Cover of the textbook Speakout Upper-Intermediate - Students' Book

The key answer of exercise 5

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 8.2 - Fair share for the textbook Speakout Upper-Intermediate - Students' Book with authors Frances Eales and Steve Oakes from Pearson Education

Question

  1. Work in pairs. Complete each sentence with an alternative that means the same as the modal verb in brackets. Then listen and check.
  2. Work in pairs. In sentences 1-4, circle to where it is pronounced /tə/ and draw a box around it where it is pronounced /tu:w/.
  3. Listen again and check, What is the rule? Then listen and repeat.

Answer

a)

  1. I don't want to have to refuse.
  2. I hate having to argue to get my way.
  3. I don't seem to be able to stand up for myself.
  4. I enjoy being able to offer people help.

b)

  1. to /tə/ have; to /tə/ refuse
  2. to /tu:w/ argue; to /tə/ get
  3. to /tə/ be; to /tə/ stand
  4. to /tu:w/ offer

c)

When a vowel sound follows to, the /w/ sound is needed to link the vowels, so to is pronounced /tu:w/. Before consonants it's normally pronounced in the weak form /tə/.