Many high-frequency English nouns and verbs end in -IT: visit, edit, profit, credit, deposit, limit. The good news for learners is that the pronunciation of the suffix is identical in every one of them. The rule is tiny and very useful.
The Rule
In two- or three-syllable nouns and verbs, the -IT ending is unstressed and pronounced /ɪt/. The vowel is the short i of bit, never the long I of bite. The T is a normal /t/.
Practice the Pattern
Stress Pattern
Most simple two-syllable -IT words stress the first syllable:
- VI-sit, E-dit, PRO-fit
- CRE-dit, LI-mit, AU-dit
- HA-bit, VO-mit, EX-it (in American English)
Three-syllable verbs may shift stress to the second syllable but the suffix is still weak /ɪt/:
- dePOsit, inHErit, inHAbit, exHIbit, proHIbit, subMIT... wait!
One important exception: verbs that come from short Latin roots, like submit, commit, permit, admit, omit, transmit, place the stress on the suffix and use the same /ɪt/ vowel: subMIT /səbˈmɪt/. The -IT still says /ɪt/, but it is now the loud syllable.
Watch the Noun-Verb Stress Shift
Some words have both noun and verb forms with different stress:
- permit noun /ˈpɜːrmɪt/ — PER-mit
- permit verb /pərˈmɪt/ — perMIT
- conflict noun /ˈkɑːnflɪkt/ — CON-flict
- conflict verb /kənˈflɪkt/ — conFLICT
The vowel of the -IT-style suffix is /ɪ/ in either case.
Common Mistakes
- Saying pro-FIT with stress on the second syllable. Wrong; the noun has stress on the first: PRO-fit.
- Pronouncing -IT with the long /aɪ/ as in I. Always short /ɪ/.
- Mixing up the suffix with the verb lit /lɪt/ — that is a stand-alone monosyllable, not a suffix.
Quick Reference
| Word | IPA | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| visit | /ˈvɪzɪt/ | VI-sit |
| edit | /ˈɛdɪt/ | E-dit |
| profit | /ˈprɑːfɪt/ | PRO-fit |
| credit | /ˈkrɛdɪt/ | CRE-dit |
| limit | /ˈlɪmɪt/ | LI-mit |
| deposit | /dɪˈpɑːzɪt/ | de-PO-sit |
| submit | /səbˈmɪt/ | sub-MIT |
Self-Test
Read aloud, all ending in /ɪt/:
- visit
- edit
- profit
- credit
- limit
- deposit
- audit
- habit
- exhibit
- summit
Summary
Whenever a noun or verb ends in -IT, the vowel is the short /ɪ/. Two-syllable words usually stress the first syllable; short Latin verbs like submit stress the suffix instead. But the sound itself is always the same.