NOUNS AND VERBS WITH SAME STRESS
Today we are looking at NOUNS that double as VERBS and have SAME STRESS. That is, they have similar pronunciation with no shift in stress.
In English Language, there are words that are used both as nouns and as verbs, depending on the stress shift. Majority of then are single-syllable words. Some have two syllables, and few have more than two syllables.
The common rule is that two-syllable words of this category of words have their stress on the first syllable, if they're used as nouns, and on the second syllable, if they're used as verbs.
Examples are:
Conduct, Combat and Conflict,
others are, contest, contract, decrease, escort, impact, increase, insult, object, project, progress, rebel, refill, refund, reject, repeat/, subject, suspect, produce. (Attribute), and many more.
There are some exceptions to this rule. Some words in this category are spelled and pronounced the same way without any stress shift, whether we use them as nouns or verbs. There is no shift in stress for these words. We identify their word class by the way they are used in sentences. The most common ones are:
Answer: His answer was "yes!" He answered my question yesterday.
alert: I got an alert. He alerted me.
arrest: His arrest came off as a shock. He was arrested at the airport.
attack: He had a spiritual attack. He was attacked last night.
Ballance: There should be a balance in the gender of the chosen students. We must balance their gender.
bandage: He had a bandage on his face. The nurse helped to bandage his face.
Now let us have a look at some of the the commonly mispronounced nouns that double as verbs and have no stress shift. I will create a pair of sentences wherein the given word shall be used as a noun in the first sentence, and as a verb in the second.
Bargain: I bought the car at a bargain. We bargained for a few minutes before he agreed to sell the car.
contact: could you please provide me with your contact. I contacted the chairman of sports committee yesterday.
comment: the comedian is never in short of sarcastic comments. She always likes to comment on issues in which she has absolutely no business.
format: could you please remind me of the format of the formal letter. I lost all my documents when I inadvertently formatted my hard drive.
process: The process of getting our National Identity card has been simplified. He needs some time to process the idea so he doesn't make rash decisions.
benefit: the benefits of abstinence from sex before marriage is enormous. As teachers, having the interest of our learners at heart will also benefit us immensely.
broadcast: Did you you listen to the presidential broadcast of last night? It was broadcast live on all national television stations.
challenge: a student with no independent learning habit faces several challenges in life. He needs to challenge himself to go beyond what he is taught.
comfort: you'll experience absolute comfort in learning when you begin to see assignments as fun, rather than as work. He bought a car for his daughter to comfort her.
highlight: could you please give me the highlights of the event. The doctor highlighted some of the consequences of drug abuse.
preview: the thespians gave us a preview of their performance. Could you preview the document to be sure that it is in the right format.
estimate: the treasurer gave of us an estimate of the total expenditure for the year. The young boy underestimated the power of his honesty.
exchange: the couple's public verbal exchange revealed their dirty/dishonourable past. The boy exchanged his rice for his sibling's meat.
exhibit: The gun was presented in court as one of the exhibits. The player lost the ball while trying to exhibit his talent.
excuse: his only excuse /ɪkˈskjuːs/ for failing the test was that the questions were to cheap for him to attempt. So he finally excused his behaviour.
harness: The horse galivanted all day without a harness. some people find it difficult to fully harness their potential.
influence: parents have great influence on their children. Do not keep bad company who will influence you negatively.
Interest: everyone has a measure of self-interest in him. It will interest to know that snakes do not have eye lids and so cannot blink.
mistake: everyone makes mistakes, however little. Do not mistake my diplomacy for timidity.
photograph: As she went through her High School photographs, her mind became receptive to painful memories. she photographs with great dexterity.
Request: The judge has refused to grant our request. We requested a brief delay to gather some evidence.
telephone: "How can this house not have a telephone?" Dele wondered. He spent all day thinking about how to telephone his friend, Titi, who lived in a far-away City, to ask her a question.
kidnap: The man narrated how he was kidnapped. He said that the kidnapers created a scene to attract their victims before rounding them up. "Kidnapping is now a dangerous but lucrative venture", he concluded.
reprimand: The man did not take the reprimand seriously and was later sacked. He was reprimanded for dereliction of duty.
consent: You cannot make serious decisions concerning my life without obtaining my consent. I should consent to your doing so.
mandate: The new president was given the mandate to restore the industry to its former glory. He was mandated to do this in three months.
harvest: The draught brought poor harvest for most farmers. It also made harvesting both root and tuber crops extremely difficult.
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