In Nouns^x, Consonants^x

CB's explanation is 100% right on. It is a linguistic question dealing with phonology. By the way, the same principle is in play with the plural noun ending 's/es': 's' after a non-voiced consonant (lamps, desks); 'z' after a voiced consonant or a vowel (dogs,...

Hi Mathew,Yes, as Mister Micawber says, native English-speakers instinctively know which pronunciation of 'the' to use before a noun (or an adjective + noun), but I can see that it may be a problem for some people learning the language.As you have yourself noted, we generally use the...

Tissues? >> No, but you can keep two vowels and a consonant.Traffic? >> No, but in my word there's a double consonant in the same place as in "traffic" (not an "f," though).Toenail? >> Mm ... somewhat (indirectly) related to my noun.Trouble? >> No,...

- It begins with a consonant.- There is only one syllable.- Yes, it is something that humans can do. - And as a noun, it is something humans can give or receive.

Thank you very much CJ, Zerox, and Carson. You all have given me very valuable advices. After reading through all you said carefully, and then watching a couple of English TV programmes, I believe I can now tell the difference! The ending /z/ in most cases are much shorter, voiced but less...

I don't know what you guys are all on about with devoiced /z/. It's not a devoiced /z/, it's just /s/. In the example that someone above used, "vases"... I don't know about up North or across the pond (either one), but American Standard has that as /s/ in the medial and /z/ in the final. Well, if...

She has a part-time job in a (not an) convenience (not convenient) store. The noun-phrase is not convenient store. It's "convenience store." In addition, we traditionally use "AN" when the next word begins with a vowel sound, and we use "A" when the next word begins with a consonant sound. an...

Digger36 wrote:But what about the SPECIAL cases of the inflection on the 3-rd person singular; it seems less obvious, as in these cases .. he destroys / destroies sand dunes he trys / tries jumping high he carrys / carries the load he ...

Pronunciation is the only determining factor. If the noun or adjective being used starts with a VOWEL SOUND, then it should be preceded by "an." Here are some examples: An apple, an argument, an uncle, an old man, an amazing story, an autobiography. If the noun or adjective being used starts...

Kooyeen wrote:Yes, but it's not correct to say that one consonant is not pronounced at all. Ah, but I do think it is correct to describe "stop pushing" that way -- at least at normal, unstressed conversational speed. Your example with "used to do" (as in "I used to live in Germany") is not a...