SAME spelling but DIFFERENT pronunciation?! Heteronyms in English

Hey, it's Hadar. Thank you for joining me. Today is the second part of the video series about spelling versus pronunciation, trying to tackle common confusions. In the previous lesson, we talked about homophones, words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently. So we went through a bunch of pairs. And if you want to watch that video, if you haven't watched it, I'm going to link to it in the show notes. In today's lesson, we are going to talk about heteronyms, words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. The first one is this tear. Tear, as in don't shed any tears. Right? When you cry, tears are running down your cheeks. Tear. Here it's pronounced with a T sound, then a high e, tee, and then an R sound. Tear. Make sure the E is long. Tear. But this could also mean to tear. Tear. To ruin, like to tear something down or to tear up the page. Tear. And then it's pronounced with an E sound. Tear. It's a T sound. And so drop your jaw and bring the tongue up for the R only at the end. Tear. The next one is read. An R sound, high E, re, and then a D. Read. I need to read this book. Read. Or I read this book. The past form. Read. Then it's just an S sound. Read. I know it's confusing, and you're probably asking yourself, why is that? Why can't they spell it differently? Let's say just with an E, right? Like the color red. Well, probably once upon a time, the EA spelling pattern used to always have the same pronunciation, the same sound. But with time, English evolved and sounds have changed and morphed. And this is why we have such a distinction or such a differentiation between the, the spelling and the pronunciation. Okay? So probably it's because it has changed. The ea, for example, as in read. And read can also be a as in break, right? This is why English can be confusing. English is confusing because the same spelling pattern can be several different vowels. The most important thing is that you remember it as is and try to detach yourself from. From the spelling. Try to really identify the sound of the word with a context. Because when you hear people talking about the past, I read this book. It's obvious, right? It's not confusing whatsoever. The sound is an easy sound to detect. And also the E I need to read this book, right? So try to associate the sound with the actual word and the meaning and the tense rather than try to identify it according to the spelling. And if you're reading something, then see how it relates to the rest of the sentence. This is how you know it's easier than you think. Then we have this could be live as in it's a live show. Then it's the I as in my live or live as in where do you live? Live. Then it's a relaxed is sound. Live. The next one is this. This could be Polish, as in someone from Poland. Then we want to make sure that the O is pronounced with a long o sound. Polish. The trick is to add the w. Po. Polish or Polish. I need to polish the glasses before I pour wine into them. Polish. You could tell I was a bartender once, right? This one is rather confusing. So it's either to resume the classes, right? I stopped taking English classes, but I need to resume my studies or resume classes to start again. Resume. It's an R sound, then a Z and then the ooh as in food. Resume. Close it with an M. Or it's resume. Resume. So different. Resume. I need to submit my resume if I want to get a job there. Resume. Or I need to work on my resume. Resume. Re as in red. So roundulips for the R. Z. It's a z sound and a schwa. Rez. And it's confusing because it's spelled with an S. I know, but it's pronounced as a Z. Rez. May. May. A as in day. May, res, may. Resume. The next one is this. This has two meanings. One to use. Then it's spelled with the z sound. Use. Or it's the noun use. What's the use? Use versus use. Now this S that is once pronounced with an S, once pronounced with a z can also be found in the versus close spell. The same, pronounced differently. Close the door with a Z or comes it close to me. We're sitting close to each other. Close. Long O as in go and then an S. The only difference here is the S versus E. Close, close, use. The next set of words are verbs versus nouns that are spelled the same. For example, this word present versus present. So here you have a trick. When you see the same word and you know that it can be used as a verb to do something or as a noun. The secret is in the stress present. If the stress is on the first syllable, it's a noun. I want to give you a present. Present. If it's a verb, the stress is going to be on the second syllable present. And that is always the case with words that have two syllables and they are spelled the same and you know that they have two different meanings. One is a verb, one is a Noun. Present. I need to present my idea. Present. Present. Now, the stress shift also changes the vowels, the pronunciation of the other vowels. Because once you put the stress on one syllable and the other syllable receives a schwa, the vowel is reduced. Pre Z. Then there is no vowel. Here it's. But then if I shift the stress to the second syllable, the second syllable gets the vowel zent, the first syllable, present. So it's not present and present. Then it's not clear what is stressed and what is not stressed. Right? Present. Present. Re. Curd. Let's play that record. Record. Or record. I need to record an album. Record. Here the re is the primary stress, as in red. Curd. Or it's a world record, right? Same pronunciation. Re, curd or I need to record it. R. Then it's a schwa chord. All of a sudden it's an sound. As in for record. Right. In record, it was schwa, you couldn't hear an sound. But here, record. See how it works? Let's look at a few more. Desert. Let's go to the desert. The desert is so beautiful in the winter. Desert stresses on the first syllable and dessert. The first one is desert. As let's go to the desert. Desert. The second one is dessert. Don't desert that project. Again. Dessert. To stop doing something. To leave it abruptly. Dessert. Dessert is also a homophone of dessert spelled differently. Notice dessert, which is what you have at the end of a meal. Dessert. Or at the beginning, if you're my daughters. Dessert. Dessert. Okay. So again we have desert. Stress on the first syllable. Desert. That's the place. And then dessert. Stress on the second syllable is the verb to Dessert. Don't dessert me. Dessert. But it's also what you eat at the end of a meal. Dessert. So dessert, the verb and dessert, the noun, are homophones because they're spelled differently but pronounced the same. Confusing. I hope not anymore. The last one is produce versus Produce. Produce versus Produce. To produce is to make something out of raw materials. Produce. Or to make something out of nothing. I need to produce a sound or produce a video. Produce. So the first syllable is a schwa. Second syllable is stressed. Deuce. That's the primary stress. With an oo, as in food. Produce. Produce are things that have grown or produced, especially in a farm, like carrots and apples and lettuce. Produce. Here we say it with the o sound. That's the primary stress. Produce. Produce. Ooh is in food. Produce. Produce. Produce. Okay, that's it. Now I want to challenge you. Write in the comments below more words that share the same spelling, but have different meanings and different pronunciation. Okay, so I can't wait to hear your comments. And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch the first part of this video about words you that are spelled differently but pronounced the same. I'm sure you're going to find it very, very interesting. If you like this video, please share it with your friends and click like. 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