Verb + ing Pronunciation Error

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net

Updated July 26, 2019

Which word is stressed when you say, 'drinking water', 'a cleaning woman' or, 'a travelling salesman'?

The Pronunciation of 'Verb+ing + Noun'

Introduction Notes:

This topic is most suitable for people who are already Band 6 and above.

The actual vocabulary in the examples here is not always suitable for the IELTS Speaking test but the ideas presented on this page are useful for improving your pronunciation, specifically the stress pattern. The most important thing is to understand and remember the ideas that are explained here.

This page is a continuation of the topic, Word Combinations.

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Question: Why are some examples of "verb+ing" + noun pronounced with the "verb+ing" spoken stronger than the noun, while other examples are spoken with the noun spoken stronger than the "verb+ing"?

Answer: Because the "verb+ing" sometimes is a noun (a verbal noun), which follows the usual stress pattern in speech of "noun + noun", that is the first noun being spoken stronger, while at other times the "verb+ing" is an adjective (like, "a boring movie"), which follows the usual stress pattern in speech of "adjective + noun", that is the second word, the noun being spoken stronger.

A Simple Example

Why are "drinking water" and "running water" pronounced with different intonation? Before you can understand why they are different, you need to understand the meaning of the two examples, and the grammar of the words.

D rinking water means, "water for drinking". "Drinking" here is a verbal-noun = an activity = a noun. This is shown below in Table 1. Verbal Noun + Noun: Stress on the first word.

On the other hand, running water means, "water that is running" (flowing). "Running" here is an adjective, just like, "a boring movie". This is shown below in Table 2. Adjective + Noun: Stress on the second word.

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A More Complex Example

If you listen to the recordings of, "a moving van" and, "a moving part", you'll hear that they are spoken with different stress patterns (声调). "Moving van" is spoken with the word, "moving" spoken stronger (= a little louder) than the word, "van". In contrast, "moving part" is spoken with the word, "part" stronger than the word, "moving".

A "moving van"

A "van" (客货车) is a small truck for carrying goods. "Move" here means to "move house" (搬家). So, "a moving van" is a van that is used for the activity of moving house. "Moving" here is a verbal-noun (动名词). Verbal-nouns are made by taking the base verb and adding "ing" and they are considered to be a type of noun. A verbal-noun represents an activity.

A "moving part"

In the example, "a moving part", the word "part" means "a part of a machine" (部件). The word, "moving" here means "which is moving" (正在动) or, "which moves when the machine is running". The word, "moving", in this situation, is an adjective, which is derived from the present participle (现在分词) of the verb, "move". English has many adjectives of this type, such as, "a boring film", "an interesting book" and, "surprising news". So, "a moving part" means, "a part (of a machine) that is moving when the machine is in use."

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Now you are ready to understand why the stress pattern is different for these two examples. We have already seen (on other pages of this website) that the combination, "noun + noun" is usually (but not always) spoken with the greater stress on the first word. And we have seen that the combination, "adjective + noun" is usually spoken with the greater stress on the second word, the noun. (The stress on the noun in an "adjective + noun" combination is a kind of falling, but still emphatic, stress).

Therefore, "a moving van", which is [noun + noun] is pronounced as "a moving van" and, "a moving part", which is [adjective + noun] is pronounced as "a moving part".

To Repeat - There are Two Possible Meanings of "Verb + ing"

As you can see from these examples, "verb + ing" can be either, a) a noun or, b) an adjective. The spelling is exactly the same for both the noun and the adjective. If you learn a new word combination from a book, you should try to understand which one, a) or b), is the most likely meaning for "verb + ing". This should be clear from the context of what you are reading.

When people do speak these word combinations with an incorrect intonation, it is usually because they don't fully understand the meaning of the "verb + ing" that they are speaking – many of these word combinations are idiomatic expressions. And more often than not, this mistake occurs when someone is reading other people's English (such as a newsreader on TV or the radio) or when someone is speaking memorized language that comes from a book.

