. It doesn't (does not) open at 9 o'clock.	Does he work? Does she work? Does it open at 9 o'clock?

Present simple - common mistakes
Common mistakes	Correct version	Why?
I working in London.	I work in London.	The gerund ing form is not used in the present simple.
He work in London.	He works in London.	The third person he, she, it adds the letter s.
He work in London?	Does he work in London?	Questions - third person: does + subject + infinitive. All other persons: do + subject + infinitive.
Work he in London?	Does he work in London?
He not work in London.	He doesn't work in London.	Negatives - third person: subject + doesn't + infinitive. All other persons: subject + don't + infinitive.

The present continuous tense is sometimes called the present progressive.

Here is how to form the present continuous tense in English.

Structure of present continuous
positive	negative	question
I'm (I am) reading a book.   You're (you are) reading.  We're (we are) reading.  They're (they are) reading.	I'm (I am) not reading. You're (you are) not reading. We're (we are) not reading. They're (they are) not reading.	Am I reading? Are you reading? Are we reading? Are they reading?
He's (he is) reading a book. She's (she is) reading a book. It's (it is) raining.	He's not / he isn't (he is not) reading. She's not / she isn't (she is not) reading. It's not / it isn't (it is not) raining.	Is he reading? Is she reading? Is it raining?

Present continuous - common mistakes
Common mistakes	Correct version	Why?
They still waiting for you.	They are still waiting for you.	to form a continuous tense we use be + -ing.
They are still waiting for you?	Are they still waiting for you?	In questions the subject (they) and the auxiliary verb (be) change places.
Do they still waiting for you?	Are they still waiting for you?
Where they are waiting for you?	Where are they waiting for you?
She doesn't watching TV.	She isn't watching TV.	To form the negative we put not after the verb be (am not, is not = isn't, are not = aren't).
I'm believing you.	I believe you.	Some verbs are not used in continuous tenses - these are called stative verbs (e.g. believe, come from, cost, depend, exist, feel, hate, like).