SYNTACTIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR AUXILIARIES / BE

While a negative contracted form (can’t, aren’t, don’t, etc) is systematically stressed, it is the position of an auxiliary/BE in the
utterance which determines whether or not it is stressed.
1) MID-UTTERANCE
Most common occurrences of auxiliaries are those found mid-utterance, followed by a lexical verb. In this case, the auxiliary is
unstressed and the lexical verb stressed :

You can /take it if you /think you would /use it.

The /doctors have /done their /best but they are /only /treating /mild /cases.

I will /tell them they should /spend some /time with their /parents.

The same rule applies to BE, regardless of whether BE is an auxiliary or the main verb :

The /boys are /happy and they are /hoping to be /home /early to/night.

Note : emphatic use of an auxiliary/BE is possible but rare :

ex “I /will /tell them” : the speaker is trying to be reassuring or implicitly saying “not yet”.
ex “The /boys /are /happy” : the contrary has been asserted or perhaps the statement is about to be mitigated (announcing “but”).
Emphasis of this sort requires utterances in context and so goes beyond the scope of this course.

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The no-stress-for-auxiliaries/BE rule also applies for more complex syntax involving several auxiliaries :

They will have /reached the /border by /six.

/If I had /known you /liked /cake, I would have /baked you one.

/Mum will have been /fretting for/most of the /night.

Note : the no-stress rule applies whether BE is an auxiliary or the main verb in the utterance:
/Most of the /students are /here but /some of them are /working to/day.

2) INITIAL POSITION
In initial position, an auxiliary/BE is
• likely to be stressed in formal speech
• unstressed in conversational English.
Compare :
Could you /just /shut /up ! /Could you be /quiet, please ?
Can I /help you ? /Can I /help you /Madam ?

For this course, if there are no indications such as “please” or “Madam” or “Sir” etc then we will be using conversational English.
So the basic rule then is that in initial position, auxiliaries/BE are unstressed.

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Note on SHORT QUESTIONS & QUESTION TAGS
Every utterance must have at least one stressed syllable so how does stress operate in short utterances (questions) composed of
an auxiliary/BE and a pronoun :
Does he? Will she? Can we? Am I?

It is the auxiliary which carries stress, not the pronoun, creating the following pattern :
/Does he? /Will she? /Can we? /Am I?
NOT Does/he?* Will/she?* Can /we?* Am /I?* (common error)

QUESTION TAGS follow the same pattern :

A question tag is usually composed of an auxiliary/BE + pronoun. It may be “tagged on” after a comma or stand alone. The stress
pattern is the same as for short questions : the auxiliary/BE is stressed and the pronoun is not.
He /shouldn’t com/plain, /should he?
She will /never /know, /will she?
They /aren’t /here, /are they?

When a tag is composed of a negative contracted form, the negative contracted form is always stressed :
/Cats are /great, /aren’t they?
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/Joe can /tell, /can’t he?
They /love it, /don’t they?

➢ In short questions and question tags composed of an auxiliary/BE in initial position + pronoun, the auxiliary/BE is stressed.

SUMMARY. The following series show various stress patterns for utterances with AUXILIARIES/BE in INITIAL position :

/Should /Joe /leave ? /Will /Jane /stay ? /Can /children /play ? /Do /cats /fight ? /Are /dogs /lazy?
Should /Joe /leave ? Will /Jane /stay ? Can /children /play ? Do /cats /fight ? Are /dogs /lazy?

/Should he /leave ? /Will she /stay ? /Can we /play ? /Do they /fight ? /Are they /lazy?
Should he /leave ? Will she /stay ? Can we /play ? Do they /fight ? Are they /lazy?

/Should he ? /Will she ? /Can we ? /Do they ? /Are they?

/Should /Joe? /Will /Jane? /Can /children? /Do /cats? /Are /dogs?
Should /Joe? Will /Jane? Can /children? Do /cats? Are /dogs?

