Pronunciation Changes in Words that are Both Nouns and Verbs

Write the following sentences on the board and see if your students can correctly pronounce the word “conduct” in each sentence.

1. My conduct is always professional.

2. I conduct myself in a professional manner.

Tell your students that one tricky thing about English is that some words change pronunciation depending on whether we are using them as a noun or a verb.

In sentence 1, “conduct” is used as a noun. The stress is placed on the first syllable (CONduct).

In sentence 2, “conduct” is used as a verb. The stress is placed on the second syllable (conDUCT).

Provide your students with the chart below which lists some words that change pronunciation depending on whether they are a verb or a noun. English pronunciation, of course, varies geographically. The chart was designed to include common examples in American English.

NounVerb

CONductconDUCT

ATTributeattrIBute

COMbatcomBAT

CONflictconFLICT

CONtestconTEST

CONtractconTRACT

DEcreasedeCREASE

EScortesCORT

IMpactimPACT

INcreaseinCREASE

INsultinSULT

OBjectobJECT

PERmitperMIT

PREsentpreSENT

PROceedproCEED

PROgressproGRESS

PROjectproJECT

REbelreBEL

REfillreFILL

REfundreFUND

REjectreJECT

REpeatrePEAT

SUBjectsubJECT

SUSpectsusPECT

Drill the pronunciation of the words  both as a class and individually. Point out the pattern — the stress goes on the first syllable if it is a noun and the second syllable if it is a verb.

See Practice Sentences..