Indefinite article "a"

[Tabeta]

Which are the possible weak forms of the indefinite article "a"?
Thank you.

[naomimalan]

Originally Posted by Tabeta

Which are the possible weak forms of the indefinite article "a"?
Thank you.

99.9999% of the time, the indefinite article is used in the weak form. The only time you'd give it the strong pronunciation (to rhyme with "train") would be when you want to stress the fact that you meant "one", not "more than one."
For instance, you ask your grandson to give you a chocolate.
He comes running up with a handful of chocolates: "I asked you to give me A chocolate, not a whole handful!"

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by naomimalan

99.9999% of the time, the indefinite article is used in the weak form. The only time you'd give it the strong pronunciation (to rhyme with "train") would be when you want to stress the fact that you meant "one", not "more than one."
For instance, you ask your grandson to give you a chocolate.
He comes running up with a handful of chocolates: "I asked you to give me A chocolate, not a whole handful!"

I think that figure is a slight exaggeration.
Another common situation in which it's used is when you're ordering something, and you haven't quite made up your mind. You might say "Let's have a ..." with a strong a.
Another situation is when someone is speaking a sentence slowly for emphasis: "You ... are ... a ... bad ... boy".