Wouldn’t’ve I’d’ve

Feifei:  大家好，欢迎收听这期《你问我答》节目，在这个节目中我们将回答你在英语学习中碰
到的种种难题。
 
Finn:  Yes, Question and Answer of the Week is where we help you with any problems you have with English. I’m Finn.
 
Feifei:  我是冯菲菲。这周的问题来自海口的 Andy.
 
Insert
 
Why is it when people say ‘I have read this book already’, often the word ‘have’ often sounds like a whisper and is very fast.
 
Finn:  Ok, so this is about the pronunciation of the word ‘have’. Often, he says, it sounds like a whisper or is said very fast.
 
Feifei:  Andy 说  ‘have’ 这个词出现在句子  ‘I have read this book already’ 里面的时候，这个词的发音很轻，声音很小，像是在说悄悄话。
 
Finn:  Like this: I’ve read this book already. Did you hear the word ‘have’?
 
Feifei:  Not the full word. I’ve read this book already.
 
Finn:  I’ve read this book already. Well, Andy, you are right. This kind of thing
happens very often in English – two words get run together.
 
Feifei:  想必大家对英语语言中这个用法已经不陌生了，我们称它为  contraction 缩写，也就是把两个词合二为一，像上面这个例子，have 这个词好像被单词 I吞掉了一半。
 
Finn:  Yes, so ‘I have’ becomes ‘I’ve’, which is spelled I撇VE. And in answer to Andy’s question of why this happens - it’s just a natural way of speaking.
 
Feifei:  这样听起来会更自然。可以缩写的单词有很多，仔细听下面的这些例子。

Insert
 
I would    = I’d     ‡    I’d like to go to Thailand You will    = You’ll   ‡   You’ll be happy there
He is    = He’s   ‡   He’s always saying that Had not    = Hadn’t   ‡    I hadn’t tried that
 
 
Feifei:  你刚刚一共听到了几个呢？缩写略读这种方式经常会出现在英语口语中。
 
Finn:  Yes, words like am, have, will, would, and not are often shortened, or contracted when we speak. Sometimes we even put not two but three words together, like this: wouldn’t’ve and I’d’ve. Now Feifei can you tell me
what these mean?
 
Feifei:  I think I can.
 
Finn:  I think you can, shall we try them? Wouldn't've.
 
Feifei:  Would not have.
 
Finn:  Yes that's right. And I'd've?
 
Feifei:  I would have.
 
Finn:  I would have. So, as you can see, contraction happens a lot. But it doesn’t
always happen. Let’s give some examples to explain.
 
Feifei:  今天提问的听众Andy 问我们关于读书方面的问题，那么我们现在就一起去一家书店。
 
 
Insert
 
Helen:  Hi, I’m Helen. 
 
Feifei:  Helen 是一位来自中国的游客，她想买一本小说在回中国的路上阅读。
 
Finn:  Listen to what Helen says to the shop assistant and see if you can spot a
difference, firstly:
 
 
Insert
 
Derm:  Have you read this one?
 
Helen:  I’ve read it.
 
 
Finn:  And now: 
 Insert
 
Derm:  You haven’t read this one have you, it’s not so well-known.
 
Helen:  Actually, I have read it – it was great.
 
Feifei:  你听出来区别了吗？我们再一起听听 Helen 的回答。
 
Insert
 
Helen:  I’ve read it.
 
Helen:  Actually, I have read it. It was great.
 
Finn:  I’m sure you heard the difference there. In the second one Helen put an
emphasis on the word ‘have’.
 
Feifei:  她把重音 an emphasis放在了单词have 上。我们通常在强调一件事情，加重一个词
的语气的时候就不来缩写略读这些通常会被缩写的单词。在这里我们不知道 Helen的
回答是什么，那么在她回答的时候她特别强调了她已经读过这本书的事实了。
 
Finn:  Listen to Helen talking to the shop assistant again:
 
Insert
 
Derm:  So, which places have you been to in Europe?
 
Helen:  I’ve been to Britain, Italy and Spain.
 
Derm:  I love Germany, you should visit Germany – It's wonderful there.
 
Helen:  Oh sorry, I have been to Germany, I forgot to say.
 
 
Feifei:  Helen 在最后一句话中想强调她其实去过德国，只是在上面的回答中忘说了。
 
 
Insert
 
Helen:  Oh sorry, I have been to Germany, I forgot to say.

 
Finn:  One other time we don’t use the contraction is when we are writing
formally.
 
Feifei:  正式书写formal writing. 比方说在一封正式的商务信件里，我们不会用缩写。
 
Finn:  So, for example, if we're writing a business letter, I would write ‘I would
like to order 1,000 diamond rings’, not ‘I’d like to order 1,000 diamond
rings’. 
 Feifei:  Finn我想你如果真的要买1,000枚钻戒的话，就算你用了缩写人家也不会在意的，你
说呢？
 
Finn:  Probably not! I think you're right there Feifei. 
 
Feifei:  今天的节目就到这儿，别忘了如果你有任何英语语言学习方面的问题，都可以发邮件到
questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk 或者登陆我们的网站：
 
Finn:  www.bbcchina.com.cn.  
 
Feifei:    Bye bye.
 
Finn:    Bye. 
 

This week's question comes from Andy in Haikou, who asks why the word 'have' in the phrase 'I have' often sounds like a whisper, or is said very fast.

Often in English two words get run together.

We call this contraction.

It happens a lot with words like am, have, would and will. For example:
 

The reason we do this is because it sounds more natural.

Sometimes we even put three words together, like this:

Contraction happens very often in spoken English, but there are two kinds of situations in which you don't contract:

1) When you want to emphasise something, for example:

Waiter: You haven't paid yet, have you?

Customer: Excuse me, I have paid.

In this example, the waiter thinks that a customer has not paid their bill yet. The customer replies, emphasising the word 'have' to make it clear that they 'have' already paid.

2) When you are writing formally.

For example, in a business letter you would write:

I would like to order 1,000 diamond rings.

NOT

I'd like to order 1,000 diamond rings.

Thank you Andy for your question. If you have a question please get in touch. You can email us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Glossary 词汇

whisper
悄悄话

run together
把（两个词）连在一起；混合

contraction
缩写

emphasise
强调

writing formally
正式书写

business letter
商务函件

diamond rings
钻戒