Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

θ	thin	ð	this	ʃ	she	ʒ	measure
tʃ	church	dʒ	judge	ŋ	sing	j	yes

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

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)

-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.

sit up

verb

Forms sits up sitting up sat up sit ups

verb (intransitive) To assume a sitting position from a position lying down. “Despite being cancer-ridden, Lorin sat up to greet the visitors.”
verb (intransitive) To sit erect. “Sit up straight, mister!”
verb (intransitive) To show sudden interest or surprise. “He sat up when we mentioned the increased pay package.”
verb (chiefly sports, of the ball) To bounce, especially to a comfortable height.
verb To not go to bed (notionally remaining in a sitting position). “I sat up all night waiting for her to come home.”
verb (cycling) To stop pedalling hard. “Half way up the climb, Jones sat up and let Smith continue alone.”
verb (India, historical) For a young lady to open her house for several successive nights for any visitors who wish to pay their respects.

Synonyms

From Middle English upsitten (“to sit up”).

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