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.
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Results for “only when”
- come home verbTo return to one's house, or to any place of origin.
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- eyeservice nounWork or service done only when one's employer is watching; service done for show.
- his determiner, pronoun, proper nounBelonging to him.
- impurity nounThe condition of being impure; because of contamination, pollution, adulteration or insufficient purification.
- lenticel noun(botany) One of the small, oval, rounded spots upon the stem or branch of a plant, from which the underlying tissues may protrude or roots …
- opportunistic infection noun(medicine) Any infection that causes disease and occurs only when the host's immune system is impaired.
- optimistic adjectiveExpecting the best in all possible ways.
- partial adjective, noun, verbExisting as a part or portion; incomplete.
- reality noun, proper nounThe state of being actual or real; realness.
- sadly adverbIn a sad manner; sorrowfully.
- sire noun, verbA lord, master, or other person in authority, most commonly used vocatively: formerly in speaking to elders and superiors, later only when …
- spoof noun, adjective, verb(countable) An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank.
- synsemantic adjective(linguistics) Having a meaning only when in the company of other words.
- timeserver nounA person who conforms to current opinions, especially for reasons of personal advantage; an opportunist.