Some words in English have particular endings that are worth learning. For instance, the ones that finish with “ate”. Think of the word duplicate, for example. There are two possible ways of pronouncing it. It could be: duplicate or duplicate.
If you come across a verb like that, the pronunciation at the end will usually be /eɪt/. As in:
Complicate
Celebrate
Demonstrate
Anticipate
Translate
Illustrate
Appreciate
If you come across words which are adjectives and, in that specific case, the pronunciation at the end of those words will usually be /ət/. As in:
Fortunate
Unfortunate
Passionate
Delicate
Adequate
Inadequate
Accurate
Inaccurate
As well as the adjectives they are usually pronounced with a /ət/ at the end. Listen:
coordinate
conglomerate
chocolate
certificate
affiliate
bicarbonate
consulate
And they also have different pronunciation.
The verb: separate – I need to separate my mail.
The adjective: separate – We have separate bank accounts.
The verb: duplicate – It’ll be hard to duplicate that video.
The adjective: duplicate – This is a duplicate key.
The noun: duplicate – That’s a duplicate of the car key.
The verb: coordinate – Who’s going to coordinate the project?
The noun: coordinate – Give me the coordinates so I can start up.
The verb: graduate – I think he’ll graduate next year.
The adjective: graduate – She’s a graduate student.
The noun: graduate – They’re still graduates.
The verb: precipitate – Her resignation precipitated a crisis in the company.
The adjective: precipitate – That’s a precipitate decision.
The verb: associate – I always associate the United States with capitalism.
The adjective: associate – She’s an associate director.
The noun: associate – One of our associates is travelling now.
