Stress-based Pairs

record: REC-ord (noun) vs re-CORD (verb):

English has a productive pattern of noun–verb stress shift: many two-syllable words are nouns when stressed on the first syllable and verbs when stressed on the second.

• noun /ˈrɛkɔːd/ — "a database record", "the commit record" — stress on REC
• verb /rɪˈkɔːd/ — "we record the metrics" — stress on CORD, and the first vowel reduces to /ɪ/

Notice the unstressed vowel also reduces: the strong /ɛ/ of the noun becomes a weak /ɪ/ in the verb. Stress is not just loudness — it changes vowel quality.

Same pattern, same family: permit, conflict, contrast, insult, rebel — noun first, verb second.

object: OB-ject (noun) vs ob-JECT (verb):

Another noun–verb stress pair, central to OOP vocabulary:

• noun /ˈɒbdʒɪkt/ — stress on OB — "create an object", "the request object"
• verb /əbˈdʒɛkt/ — stress on JECT — "I object to merging this"

Again the vowels shift: the noun's first syllable has a clear /ɒ/ and the second reduces to /ɪ/; the verb reverses it — the first reduces to /ə/ and the second carries a full /ɛ/.

Get it wrong and you sound odd: stressing "ob-JECT" while meaning a code object signals non-native rhythm even when every sound is otherwise correct.

Same pattern: project (a project / to pro-JECT), subject, contract, present.

present: PRES-ent (noun/adj) vs pre-SENT (verb):

Same stress-shift family:

• noun / adjective /ˈprɛznt/ — "the present value", "the present sprint" — stress on PRES
• verb /prɪˈzɛnt/ — "let's present the demo" — stress on SENT, first vowel reduces to /ɪ/

This one is especially common in tech writing because "present" appears both as a state ("the field is present") and an action ("we present the data").

Watch the rhythm: "is the key present?" (PRES-ent) vs "I'll present later" (pre-SENT). Mixing them up rarely blocks understanding but immediately marks non-native stress timing.

More in the set: increase, decrease, refund, upgrade, address — though stress on a few of these (like address) varies by dialect.

The noun-first / verb-second stress rule:

For a large set of two-syllable words borrowed from Latin/French, English shifts stress by word class:

• export — noun /ˈɛkspɔːt/ (EX-port: "the data export") vs verb /ɪkˈspɔːt/ (ex-PORT: "export the table")
• import — noun /ˈɪmpɔːt/ vs verb /ɪmˈpɔːt/ — "an import statement" vs "import the module"

convert behaves differently: as a verb it is /kənˈvɜːt/ (con-VERT: "convert to JSON"); the rarer noun "a convert" is /ˈkɒnvɜːt/, but in tech you almost always use the verb.

Why it matters: "an EX-port job" (noun, the artefact) vs "to ex-PORT" (verb, the action). The rule is a tendency, not absolute — but it covers import, export, update, upgrade, transfer, contrast well.

Option A reverses the rule; in fact the verb takes the later stress.

address — verb fixed, noun dialect-dependent:

This word shows that the noun–verb stress rule has exceptions and dialectal variation:

• verb — /əˈdrɛs/ (a-DRESS) in essentially all accents — "let's address the bug", "address the feedback"
• noun — British English commonly keeps /əˈdrɛs/ (a-DRESS), while General American often shifts to /ˈædrɛs/ (AD-ress) for a postal address, email address, or IP address

So an American saying "the IP AD-ress" and a Brit saying "the IP a-DRESS" are both correct in their own variety.

Takeaway: on an international team, both stress patterns for the noun are intelligible — do not "correct" a colleague. The verb, however, is consistently a-DRESS. Memory uses the same word: a memory address follows the noun pattern of the speaker's dialect.