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 “may not”
- annual adjective, noun, proper nounHappening once every year.
- battlefield nounThe area where a land battle is fought, which may not necessarily be a field.
- behaviorism noun(psychology) An approach focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environment and denyi…
- behaviourism noun(psychology) behaviorism (an approach focusing on observable behavior which, generally assuming that behavior is determined by the environm…
- bisect verb, noun(transitive) To cut or divide into two parts.
- blood noun, verb, proper nounA vital liquid flowing in the bodies of many types of animals that usually conveys nutrients and oxygen. In vertebrates, it is colored red …
- bugger all noun(Commonwealth, UK, Ireland, vulgar) Nothing.
- caliber nounDiameter of the bore of a firearm, typically measured between opposite lands.
- callus noun, verbA hardened area of the skin (especially on the foot or hand) caused by repeated friction, wear or use.
- coma nounA state of unconsciousness from which one may not wake up, usually induced by some form of trauma.
- conservation of energy noun(physics) a principle stating that energy may not be created or destroyed
- contingency noun(uncountable) The quality of being contingent, of happening by chance.
- contingent noun, adjectiveAn event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in the future.
- count out verb(transitive, of a person or factor) To exclude; to dismiss from participation or eligibility.
- devil's advocate noun, verb(idiomatic) One who debates from a viewpoint which one may not actually hold, usually to determine its validity or simply for the sake of a…
- dinosaur noun(usually) Those animals of the clade Dinosauria that existed during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and are now extinct.
- directive adjective, nounThat which directs; serving to direct, indicate, or guide.
- dispose of verb(transitive) To get rid of; to dispense with.
- elephant noun, proper nounA large mammal of the family Elephantidae in the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and native to Africa and Asia.
- enantiomer noun(chemistry) One of a pair of stereoisomers that is the mirror image of the other, but may not be superimposed on this other stereoisomer.
- feral adjective, nounWild; untamed.
- fixative noun, adjectiveA substance that fixes, protects, or preserves.
- flower noun, verb, proper nounA colorful, conspicuous structure associated with angiosperms, frequently scented and attracting various insects, and which may or may not …
- for one adverbAs the first in a number of examples or reasons.
- graph noun, verb(applied mathematics, statistics) A data chart (graphical representation of data) intended to illustrate the relationship between a set (or…
- hassium noun(chemistry) An artificially-produced transuranic chemical element (symbol Hs) with atomic number 108.
- heathen adjective, nounNot adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan.
- hunch over verb(informal) To slouch, stoop, curl, or lean.
- idiom nounA manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people.
- idiomatic adjective, nounPertaining or conforming to idiom, the natural mode of expression of a language.
- ignoratio elenchi nounThe fallacy of presenting an argument that may or may not be logically valid, but fails to address the issue in question.
- inner product noun(linear algebra) A generalization of the dot product for vectors of any dimensionality that may or may not be complex-numbered.
- installment nounOne of a series of parts, whether equal or unequal to the other parts of the series, of a given entity or a given process, which part prese…
- installment loan noun(banking, finance) A loan that is repaid over time with a set number of regularly scheduled payments, and may or may not include a balloon …
- interpellate verb(obsolete) To interrupt (someone) so as to inform or question (that person about something).
- irregular adjective, nounNonstandard; not conforming to rules or expectations.
- John proper noun, nounA male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle Ages.
- juxtaposition noun, verbThe nearness of objects with little or no delimiter.
- lily noun, adjective, proper nounAny of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
- limit noun, adjective, verbA restriction; a bound beyond which one may not go or proceed.