By Jacqueline Schaalje

Patrick Finnegan

Do you say –ine as [in] or as [ain]?

How do you say the word determine. Do you say determain or determeen?

And the thingamagog in the picture. Is this a turbin or a turbain?

I wish I could tell you there are rules for it. But there aren’t. Drives you mad, doesn’t it?

The normal pronunciation rule would be to say –ine as [ain]. The last e of the word is a magic E, so the i should sound [ai]. But it can also sound as [ee] as in see or as [i] in fish.

Watch this video about the pronunciation of –ine, and learn how to say some common words. I’m sure you will some important new vocabulary. Then you can do the exercise in the video. Or do the online quiz to test your knowledge of the meanings of the words.

[in]

determine

turbine (American English)

engine

jasmine

examine

masculine

feminine

illumine (Br.)

famine

medicine

 

[een]

ravine

benzine

vaccine

magazine

machine

marine

 

[ain]

recline

combine

incline

confine

decline

turbine (British English)

divine

illumine (Am.)

alpine

canine

feline

porcine

bovine

ursine

Quiz

Fill in: ursine, alpine, illumine, divine, marine, recline, vaccine, feminine, famine, determine

Click to do this quiz online.

1 There’s a ___________ in Ethiopia again; due to a dearth of water too few crops have been able to grow.

2 She likes the __________ cut of this skirt suit, which suits her bodily forms.

3 When you feel tired, __________ you chair and take a little nap.

4 Are pandas of the _________ genus?

5 In the Himalaya we met a substantial number of ____________ climbers who were well prepared for the steep slopes.

6 They painted their bedroom walls in a bright ___________ colour.

7 After doing extensive market surveys, we still cannot ___________ what our ideal advertising budget should be.

8 Here are some great ideas for you that may ______________ your mind.

9 Followers of Buddha do not revere him because of his __________ powers, but because of his shining example.

10 How close are we to developing a ____________ against HIV?