Here is an example of a Chinese person saying "the melting pot", but his intonation has the meaning of, "the pot that is melting" when the real meaning is, "the pot that is used for melting things": THE_MELTING_POT_INCORRECT.mp3. Here is the correct intonation: MELTING_POT_CORRECT.wav, taken from http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/melting-pot. You will notice that the correct intonation has the word, "pot" spoken with less force (less stress) than the incorrect intonation.

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It this really such an important aspect of pronunciation?

Although intonation (or, stress pattern) is important, it is not as important as the basic pronunciation of each word. (That is, clarity is the most important thing.) However, if you use the wrong intonation, you might actually change the meaning of what you are trying to say and cause confusion in the listener. For example, if you say "a moving van", with the word "van" spoken a little louder than the word, "moving", your meaning is "a van that is moving". Here is an example sentence using that meaning: "The dog was hit by a fast-moving van." And if you pronounce examples of "adjective + noun" (such as, "a moving part") with the stress on the first word, the adjective, instead of on the noun, it might sound like you are speaking about a contrast (对比). For example, "That's a moving part of this machine" sounds like you are saying, "It's not one of the immobile parts of the machine." But this is not your meaning and this might cause confusion.

As well as that, if you make an intonation mistake, the listener might be (momentarily) confused because he or she is not expecting you to use that intonation. For example, "a growing boy" means, "a boy who is growing". Here is an example sentence: "He eats so much because he's a growing boy". But if you incorrectly pronounce it as "a growing boy" and especially if your basic word pronunciation is not 100% clear, the listener might not understand what you said.

Another example: If you say swimming pool so that the word "pool" is stronger (= a little louder) than the word, "swimming", your meaning is, "a pool that is swimming" (正在游泳的池)! This is ridiculous and impossible but if you pronounce each word clearly, the listener will still know what you were trying to say. However, not everyone pronounces words 100% clearly!

In the IELTS test, I think some examiners might think twice about giving you a 7 for pronunciation if you show that you habitually make this mistake and are obviously confused about which is the correct intonation to use, no matter how good other aspects of your pronunciation are. However, one mistake, based on an "old habit" of speech, would be forgiven and could still allow you to get a 7 or more for pronunciation, especially if you show that you do have some understanding of this aspect of pronunciation.

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Recordings of Many Examples (for mimicking)

Below are two tables with lists of these two different types of pronunciation: Table 1 Verbal Noun + Noun: Stress on the first word and, Table 2. Adjective + Noun Stress on the second word. (These are taken from the examples on this website in the lists of "noun + noun" and from the lists of "adjective + noun".)

I have also produced a separate table that shows that a verbal-noun is often the second noun in a "noun + noun" combination, unlike Table 1 where the verbal-noun is the first word. This is shown, HERE, on a separate page.

Table 1. Verbal Noun + Noun: Stress on the first word

Remember, the meaning of these examples is like this: "a swimming pool" = "a pool for the activity of swimming". A few of these have a meaning like this: "the opening time" = "the time of (the activity of) opening". (This is a key idea to understand and remember.)

