Bruno Mars is a new pop singer, and has had a lot of
success with some of his singles. His most famous song
is "Grenade".
This song can be used to practice English pronunciation
and listening. It is an excellent example of relaxed
speech.
The specific example is the way he says "you". If you
listen, you can hear he does not say "you" completely.
In fact, he says something more like "ya".
This is common in spoken English. Often, English
speakers do not pronounce all the words completely.
Other examples include the following:
for = fa
of = a
to = ta
This is done because some sounds in English are more
difficult to make and take longer. This slows speakers
down, so in the end they simply do not pronounce
them fully.
When you listen to this song, pay attention to the way
he says "you." You can find it in the chorus, when he
says, "I'd catch a grenade for you."
There is also a listening comprehension exercise below.
Listen to the song and see if you can fill in the blanks
with the lyrics.
Sorry, but you have to play the video in Youtube. That's
OK because you can listen and fill in the blanks below.
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Fill in the spaces with the correct words
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Granade - Bruno Mars
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