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

set about

/sɛt‿əˈbaʊt/ verb

Forms sets about setting about settest about setteth about

  1. verb Used with the adverb sense of about.
  2. verb (transitive, archaic except chiefly Northern England) To circulate or spread (news, a rumour, etc.)
  3. verb (archaic) To plant trees or other vegetation in (a place).
  4. verb (passive voice, archaic) To encircle or surround (something) with other things.
  5. verb (UK, informal) To attack (someone); to set upon. “Two youths set about him.”
  6. verb (intransitive) To start doing or to devote oneself to some task; to set upon. “He set about designing his homepage.”

Synonyms

begin upon undertake embark on set to take in hand go about approach attempt get down begin get start out start set out commence

Etymology

From set (verb) + about (adverb, preposition).

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “set about”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details