Verbs, Nouns, and Pronunciation
2021-12-03
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1Consider the words building, window, and garden.
2What do all of them have in common?
3Now consider the words produce, succeed, and employ.
4These, too, have something in common.
5You will learn the answers to these questions in today's report.
6In this Everyday Grammar, we will explore the link between grammar and pronunciation.
7You will learn about how Americans pronounce nouns and verbs that have two syllables.
8Let's start with a few important ideas and terms.
9A noun is the name of something - a person, place, thing, or idea.
10Building, window, and garden are three examples.
11A verb is a word that expresses an action or state of being.
12Common verbs include like, want, be, or think.
13You heard three other verbs at the beginning of the report: produce, succeed, and employ.
14The final terms you should know about are syllable and stress.
15A syllable is any one of the parts into which a word is divided when it is spoken.
16A syllable generally has a vowel or a vowel and one or more consonant sounds.
17Stress means saying something louder or in a higher pitch.
18Let's consider some examples that include these ideas.
19Consider the noun ball. It has one syllable.
20Consider the noun computer. It has three syllables.
21/kəmˈpjuːtɚ/
22In longer words, Americans generally stress one syllable more than other syllables.
23This is part of what makes American English sound like it does.
24In our example about the word computer, the stress is on the middle part of the word - pu.
25/kəmˈpjuːtɚ/
26Now, you might be asking yourself about the connection between syllables, verbs, and nouns.
27The answer is this: Americans generally stress two-syllable verbs and nouns in regular ways.
28Syllable stress is important for showing the difference in meaning.
29For the purposes of today's report, we will explore nouns and verbs with two syllables.
30Longer words are a bit more complicated.
31Consider these two words: produce and produce.
32The first word, produce, is a noun. It means food, such as fruits or vegetables. So, a person might say:
33I love that store! It has such lovely produce.
34Note that in the noun produce, the stress is on the first syllable of the word.
35Now let's consider produce, the verb. It means to make something.
36A person might say:
37That company produces 1,000 cars every year.
38Note that in the verb produce, the stress is on the second syllable of the word.
39The general idea is that in words with two syllables, nouns have stress on the first syllable and verbs have stress on the second syllable.
40We started this report with a question:
41Consider the words building, window, and garden. What do all of them have in common?
42The answer is that these words are all nouns that have two syllables.
43They also have stress on the first syllable.
44Now consider the words produce, succeed, and employ.
45These are all verbs with two syllables.
46They all have stress on the second syllable.
47In today's report, we explored one of the points of connection between grammar and pronunciation.
48The next time you want to pronounce an unusual English word, ask yourself if it is a noun or verb.
49If you can tell if the word is a noun or verb, then you have a better chance at guessing the correct syllable stress.
50I'm John Russell.
1Consider the words building, window, and garden. What do all of them have in common? 2Now consider the words produce, succeed, and employ. These, too, have something in common. 3You will learn the answers to these questions in today's report. 4In this Everyday Grammar, we will explore the link between grammar and pronunciation. You will learn about how Americans pronounce nouns and verbs that have two syllables. 5Let's start with a few important ideas and terms. 6Verbs, nouns, syllables 7A noun is the name of something - a person, place, thing, or idea. Building, window, and garden are three examples. 8A verb is a word that expresses an action or state of being. Common verbs include like, want, be, or think. You heard three other verbs at the beginning of the report: produce, succeed, and employ. 9The final terms you should know about are syllable and stress. 10A syllable is any one of the parts into which a word is divided when it is spoken. A syllable generally has a vowel or a vowel and one or more consonant sounds. 11Stress means saying something louder or in a higher pitch. 12Let's consider some examples that include these ideas. 13Consider the noun ball. It has one syllable. 14Consider the noun computer. It has three syllables. 15/kəmˈpjuːtɚ/ 16In longer words, Americans generally stress one syllable more than other syllables. This is part of what makes American English sound like it does. In our example about the word computer, the stress is on the middle part of the word - pu. 17/kəmˈpjuːtɚ/ 18Now, you might be asking yourself about the connection between syllables, verbs, and nouns. 19The answer is this: Americans generally stress two-syllable verbs and nouns in regular ways. Syllable stress is important for showing the difference in meaning. 20For the purposes of today's report, we will explore nouns and verbs with two syllables. Longer words are a bit more complicated. 21Consider these two words: produce and produce. 22The first word, produce, is a noun. It means food, such as fruits or vegetables. So, a person might say: 23I love that store! It has such lovely produce. 24Note that in the noun produce, the stress is on the first syllable of the word. 25Now let's consider produce, the verb. It means to make something. 26A person might say: 27That company produces 1,000 cars every year. 28Note that in the verb produce, the stress is on the second syllable of the word. 29Exploring stress in verbs and nouns 30The general idea is that in words with two syllables, nouns have stress on the first syllable and verbs have stress on the second syllable. 31We started this report with a question: 32Consider the words building, window, and garden. What do all of them have in common? 33The answer is that these words are all nouns that have two syllables. They also have stress on the first syllable. 34Now consider the words produce, succeed, and employ. These are all verbs with two syllables. They all have stress on the second syllable. 35Closing thoughts 36In today's report, we explored one of the points of connection between grammar and pronunciation. The next time you want to pronounce an unusual English word, ask yourself if it is a noun or verb. If you can tell if the word is a noun or verb, then you have a better chance at guessing the correct syllable stress. 37I'm John Russell. 38John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 39_____________________________________________________________ 40Words in This Story 41pronunciation - n. the act of making the sound of (a word or letter) with your voice 42syllable - n. any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced