Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

impromptu

UK /ɪmˈpɹɒmp.tju/ · US /ɪmˈpɹɑmp.t(j)u/ adjective, adverb, noun, verb

Forms impromptus impromptuing impromptued

  1. adjective Improvised; without prior preparation, planning, or rehearsal. “The party began with an impromptu rendition of “Happy Birthday”.”
  2. adverb Extemporaneously; without prior preparation, planning, or rehearsal.
  3. noun (music) A short musical composition for an informal occasion often with the character of improvisation and usually to be played solo.
  4. noun (by extension) Any composition, musical or otherwise, that is created on the spot without preparation.
  5. verb To compose offhand.

Synonyms

extemporaneous extempore ad lib unplanned extemporal extemporary extemporized gash improvised improviso off-the-cuff offhand spur-of-the-moment ex tempore cold extemporize improvise ad-lib offhanded unrehearsed ad libitum spontaneously

Etymology

F. impromptu, fr. L. in promptu in readiness, at hand; in in + promptus visibility, readiness, from promptus visible, ready. See Prompt.

Webster’s 1913

  1. adverb Offhand; without previous study; extemporaneous; extempore; as, an impromptu verse.
  2. noun Something made or done offhand, at the moment, or without previous study; an extemporaneous composition, address, or remark.
  3. noun A piece composed or played at first thought; a composition in the style of an extempore piece.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “impromptu”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details