High levels only (Upper Intermediate-Advanced)
These pairs are differentiated by the pronunciation of the -ate ending. In the adjectives, the ending is pronounced /ət/ and in the verb form it is pronounced/eɪt/. The pronunciation and phonemic script below is according to Australian English.
Exercise 1:
Listen to the recordings of each pair. You will hear the adjective first.
| Word | Adjective /ət/ ending | Verb /eɪt/ ending | |
| alternate | /ɒlˈtɜː.nət/ | /ˈɒl.tə.neɪt/ | |
| separate | /ˈsep.ər.ət/ | /sep.ə.ˈreɪt/ | |
| appropriate | /əˈprəʊ.pri.ət/ | /əˈproʊ·priˌeɪt/ | |
| deliberate | /di:ˈlɪb.ə.rət/ | /di:ˈlɪb·əˌreɪt/ | |
| articulate | /ɑ:ˈtɪk.jə.lət/ | /ɑ:ˈtɪk.ju:.leɪt/ | |
| approximate | /əˈprɒks.ə.mət/ | əˈprɒks.ə.meɪt/ | |
| elaborate | /əˈlæb.ə.rət/ | /əˈlæb.ə.reɪt/ | |
| moderate | /ˈmɒd.ə.rət/ | /ˈmɒd.ə.reɪt/ |
Exercise 2:
- Listen to the two words by clicking on A and B.
- Choose which is the correct word for this sentence.
Generally, adjectives derived from verbs are made by adding the -ed or -ing endings as in excite > exciting/excited.
However, sometimes the adjectives and verbs in a pair are spelt the same, but the pronunciation may be different. In these pairs, they are differentiated by syllable stress and resulting changes in the vowel sounds.
In the adjectives, the stress falls on the beginning of the word. In the verbs, the stress falls on the end. When the word stress changes, the sound of an unstressed vowel usually changes too. In the table below, the pronunciation and phonemic script is according to Australian English.
| Word | Adjective Stress at beginning | Verb Stress at end | |
| perfect | /ˈpɜː.fekt | /pəˈfekt/ | |
| frequent | /ˈfri:kwənt/ | /fri:ˈkwent/ | |
| compound* | /ˈkɒm.paʊnd/ | /kɑmˈpɑʊnd/ | |
| discount* | /ˈdɪskaʊnt/ | /dɪˈskaʊnt/ | |
| present* | /ˈprez.ənt/ | /pri:ˈzent/ | |
| compact* | /kəmˈpækt/ | /kəmˈpækt/ | |
| second* | /ˈsek.ənd/ | /səˈkɒnd/ | |
| suspect* | /ˈsʌs.pekt/ | /səˈspekt/ |
* Note: All words marked with an * also have a noun form which is pronounced the same as the adjective..