learning ability	a fund-raising effort	a shouting match	a traveling route
a mining accident	a swimming enthusiast	a running mate	a walking route
a balancing act	drilling equipment	building materials	smelling salts
a disappearing act	fire fighting equipment	reading materials	a boarding school
a juggling act	mountaineering equipment	reading matter	a driving school
a vanishing act	recording equipment	a parking meter	a training school
gambling addiction	teaching equipment	a rolling mill	the selling season
a billing address	a housing estate	spending money	the growing season
a reading age	a trading estate	a roofing nail	the driving seat
a booking agent	a diving event	a darning needle	a cleaning service
a dating agency	a fund-raising event	a knitting needle	an answering service
a shipping agent	a sporting event	a sewing needle	a counseling session
an advertising agency	a qualifying exam	a fishing net	a recording session
a hearing aid	a fishing expedition	a booking office	a training session
a teaching aid	a learning experience	a sorting office	a baking sheet
a walking aid	a gardening expert	cooking oil	a sailing ship
a bowling alley	a handwriting expert	heating oil	a dancing shoe
a cooking apple	a marketing expert	a holding operation	a running shoe
an eating apple	a child minding facility	marching orders	a training shoe
a staging area	a manufacturing facility	a heating pad	a betting shop
a teaching assistant	a parking facility	a landing pad	a talking shop
a housing association	a washing facility	a launching pad	a warning sign
a batting average	banking facilities	a scouring pad	a building site
a boxing bag	a weighting factor	growing pains	a camping site
a punching bag (= a boxing bag)	an inhibiting factor	a baking pan	a landing site
a shopping bag	a boxing fan	a frying pan	a loading site
a sleeping bag	a cooling fan	a roasting pan	a building society
a bowling ball	an underwriting fee	blotting paper	baking soda
a wedding band	a teaching fellow	tracing paper	a drinking song
a marching band	a landing field	a working paper	a rallying song
a shopping basket	a playing field	wrapping paper	a parking space
a loading bay	killing fields	writing paper	breathing space
a spelling bee	the teaching field	walking papers	living space
a diving bell	a consulting firm	a dancing partner	a serving spoon
a housing benefit	a publishing firm	a sparring partner	a buying spree
a heating bill	an accounting firm	a trading partner	a killing spree
a recycling bin	a connecting flight	a greeting party	a shooting spree
a humming bird (see Type 9)	cleaning fluid	a raiding party	a shopping spree
a wading bird (see Type 9)	a driving force	a scouting party	a spending spree
a building block	a carving fork	a welcoming party	a firing squad
a starting block	a tuning fork	a working party	the waiting staff
a stumbling block	a drinking fountain	a boarding pass	a landing stage
a chopping-board	a walking frame	a jogging path	the manufacturing stage
a cutting board	a buying frenzy	a holding pattern	the planning stage
a diving board	a feeding frenzy	the tuning peg	a trading stamp
a drawing board	a shooting gallery	a drafting pen	an accounting standard
a draining board	a gambling game	a building permit	living standards
a skirting board	a guessing game	a hunting permit	a swimming star
a sounding board	a/the waiting game	a parking permit	a docking station
an ironing board	laughing gas	planning permission	a filling station
a fishing boat	a starting gate	a homing pigeon	a tracking station
a rowing boat	landing gear	a racing pigeon	a digging stick
a sailing boat	a dancing girl	a sleeping pill	a measuring stick
a coloring book	a serving girl	a bowling pin	a pointing stick
a writing book	a working girl	a drawing pin	a shooting stick
a hiking boot	a looking glass	a rolling pin	a walking stick
a feeding bottle	a magnifying glass	a landing place	a laughing stock
a mixing bowl	reading glasses	a meeting place	rolling stock
a whipping boy	a bowling green	a resting place	a grinding stone
a scrubbing brush	a dressing gown	a sticking plaster	a paving stone
a filing cabinet	a breeding ground	an eating place	a stepping stone
a wedding cake	a burial ground	a processing plant	building stone
a mining camp	a dumping ground	the/a boiling point	a winning streak
a training camp	a feeding ground	a meeting point	a landing strip
a culling campaign	a hunting ground	a rallying point	an engineering student
a whispering campaign	a meeting ground	a selling point	engineering studies
an advertising campaign	a stamping ground	a starting point	a mixing studio
a watering can	a testing ground	a sticking point	a recording studio
a bathing cap	a training ground	a turning point	a singing style
a blasting cap	a reading group	the breaking point	icing sugar
a swimming cap	a working group	the freezing point	a bathing suit
a "thinking cap"	chewing gum	the melting point	a diving suit
a dining car	a starting gun	a diving pool	a jogging suit
a racing car	a dining hall	a paddling pool	a swim(ming) suit
a sleeping car	a meeting hall	a swimming pool	a betting system
a boarding card	a nursing home	a wading pool	a cooling system
a calling card	a grappling hook	a training pool	a filing system
