Phonetics and the IPA 8, Exercise 3: can Weak form /kən/ used when unstressed in the middle of a phrase: "I can swim" -> /aɪ kən swɪm/ (broad, my transcription) Strong form /kæn/ used when stressed, phrase-final, or cited in isolation: "Yes, I can." -> /jɛs aɪ kæn/ (broad, my transcription) Source for the two forms and the conditions: Wikipedia, "Weak and strong forms in English". The two example sentences and their transcriptions are my own illustrations; accent details (GA vs RP symbols) are left aside here.