In spoken English, we can can be generally put words into two categories:
Content words are the words that help us form a picture in our head; they communicate the main idea of a phrase and tell our listener where to focus his or her attention. They describe people, places, things, and concepts. Content words are usually:
- Nouns
- Main verbs (NOT auxiliaries, like "is," "has," or "does"!)
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Negatives (can't, don't)
- Demonstrative pronouns (this, that)
Function words are the words we use to make our sentences grammatically correct. If we use them incorrectly, the listener will still probably understand the message of what we're saying. Function words are usually:
- Articles (a, the)
- Prepositions (in, from, to)
- Pronouns (his, me)
- Auxiliaries (do, did)
- Conjunctions (and, but)
The rhythm of spoken English depends largely on the placement of content and function words. Stressed syllables in content words are pronounced fully and are the "beats" of the thought group; function words are pronounced without much stress, and their vowels become reduced to a "schwa" sound (which sounds like a neutral "uh" grunt).
I have been working at a bank.
In the example sentence below, only the stressed syllables in working and bank are the "beats" of the phrase.
In ShadowTalk's practice videos, content words will be marked for you in blue, and function words will be crossed off.
💡Learn next: Thought Groups and Pausing, or how to divide your sentences into phrases.