Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb

English has numerous word pairs that are spelled alike, but pronounced differently according to whether the word is being used as a noun or as a verb.

Some examples are conduct, digest, escort, insult, produce, and record. With each of these words, and others like them, the accent shifts according to the part of speech. Here are some examples:

I do not approve of his cónduct. John Williams will condúct the symphony .

He subscribes to the Congressional Dígest. Some food is difficult to digést.

Charlie will be her éscort. He will escórt her to the Prom.

That last remark was an ínsult. How dare you insúlt your father?

Celery and tomatoes are fresh próduce. These factories prodúce the finest widgets.

That’s his fifth platinum récord. Let’s recórd the baby’s first word.

You will notice that for the noun the accent falls on the first syllable; for the verb, on the second.

Some noun/verb pairs shift in pronunciation and in spelling. These are the ones writers need to be aware of. Here are a few that I’ve seen misused :

Take his advice with a grain of salt. Who will advise the king?

He likes a warm bath. They bathe in the river.

It’s cold enough to see our breath. Don’t breathe the chemical fumes.

The shoes are made of cloth. Feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

He felt grief at the death of the child. He must be allowed time to grieve.

Here, I’ll give you half. The new invention will halve production costs.

What is the proof of your contention? He worked night and day to prove his innocence.

A prophecy of Merlin foretold the Maid. Prophesy unto the wind, for the wind will listen.

Maeve on June 25, 2007 Subscribe to our RSS Feed

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14 Responses to “Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb”

Daniel on June 25th, 2007 4:07 pm

Great post. I used to mess up the usage of many of them, like bath and bathe and proof and prove.
Tips Supremo on June 25th, 2007 6:14 pm

Thanks guys, you’re doing a great job. I’m quite bad in my English and used to wonder when to use “advice” and “advise”.
Eric on June 26th, 2007 3:53 am

Is Choose and Chose in the same category? I always have trouble with those two… When do I use those?
Maeve on June 26th, 2007 12:39 pm

Eric,
“Choose” and “chose” are both verb forms. The noun associated with this verb is “choice.”

I’ve made my choice and will stand by it. (noun)
Today I choose to do nothing. (present tense verb)
Yesterday I chose to work 12 hours. (simple past))
I have chosen to live on the moon. (past perfect with past participle form of the verb)
Eric on June 27th, 2007 3:53 am

Thanks so much! This is really a wonderful site.
Andy on June 28th, 2007 12:12 pm

This site makes me realise how hard it must be to learn English as a second language.

Thank god all of this comes to me naturally!
Roshawn on July 2nd, 2007 1:00 pm

It’s a shame that English is the only language I speak, yet I don’t know how to use it effectively (I’ll work on efficiency later ).

Definitely worth bookmarking. Better yet I’ll just subscribe to the rss feed.
joan ellis on October 8th, 2007 4:24 pm

I love your examples but am floored by our culture’s now constant use of “impact” as a verb. Can you clear this up.

The growth of the economy will have an impact on millions of people

that sounds right to me whereas

The growth of the economy will impact millions of people sounds just plain wrong. Help! Joan Ellis
Maeve on October 8th, 2007 5:22 pm

Joan,
Alas, it’s not the culture, it’s the language. I don’t know about other languages, but in English, it seems that ANY word can be used as a verb.

Shakespeare’s Duke of York uses “uncle” as a verb in Richard II:
Tut, tut!
Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle

That’s not to say that’s a good thing.

I share your annoyance regarding the practice of using the noun”impact” as a verb, but the only “explanation” I can come up with is that it’s possible, so people do it.

I dislike other verb-related messing abouts, for example, using the intransitive verb “disappear” transitively as in Uzbek police disappear torture victim.

And it still sets my teeth on edge when people talk about “growing the economy,” or “growing a business.” As far as I’m concerned, people grow corn and other crops. They develop or expand businesses.

I suppose that all one can do is observe one’s own standards, and try to shed a little light on the usage of one’s nearest and dearest.
Jensita on January 3rd, 2008 3:53 pm

Regarding “growing a business”, I think it’s used more as a metaphor than a literal phrase. In its early stages, a young plant, child or other living thing is usually very fragile and requires special needs. In that sense, a business must be treated in the same fashion in order to expand or “grow”.

Thinking of it in those terms makes me less inclined to cringe at the phrase “growing a business”.

Additionally, one of Merriam-Webster’s definitions for grow is “to promote the development of ”

By the way, thanks for these great posts. I learn something new every day. Keep it up!
Sourav Ghosal on June 1st, 2008 2:15 am

I want more words used as both noun and verb. This help me in the forthcoming civil service exam
Swathi Govind on June 17th, 2008 8:14 am

something special