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 “attent”
- attention noun, interjection(uncountable) Mental focus.
- attentive adjectivePaying attention; noticing, watching, listening, or attending closely.
- attentional adjectiveOf or pertaining to attention.
- attentively adverbIn an attentive manner.
- attentiveness nounThe state or quality of being attentive.
- attention span nounThe length of time, or span that one can pay attention, or concentrate on one topic without becoming distracted.
- attention-getting adjectiveseizing the attention
- attention deficit disorder nounA syndrome formerly thought to affect children only, but now known also to affect adults, that is characterized by frequent, chronic distra…
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder noun(neurology, pathology, psychiatry, psychology) A developmental disorder in which a person has difficulty to concentrate and a persistent pa…
- inattention nounLack of attention, or failure to pay attention
- inattentive adjectiveOf or pertaining to a lack of attention; not paying attention; careless.
- inattentively adverbIn an inattentive or careless manner: Of or pertaining to a lack of attention; not paying attention.
- inattentiveness nounThe property of being inattentive.
- paying attention verbpresent participle and gerund of pay attention
- center of attention nounUS spelling of centre of attention.
- centre of attention noun(British spelling) Something that attracts a lot of attention.