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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Hi
Hi
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Doha09
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Hi
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Hi ! I am a beginner teacher of English in Algeria. Could you help me , please? when should we use the strong form and when should we use the weak form of was and were. I need it urgently. Thankk you in advance.
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14 Apr 2011
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libertybelle
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Never heard that expression, weak and strong- but this is one of the fundamentals in English.
singular - present tense:
I am
You are
He, she, it is
Plural - present tense:
We are
You (all) are
They are
Singular - past tense
I was
You were
he, she, it was
Plural - past tense:
We were
You (all) were
They were
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14 Apr 2011
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libertybelle
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I never heard of was and were pronounced differently.
The two forms of The are used either before a consonant or vowel sound.
The same goes for A and An.
This is way beyond me.
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14 Apr 2011
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douglas
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I �m with Liberty on this one--guess it �s just our "wild" American English. |
14 Apr 2011
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Zora
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Well, after looking at the Wiki link... I kind get where this going but honestly, it ain�t what I�d ever thought it was.
From the "the and a" examples on wiki... I concluded that it might be something like this.
Did Tom show up for work today? (supervisor)
Oh yeah, he WAS here ..... for like two minutes. (annoyed employee who is being sarcastic)
Did you like the restaurant I recommended?
Oh it WAS nice alright. (sarcastically, obvious from the tone that the restaurant was horrible)
Were the Browns friendly to you at the party?
Oh, they WERE delightful. (meaning not! they were probably being very rude or something similar)
And this is what I am guessing strong and weak forms of "was / were" are.
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14 Apr 2011
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Jessisun
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Hi! You use weak forms in affirmative sentences and strong forms for yes/no questions. I hope this can help you!!! Warm regards,
Jessica |
14 Apr 2011
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douglas
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So basically using the strong form is just putting emphasis on the individual word?
I was a at the beach yesterday. (weak form)
A: Were you at the beach yesterday? (were in weak from)
B: Yes, I WAS at the beach yesterday. (strong form)
This also works for LInda �s example for sarcasm:
Tom was at the party last night. (weak form--simply a fact)
Tom WAS at the party last night. (strong form--probably did some stupid things there)
Interesting topic, thanks
Douglas |
15 Apr 2011
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