a greeting(s) card	a rocking horse	a typing pool	a global positioning system
a landing card	a vaulting horse	a fishing port	a heating system
a playing card	a teaching hospital	a hitching post	a learning system
a trading card	a waking hour	a listening post	a monitoring system
a visiting card	licensing hours	a staging post	a numbering system
a smoking carriage	opening hours	a trading post	a public broadcasting system
a serving cart	visiting hours	a teaching post	a rating system
a shopping cart	working hours	the winning post	a recording system
a packing case	a boarding house	a cooking pot	a warehousing system
a breeding centre	a clearing house	a melting pot	a warning system
a computing centre = a computer centre	a counting house	pulling power	a writing system
a manufacturing centre	a lodging house	staying power	an operating system
a shopping centre	a printing house	purchasing power	the banking system
a training centre	a publishing house	baking powder	a dining table
a naming ceremony	a rooming house	bleaching powder	a dressing table
a flag-raising ceremony	the banking industry	washing powder	an examining table
a groundbreaking ceremony	the fishing industry	buying power	the negotiating table
a wedding ceremony	the mining industry	healing power	fishing tackle
a rocking chair	the shipping industry	a shopping precinct	masking tape
a swimming champion	a curling iron	a/the printing press	a writing task
drinking chocolate	a grappling iron	a selling price	a dancing teacher
a mining claim	a soldering iron	a starting price	a diving team
a booking clerk	a smoking jacket	an asking price	a swimming team
swaddling clothes	a fishing kit	housing prices	a driving test
a hiking club	a sewing kit	a breathing problem	an operating theater
coking coal	a boning knife	a drinking problem	sampling theory
steaming coal	a carving knife	a hearing problem	a parking ticket
a training college	a hunting knife	a reading problem	a speeding ticket
the steering column	a scaling knife	a sleeping problem	the closing time
a planning committee	a shipping label	a smoking problem	harvest(ing) time
a standing committee	a warning label	an accounting procedure	the opening time
a steering committee	a reading lamp	a manufacturing process	planting time
an organizing committee	grazing land	a packing process	running time
a cleaning company	a shipping lane	a printing process	seeding time
a holding company	a programming language	a thinking process	working time
a manufacturing company	licensing laws	a training program	a dialing tone
a publishing company	a lending library	a housing project	a ringing tone
a shipping company	a driving license	a reading project	a gardening tool
an advertising company	a fishing license	(a) living quarters	a training tool
a building complex	a hunting license	a running race	a woodworking tool
a housing complex	a parking light	a swimming race	curling tongs
a shopping complex	a reading light	a walking race	a cutting torch
living conditions	a reversing light	a battering ram	a welding torch
working conditions	a warning light	a driving range	a conning tower
a bidding contest	a dividing line	a firing range	a cooling tower
a singing contest	a firing line	a shooting range	a cycling track
a spelling contest	a fishing line	a hearing range	a running track
a weightlifting contest	a shipping line	a lending rate	a baking tray
advertising costs	a/the starting line	a shipping rate	a serving tray
heating costs	a waiting line	an approval rating	a conjuring trick
manufacturing costs	a washing line	a drilling rig	a hiking trip
operating costs	the finishing line	shipping rights	a camping trip
running costs	a mailing list	a boxing ring	a shopping trolley
a swimming costume	a reading list	a skating rink	a housing unit
a landing craft	a shopping list	a logging road	a moving van
a packing crate	a waiting list	a fishing rod	a drinking vessel
shaving cream	a bridging loan	a boning room	a fishing village
whipping cream	a parking lot	a changing room	trading volume
a riding crop	a digging machine	a checking room	a retaining wall
a rallying cry	a drying machine	a consulting room	drinking water
a measuring cup	a duplicating machine	a cutting room	sealing wax
a learning curve	a harvesting machine	a dealing room	the shipping weight
a spending cut	a knitting machine	a dining room	a wishing well
the processing cycle	a milking machine	a drawing room	a spinning wheel
the closing date	a packing machine	a dressing room	a steering wheel
filing date	a rowing machine	a fitting room	training wheels
a mailing date	a sanding machine	a living room	a cleaning woman
Boxing Day	a sewing machine	a meeting room	a parking zone
washing day	a tunneling machine	a sitting room	a non-smoking zone
a wedding day	a vending machine	a smoking room
a gambling den	a washing machine	a waiting room
the Advertising Department	an answering machine	an operating room
the Purchasing Department	a shipping magnate	standing room
a writing desk	a shopping mall	a skipping rope
a wiring diagram	a distinguishing mark	a cycling route
a breathing disorder	the housing market	a hiking route
an eating disorder	a boxing match	a running route
a wedding dress	a shooting match	a sailing route