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CONTRASTIVE STRESS ON PRONOUNS IN SHORT QUESTIONS AND TAGS.
General rule : in utterances composed of just an auxiliary/BE + pronoun, it is the auxiliary which is stressed. In this type of
utterance, the pronoun could be stressed if there is contrastive stress. This is rare. The utterance that has prompted the short
utterance must be considered. In a text, it is often indicated by italic font :
Compare initial "Can" in the following B responses :
A : I /think I can /do it. > B : /Can you ? (asking for simple confirmation) Can /you?
A : I /think /Jack can /do it. > B : Can /you ? (contrastive stress = emphasis on pronoun “you” v. Jack)

A : She /sounded /angry. > B : /Did she? (asking for simple confirmation) Did /she?
A : She /sounded /angry. > B : Did /he? (contrastive stress = emphasis on pronoun “she” v. “he”)

3) FINAL POSITION
When auxiliaries/BE are at the end of an utterance, stressing them or not depends on whether they are preceded by stressed
or unstressed elements. This means that they are
• likely to be unstressed when preceded by a stressed lexical item
• always stressed when preceded by an unstressed grammatical item (such as a pronoun for example).

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 Compare :
Do you /know how /Jack is ?
/Tell me who /those /boys were.
/Yes, /Joe will.
I’m /not /sure that /Bill can.
Do you /know how he /is ?
/Tell me who they /were.
/Yes, he /will.
I’m /not /sure that he /can.

REMEMBER : in utterances ending with a pronoun + auxiliary/BE, it is the auxiliary/BE which is stressed, NOT the
pronoun (common error).
I would /help if I /could. I /didn’t /think he’d /care but he /does.
/Please /give what you /can. She /promised she /would. I /said I’d be /ready and I /am.

Similarly, in short utterances composed of just a pronoun + auxiliary/BE, it is the auxiliary/BE which is stressed
We /can. I /will. She /was.

SHORT ANSWERS to YES/NO questions typically follow this rule :

(Did you /lock the /door?) I /did.
(Is he /there?) He /is.

UNLESS context provides a reason to stress a pronoun (rare)…

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NOTE ON CONTRASTIVE STRESS ON PRONOUNS.
General rule : in utterances ending with/composed of a pronoun + auxiliary/BE, it is the auxiliary which is stressed. In this type of
utterance, the pronoun could be stressed if there is opposition between 2 elements. This is context-dependent. In a text, this may
be indicated by italic font.
Compare final "do" and “can” in response B :

A : Do you /want it ? B : I /do. (simple confirmation) A : Can you /eat it? B : I /can.

A : /Who /wants it ? B : /I do. (Who ? >me, “Moi, je ”) A : /Who can /eat /that? B : /I can.

A : /Nobody /likes /Joe. B : /I do. (contrast) A : /Nobody can /eat /that! B : /I can.

A : You /don’t /like /Joe. B : I /do ! (contradiction) A : You /can’t /eat /that! B : I /can!

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 SENTENCE STRESS RULES & THE USE OF WEAK FORMS / STRONG FORMS

(See LLCER 2 S4 Phonetics & Phonology)

A stressed auxiliary/BE takes a STRONG FORM regardless of where it is placed in an utterance :

/Can I /help you, /Madam? /ˈkæn aɪ ˈhelp ju ˈmædəm/ (formal style, initial position = stressed= strong form)
ˈ I /don’t /know where they /are. /aɪ ˈdəʊnt ˈnəʊ weə ðeɪ ˈɑː/ (final position preceded by pronoun = stressed=strong form)
He /would if he /could but he /can’t.  (contrast would v. could = stressed = strong forms)

BUT an unstressed auxiliary/BE is not necessarily a weak form : the choice between weak/strong for any unstressed
grammatical item depends on its position in the utterance.

Unstressed mid-utterance = weak

/Jack can /swim. /ˈʤæk kən ˈswɪm/
/Bill was /tired. /ˈbɪl wəz ˈtaɪəd/

Unstressed initial position = weak

Was /Bill /very /tired? / wəz ˈbɪl ˈveri ˈtaɪəd/

/!\ Unstressed final position = strong!

I /don’t /know where the /boys are. /aɪ ˈdəʊnt ˈnəʊ  ɑː/
/Joe /can’t /swim but /Jack can. 
 Have you /finished? /Bill has. 
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