Heteronyms American English Pronunciation
hetero names are something to be careful
of they are words that are spelled the
same but pronounced differently the
difference usually comes in the fact
that it is a different part of speech
and that the emphasis comes on a
different syllable let’s look at some
examples this word as a noun dove is a
kind of bird there’s a dove flying
overhead as a verb douve is the past
tense of dive I dove off the pier dove
dove dove has the UH as in butter
pronunciation douve has the Oh as in no
pronunciation this word close as a verb
it means to shut something as an
adjective it’s the opposite of far close
close the difference is in the consonant
is it voiced or unvoiced in the verb
clothes
it is voiced and the adjective close it
is unvoiced this word as a verb
alternate it means to go back and forth
between two things as a noun it is a
person or a thing that is the second
choice for example if I can’t go onstage
to sing my alternate will verb alternate
noun alternate it can also be an
adjective actually describing a noun the
alternate singer alternate it’s the a as
in say sound alternate it’s the schwa as
in supply alternate this word as a verb
desert it means to leave as a noun
desert it means a dry arid region now
the difference is in which syllable gets
emphasized and what that does is it
changes the vowel sound desert the schwa
dirt desert
as in bed desert this word as the verb
it means to guide lead but it’s also an
element a noun lead lead II as in she
led a as in bed this word as a noun
tear it’s what happens what comes from
your eyes when you cry as a verb tear it
means to rip tear tear the ear as in
here the air as in bear