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Table 2. Adjective + Noun: Stress on the second word

(The adjectives in this list are present participles (现在分词) of verbs.)

The stress on the noun in an "adjective + noun" combination is a kind of falling but emphatic stress.

The compound nouns shown in Table 1, above, are usually "set expressions" that can be found in dictionaries. Similarly, many of these examples in Table 2 are also set expressions but in English, you can also make your own combinations of adjective + noun. For example, you can describe many different things as "interesting" or "exciting".

[Sometimes the first word, the adjective, is stressed more than the noun. This is done when you are talking about a contrast. Here is an example of a normal, unstressed adjective: "I ride an old bicycle to get to my university classes." Here is an example of contrasting adjectives: "I've got an old bicycle but she's got a new one." Another example: If someone asks you, "Was it good news that you heard today from your friend?" you can answer by saying, "No, it was depressing news". This is called "contrasting stress". However, most often we are not contrasting or saying what something is not when we use an "adjective + noun" combination. Normally, we just say, "I got some depressing news today."

Adjectives that are connected with your emotions such as "boring" and "frightening" in the example, "a frightening experience" are sometimes stressed more than the noun to give the meaning of, "a really frightening experience". But it is not necessary to speak this way all the time because the word, "frightening" conveys your meaning clearly enough.]

Remember, the meaning of these examples is like this: "running water" = "water that is running". Or: "a sliding door" = "a door that slides when you open or close it". (This is a key idea to understand and remember.)

an aging population	a flying doctor	a living thing	a performing bear	"a sitting duck"
a bewildering array	a flying fish	a living death	the performing arts	a sitting target
a "bleeding heart"	a flying fox	a living language	a/the presiding officer	the sitting judge
a boring class	a flying start	in living memory	a pressing engagement	a sleeping baby
a boring film	a flying visit	a long-playing record	the prevailing wind	"Sleeping Beauty"
a challenging task	a frightening experience	a menacing gesture	a promising future	a sliding door
a charming smile	the gathering storm	misleading information	a rambling speech	a smoking gun
a compelling argument	a governing body	missing luggage	a raving beauty	the speaking clock
a contracting economy	a growing boy	a missing link	a raving lunatic	a sporting chance
a cutting remark	a growing problem	a missing person	a ravishing beauty	a standing army
depressing news	a guiding light	a closing argument	a recurring thought	a sitting member (of parliament)
a developing country (see note)	halting English	a motivating influence	a recurring dream	a standing ovation
diminishing returns	a hanging basket	a moving part	a reigning monarch	a swinging door
a disappointing result	a helping hand	a moving picture	a revolving door	a talking book
disappointing news	an increasing awareness	a moving staircase	a rolling contract	a tiring day
a driving rain	inspiring words	a moving target	a rolling stone	a tiring job
diminishing returns	a leading role	a moving speech	a running battle	a travelling salesman
dwindling resources	a leading authority	a non-performing loan	a running joke	unswerving support
a dying art	a leading question	a nursing mother	a running repair	a walking encyclopedia
excruciating pain	a leading article	an ocean-going liner	a running sore	a walking tour (See Type 4)
an expanding economy	a leading light	an outstanding performance	a running total	the walking wounded
a fading beauty	the leading man	an outstanding talent	a running commentary	working capital
a fading career	the leading lady	outstanding ability	running water	a working holiday (See Type 4)
fading light	a life-threatening disease	outstanding cinematography	a shooting star
a falling star	a living creature	an overbearing manner	a shrinking number of …
a flying buttress	a living legend	a penetrating analysis	a "shrinking violet"

Note

It is possible to describe China either as, "a big country" or, "a big country". In the second example, "country" is spoken in a slightly falling but emphatic tone. The first example emphasizes the word, "big", which is a way of saying, "China is not a small country". This is contrasting stress: the word "big" is in contrast to the word, "small", even though the word "small" is not spoken.

In the same way, some people say things like, "China is a developing country", with the word "developing" spoken stronger than the word, "country". When it is spoken like that, the meaning is, "China is not a developed country." But there is no need to always focus on what China is not; when simply describing China, it is usually sufficient to just say, "China is still a developing country".

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