Is there any concise name for words that are nouns or adjectives when the accent is on the first syllable and verbs when on a later syllable (usually the second, but not always? There are about 100 such words in English.
Mike Hardy
Mike Hardy
(Email Removed) (Michael J Hardy) wrote on 10 Jan 2004:
You don't happen to have a nice neat list of them, do you?
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
Is there any concise name for words that are nouns or adjectives when the accent is on the first syllable and verbs when on a later syllable (usually the second, but not always? There are about 100 such words in English.
You don't happen to have a nice neat list of them, do you?
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
Is there any concise name for words that are nouns or adjectives when the accent is on the first syllable and verbs when on a later syllable (usually the second, but not always? There are about 100 such words in English.
No, there isn't. But you could call the nouns, anyway, 'initial-stress-derived nouns' and linguists, at least, would understand you mean words like 'address' or 'recall'.
There's a dialect in the U.S. referred to informally as 'P/U' or 'Police/Umbrella' because in that dialect these nouns (along with 'cigarette', 'insurance', and many others) are stressed on the first syllable to conform with that rule.
-John Lawler http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/disclaimers.html U Michigan #include disclaimers.h
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Is there any concise name for words that are nouns ... not always? There are about 100 such words in English.
You don't happen to have a nice neat list of them, do you? Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
absent abstract accent addict address admit advert affect affix ally annex
array (In some dialects, this word belongs in this list.)
attribute combat combine compact compost compound
compress commune concert conduct confines conflict conscript console consort construct consult content contest contract contrast converse convert convict "crack down" decrease default defect detail desert digest discard discharge discount dismount "drop out" entrance envelope/envelop escort essay excerpt exempt exploit export extract "fall out" finance "hand out" impact implant import impound incense incline increase insert insult intercept interchange intrigue invite "make up" object overcount overlay overlook
perfect permit pervert present proceed produce progress project protest rebel recall recap recess record
redress refund refuse regress reject relapse remake research retake retard retract subject survey suspect transform transplant transpose transport undercount unit/unite update uplift upset
Is there any concise name for words that are nouns ... not always? There are about 100 such words in English.
You don't happen to have a nice neat list of them, do you?
Here's one:
The following is a list of English words that have the same spelling (homographs) but different accentuation according to their grammatical function. In such pairs the noun usually has the accent on the first syllable, the verb on the second.
ABsent (adjective) abSENT (verb)
ABstract (noun or adjective) abSTRACT (verb)
ACcent (noun) acCENT (verb)
ADdress (noun) adDRESS (verb)
Adept (noun) aDEPT (adjective)
aRITHmetic (noun) arithMETic (adjective) AUgust (noun) auGUST (adjective)
COLLect (noun) coLLect (verb)
COMmune (noun) comMUNE (verb)
COMpound (noun) comPOUND (verb)
COMpress (noun) COMpress (verb)
CONcert (noun) conCERT (verb)
CONduct (noun) conDUCT (verb)
CONflict (noun) conFLICT (verb)
CONsort (noun) conSORT (verb)
conSUMMate (adjective) CONsummate (verb)
CONtract (noun) conTRACT (verb)
CONtest (noun) conTEST (verb)
CONvict (noun) conVICT (verb)
CONvoy (noun) conVOY (verb)
DEcrease (noun) deCREASE (verb)
DEfault (noun) deFAULT (verb)
DEScant (noun) desCANT (verb)
DESert (noun) deSERT (verb)
DEtail (noun) deTAIL (verb)
DICtate (noun) dicTATE (verb)
DIgest (noun) diGEST (verb)
DIScount (noun) disCOUNT (verb)
ENvelope (noun) enVELope (verb)
EScort (noun) esCOURT (verb)
ESSay (noun) eSSAY (verb)
EXpert (noun) exPERT (adjective)
EXploit (noun) exPLOIT (verb)
EXport (noun) exPORT (verb)
EXtract (noun) exTRACT (verb)
FERment (noun) ferMENT (verb)
FREquent (adjective) freQUENT (verb)
IMpact (noun) imPACT (verb)
IMport (noun) imPORT (verb)
IMpress (noun) imPRESS (verb)
IMprint (noun) imPRINT (verb)
INcense (noun) inCENSE (verb)
INcrease (noun) inCREASE (verb)
INstinct (noun) inSTINCT (adjective) INsult (noun) inSULT (verb)
INterdict (noun) interDICT (verb)
INvalid (noun or adjective) inVALid (adjective)
MInute (noun) miNUTE (adjective)
misCONduct (noun) misconDUCT (verb)
NAtal (noun) NAtal (adjective)
OBject (noun) obJECT (verb)
RECord (noun) reCORD (verb)
PERfect (adjective) perFECT (verb)
PERfume (noun) perFUME (verb)
PERmit (noun) perMIT (verb)
PREsent (noun) preSENT (verb)
PROduce (noun) proDUCE (verb)
PROject (noun) proJECT (verb)
REbel (noun) reBEL (verb)
REcord (noun) reCORD (verb)
REfill (noun) reFILL (verb)
REsearch (noun) reSEARCH (verb)
SUSpect (noun) susPECT (verb)
TRANSport (noun) transPORT (verb)
TRANSfer (noun) transFER (verb)
http://www.traditio.com/tradlib/lateng.txt
Some dialects add "cement" and "police". (Menken gives "cement" without comment.) I'd add "defense", "reject", and "subject". My own dialect uses only the first syllable accent for "accent", "august", "convoy", "consummate", "expert", "natal"; and I don't have "collect" as a noun, "descant" as a verb, "ferment" as an adjective, "instinct" as an adjective,
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Is there any concise name for words that are nouns ... not always? There are about 100 such words in English.
No, there isn't. But you could call the nouns, anyway, 'initial-stress-derived nouns' and linguists, at least, would understand you mean words like 'address' or 'recall'.
I created the page at
(which has been edited by various other people since then, so I'm not necessarily to blame for anything offensive you find there) and someone sarcastically responded by creating a new page titled .
Hence my question. Mike Hardy
Students: We have free audio pronunciation exercises.
(Email Removed) (Michael J Hardy) wrote on 10 Jan 2004:
Thank you, Michael.
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
absent abstract accent addict address admit advert affect affix ally annex array (In some dialects, this word belongs in this ... regress reject relapse remake research retake retard retract subject survey suspect transform transplant transpose transport undercount unit/unite update uplift upset
Thank you, Michael.
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
Evan Kirshenbaum (Email Removed) wrote on 10 Jan 2004:
Thank you, Evan.
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
Here's one: The following is a list of English words that have the same spelling (homographs) but different accentuation according ... and I don't have "collect" as a noun, "descant" as a verb, "ferment" as an adjective, "instinct" as an adjective,
Thank you, Evan.
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
I don't have "collect" as a noun
Hmm... what would you call the short prayer that is usually known by this term?
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