-ful

Status
Not open for further replies.

simon1234

Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Vietnamese
Home Country
Vietnam
Current Location
Vietnam
Hi there,
How to say '-fully' or '-fully' as '...fly? 'u' is silent?

Tks
simon
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
None of the areas where I have lived would say, for example, "Cheerfully" as "cheerfly."
-fully has two syllables.
 

Johnson_F

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
I have very rarely heard 'cheerfully' pronounced with only two syllables, though I have commonly heard it pronounced in BrE with a very weak schwa (/[FONT=&quot]ə/) between /f/ and /l/,
[/FONT]
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Hi there,
How to say '-fully' or '-fully' as '...fly? 'u' is silent?

Tks
simon
Not, the 'u' isn't silent. It's a schwa, as mentioned above.
 

Buddhaheart

Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2007
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
The “u” in “-ful” as a suffix to form an adjective or “-fully” to form an adverb is rarely silent, as most of us concurred in responding. It usually takes the short vowel sound “” (as in “foot” or “put”). It may also take the weak vowel sound, the schwa “c” (as in “about” or “circus”). This weak form, however does not happen in words when “ful-“ or “fully-“ becomes the prefix (as in “full-color” or “fully-clad”).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top