Homophones
In English it is possible for two different words - words with different spelling and different meaning - to have the same pronunciation. These are homophones. For example, mail and male and practice and practise. This occurs because English is not written in a strictly phonetic way. There are more than 400 pairs of homophones.
Common homophones:(常见同音字)
mail and male The first means post and letters, the second is the opposite of female
brake and break The first stops a car or bicycle from moving, the second means to damage something
wait and weight The first is what you do at a bus stop, the second is measured in kilogrammes
read and red The first is the past simple of 'to read', the second is the colour of danger
buy, by and bye The first is to obtain something using money, the second is a preposition, the third is a shortened form of 'goodbye'
sore and soar The first means something hurts, the second means to fly high in the sky
pause and paws The first is a short gap in speech, the second are animals' feet
pores and pours The first are small holes in the skin, the second is from the verb 'to pour water from a jug'
Verb and noun homophones:(动词与名词同音字)
practise and practice Both mean to do something to get better at it. The first is the verb, the second the noun
license and licence Both refer to official permission to do something. The first (in British English) is verb meaning to give the permission, the second is the noun and refers to the official document of permission
Contractions (e.g. he's, I'm) homophones:(缩写同音字)
aisle, isle and I'll The first is the gap between columns of seats, the second is a small island, the third is a contraction of 'I will'
heel, heal and he'll The first is the back of the bottom of your foot, the second means to repair an injury, the third is a contraction of 'he will'
your and you're The first is a possessive pronoun, the second the contraction of 'you are'
there, their and they're The first is an adverb, the second a possessive pronoun, the third a contraction of 'they are'
|
|
| |
|