Work in pairs. Read these sentences out loud. Pay attention to the strong and weak forms of the auxiliary verbs. Then listen and check.

1. Does she exercise? - Yes, she does.

2. Were you eating healthily? - Yes, I was.

3. Do you eat vegetables? - Yes, I do.

4. Can he get up early? - Yes, he can.

Listen and complete the conversation. Then underline the weak forms of the auxiliary verbs, circle the contracted forms, and mark the consonant-to-vowel linking with (‿). Practise saying the conversation in pairs.

A: What's it like living (1) _________ skyscraper?

B: (2) __________ great. I (3) __________ enjoy the best views (4) ___________ the city from my sofa.

A: (5) __________ have a balcony?

B: No, (6) ___________. (7) ___________ huge windows.

Example:

Circle the common pronunciation of the underlined auxiliary verbs. Then listen and check. Practise saying the conversations in pairs.

1. Doctor: Have you been examined yet?

A. /hæv/                         B. /hav/

Nam: Yes, I have.

A. /hæv/                          B. /hav/

2. Trainer: Can you do this exercise routine?

A. /kæn/                          B. /kǝn/

Nam: Yes, I can.

A. /kæn/                          B. /kǝn/

Listen and read.

Mark: Hi, Nam!

Nam: Hi, Mark! Long time no see. How are you?

Mark: I'm fine, thanks, but you look so fit and healthy! Have you started working out again?

Nam: Yes, I have. I've also stopped eating fast food and given up bad habits, such as staying up late.

Mark: I can't believe it! I thought you can't live without burgers and chips!

Nam: I know. I ate a lot of fast food, but now I prefer fresh fruits and vegetables.

Mark: So what happened?

Nam: Well, it was my grandfather. I visited him during my last summer holiday and have learnt a lot of important life lessons from him.

Mark: Really?

Nam: Yes. He's a wonderful person. He has just had his 90th birthday, but he's still full of energy!

Mark: Amazing! How does he stay so active?

Nam: Well, he does exercise every morning, goes to bed early, and eats a lot of vegetables. We spent a lot of time together cooking, working in his garden, and walking in the parks. I've learnt from him that taking regular exercise and eating a balanced diet are the key to a long and healthy life.

Listen and pay attention to the fall-rise (  ) intonation in the following sentences. Then practise saying them in pairs.

1. Shall we now talk about other learning methods?

2. Could you please pay attention when I’m talking to you?

3. Why don't we use public transport to go to school?

4. Would you like to join our cooking course?

C. Read the information. Then listen to the strong and weak forms of the questions.

(Đọc thông tin. Sau đó, nghe các dạng phát âm mạnh và yếu của các câu hỏi.)

Listen to these conversations. Pay attention to the intonation of the question tags. Then practise saying them in pairs.

1. A: So, we need to protect local ecosystems, don't we?

B: Yes, we do.

2. A: You'll take the books back to the library, won't you?

B: OK, I'll do that tomorrow.

3. A: We don't want our planet to lose biodiversity, do we?

B: No, we don't.

4. A: An ecosystem is a community of living things, isn’t it?

B: No, it isn’t. It’s a community of both living and non-living things.

5. A: You went to Cuc Phuong National Park last weekend, didn’t you?

B: Yes, I did.

Listen and mark the intonation in these questions, using  (rising intonation) or  (falling intonation). Then practise saying them in pairs.

1. Do you want to go to university?

2. Have you talked with your parents about your plans?

3. How much does it cost to study at university?

4. What's your favourite subject at school?

PRONUNCIATION: /æ/ and /ǝ/

Listen to the examples. How do we pronounce have and has when they are weak forms?

Have (/ǝ/) you been travelling?

Yes, I have (/æ/).

Has (/ǝ/) it been fun?

Yes, it has (/æ/), but it hasn't (/æ/) been easy, and the weather has (/ǝ/) been terrible.