Words that lost a syllable over time

1. 1
   restaurant/ˈrestərˌɑːnt/iAlso said ˈreˌstrɑːnt.

   noun

   A place you go to buy and eat a meal.
2. 2
   evening/ˈiːvnɪŋ/

   noun

   The end of the day, from late afternoon until dark.
3. 3
   vegetable/ˈvedʒtəbəl/

   noun

   A plant part eaten as food, like a carrot or a bean.
4. 4
   chocolate/ˈtʃɔːklət/

   noun

   A sweet brown food made from cocoa beans.
5. 5
   temperature/ˈtemprətʃər/iAlso said ˈtempərətʃər.

   noun

   How hot or cold something is.
6. 6
   favorite/ˈfeɪvərɪt/iAlso said ˈfeɪvrət.

   adjective

   Liked more than all the others.
7. 7
   comfortable/ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/

   adjective

   Easy on the body, with nothing sore or pinching.
8. 8
   different/ˈdɪfərənt/iAlso said ˈdɪfrənt.

   adjective

   Not the same as something else.
9. 9
   separate/ˈsepərˌeɪt/iAlso said ˈsepərɪt or ˈseprət.

   verb

   To split something into parts.
10. 10
    probably/ˈprɑːbəˌbliː/iAlso said ˈprɑːbli.

    adverb

    Very likely, though not for certain.

The sentences

1. This restaurant is still my favorite one downtown.

2. Thanks for such a lovely evening, everyone.

3. Did anyone else try the vegetable side dish?

4. Should we share the chocolate cake for dessert?

5. My soup arrived at a really odd temperature.

6. What's your favorite thing on this menu?

7. These chairs are more comfortable than I expected.

8. Yours tastes completely different from mine.

9. Could you separate the check for us, please?

10. I'll probably regret ordering that second plate.

Pronunciation

• restaurant/ˈrestərˌɑːnt/

  Three beats in speech: res-ter-ahnt.

• evening/ˈiːvnɪŋ/

  Two beats, not three: eev-ning.

• vegetable/ˈvedʒtəbəl/

  Three syllables, VEJ-tuh-bul. Nothing sounds between the j and the t.

• chocolate/ˈtʃɔːklət/

  Two syllables in normal speech, CHOK-lut. The middle 'o' is gone.

• temperature/ˈtemprətʃər/

  No per in the middle: tem-pruh-cher.

• comfortable/ˈkʌmfərtəbəl/

  Stress on the first syllable and everything after it goes flat. The 'fort' part sounds like 'fert'.

• separate/ˈsepərˌeɪt/

  As a verb the ending is a full ate sound, unlike the flat adjective.

Questions

What do I say if I want the check split?

You can say 'Could you separate the check for us, please?'.

What does favorite mean in this scene?

Favorite means liked more than all the others, as in 'What's your favorite thing on this menu?'.

How do you say chocolate?

It's said in two syllables, CHOK-lut; the middle o disappears.