Mastering the American Accent » Conditional Questions

Conditional Questions

With questions using have you must add an /ɘ/ sound between the pronoun and the contraction. But for statements, don’t do this. For example a question like “Would you have been there?” would sound like “Would you’/ɘ/ve been there?” However, a statement would sound like: “You’ve been there.”

sounds like:
1. Would you have…?“Would you’/ɘ/ve…?”
2. Would you have been…?“Would you’/ɘ/ve been…?”
3. Would she have…?“Would she’/ɘ/ve…. ?”
4. Would she have wanted…?“Would she’/ɘ/ve wanted…?”
5. sleepslip
6. cheapchip

Practice Sentences

These sentences are all in the past conditional tense.

  1. If I’d known it was your birthday, I would’ve gotten you a present.
  2. If you hadn’t been driving so fast, you wouldn’ve gotten a ticket.
  3. If the weather’d been warmer, we would’ve gone to the park.
  4. If he’d been more careful, he wouldn’ve had an accident.
  5. I would’ve passed the test if I’d studied more.
  6. Would you’/ɘ/ve done that, if you’d been in my shoes?
  7. What would you’/ɘ/ve said if she’d asked you about it?
  8. Where would you’/ɘ/ve gone if you hadn’t come to the US?

Practice Sentences

The sentences below are examples of casual speech and use a instead of ‘ve for have

  1. If it hadn’t rained we wouldna canceled the picnic.
  2. It woulda been more fun if there’d been more people at the party.
  3. I woulda called you if you’d given me your number.
  4. If they’d come on time, they wouldna missed their flight.
  5. She wouldna known if you hadn’t told her.

Practice Dialogue

a. What would you’/ɘ/ve done if you hadn’t come to the United States?
b. If I hadn’t come to the US, I would’ve lived with my family, and I wouldn’ve had to study English. I wouldn’ve met my wife. I would’ve married someone else.

Advice from a Successful Student

“Speak with confidence. I have learned that your insecurity will actually make your accent stronger. When I go on acting auditions, I first do my homework and work on my major mistakes, and then I let go of all that work and I just do it. I am just myself. So, if you have an important interview or speaking situation coming up, just relax and let your true self come out. Don’t be inhibited.”

Mauricio Sanchez, Actor, Venezuela

Favorite Books
4000 Essential English Words 6

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 6: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 5

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 5: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 4

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 4: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 3

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 3: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 2

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 2: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 1

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 1: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
Speak English Like an American

If you already speak some English and now would like to speak more like a native, “Speak English Like an American” will help you. One of the keys to speaking like a native is the ability to use and understand casual expressions, or idioms. American English is full of idioms. Speak English Like an American will help you understand and use idioms better. It contains over 300 of today's most common idioms.

Read more
Table of Contents