Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings
Vowels
| iː | see | ɪ | sit | e / ɛ | bed | æ | cat |
| ɑː | father | ɒ | hot (UK) | ɔː | law | ʊ | put |
| uː | too | ʌ | cup | ɜː | bird | ə | about |
| eɪ | day | aɪ | my | ɔɪ | boy | aʊ | now |
| əʊ / oʊ | go (UK / US) | ɪə | near | eə | hair | ʊə | tour |
Consonants that look unusual
| 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.
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
Results for “ergative”
- assemble verb, noun(transitive) To put together.
- begin verb, noun(ergative) To start, to initiate or take the first step into something.
- blacken verb(transitive, causative) To cause to be or become black.
- blue adjective, noun, verb, proper nounOf a blue hue.
- bow noun, verb, proper noun(archery) A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.
- break verb, noun(ergative, transitive, intransitive) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed…
- break down verb(intransitive, of a machine, computer, vehicle, etc.) To stop functioning.
- break in verb(intransitive) To enter a place by force or illicit means.
- button up verb(transitive) To fasten with a button or buttons.
- change verb, noun(intransitive) To become something different.
- char verb, noun, proper noun(ergative) To burn something to charcoal; to be burnt to charcoal.
- clarify verb(ergative, of liquids, such as wine or syrup) To make or become clear or bright by freeing from impurities or turbidity.
- codicil noun, verb(law) An addition or supplement that explains, modifies, or revokes a will or part of one.
- concentrate verb, adjective, noun(ergative) To bring to, or direct toward, a common center; to unite more closely; to gather into one body, mass, or force.
- construe noun, verbA translation.
- deactivate verb(ergative) to make something inactive or no longer effective
- decorticate verb, adjective(transitive, ergative) To peel or remove the bark, husk, or outer layer from something.
- degrade verb(transitive) To lower in value or social position.
- deploy verb, noun(transitive, ergative) To prepare and arrange (originally military unit or units, i.e., to array troops) for use.
- destress verb(transitive) To reduce the physical stresses in (a material).
- distort verb, adjective(transitive) To bring something out of shape, to misshape.
- drain noun, verb, proper noun(chiefly US, Canada) A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
- dress out verb(intransitive) To change one's clothes to prepare for outdoors activities, such as physical education; to be wearing clothes appropriate fo…
- drill verb, noun(transitive) To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill (tool).
- drive verb, noun(transitive, ergative) To operate (a wheeled motorized vehicle).
- Dyirbal proper nounAn ergative Australian Aboriginal language of the Dyirbalic branch of the Pama-Nyungan family, spoken in the region of Cairns and the Ather…
- eat verb, noun(ambitransitive) To consume (something solid or semi-solid, usually food) by putting it into the mouth and swallowing it.
- edit noun, verbA change to the text of a document.
- empty adjective, verb, nounDevoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.
- end noun, verbThe terminal point of something in space or time.
- evaporate verb, adjective(ergative) To transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state.
- fuse noun, verbA wick or cord used to convey flame to gunpowder, a bomb, or similar explosive.
- gall noun, verb, proper noun(uncountable) Impudence or brazenness; temerity; chutzpah.
- graduate noun, adjective, verbA person who is recognized by a university as having completed the requirements of a degree studied at the institution.
- gray adjective, verb, noun, proper nounOf a color between black and white, having neutral hue and intermediate brightness.
- grit noun, verb, adjectiveA collection of hard small materials, such as dirt, ground stone, debris from sandblasting or other such grinding, or swarf from metalworki…
- grow verb, noun, proper noun(ergative) To become larger, to increase in magnitude.
- harden verb, proper noun(intransitive) To become hard.
- lace noun, verb(uncountable) A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread.
- marinate verb, adjective(transitive, ergative) To allow a sauce or flavoring mixture to absorb into something; to steep or soak something in a marinade to flavor o…