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Noun and verb stress pairs

About a hundred English words change meaning with stress alone: the noun stresses the first syllable, the verb the second. You PREsent a PREsent, but you preSENT it. The unstressed syllable also reduces to schwa, so both the rhythm and the vowels change.

Accent

15 words · advanced · your accent and voice are remembered across the site. More options on the settings page.

The words

record
present
object
permit
conduct
contrast
increase
produce
rebel
subject
progress
export
import
conflict
suspect

More lists like this

Very long words
Antidisestablishmentarianism and friends. Break the giants into syllables and say them properly.
15
Show the 15 words

-IC and -ICAL stress
Photograph, photography, photographic: the stress moves every time. Hear the whole family.
15
Show the 15 words

Weak form words
To, of, and, for, can: function words that shrink to a schwa in real speech. Hear both forms.
15
Show the 15 words

Number and date words
Thirteen or thirty? Fifteen or fifty? The stress is the only clue. Hear the pairs contrasted.
15
Show the 15 words

Words that lose a syllable
Chocolate, comfortable, vegetable: fewer syllables than the spelling suggests. Hear the real count.
15
Show the 15 words

Schwa sound words
The most common sound in English, hiding in every unstressed syllable. Learn to hear the schwa.
15
Show the 15 words

Keep practising

Browse every practice list or the word index, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.

To read the rules behind these words, see the pronunciation guides — including silent letters, word stress and American vs British. Or hear each accent on its own page: American, British, Australian.