KWAH-luh-feyez
/ˈkwɑləˌfaɪz/
qualifies is pronounced KWAH-luh-feyez (/ˈkwɑləˌfaɪz/). Qualifies means to meets the necessary standards or criteria, or to grant authority or eligibility through meeting requirements. In everyday use, it can describe meeting conditions, limiting statements, or qualifying a claim. It implies adding a condition or narrowing scope, often with modal or subordinate phrasing. The form shown here is the present tense, third-person singular: qualifies.
Qualifies means to meets the necessary standards or criteria, or to grant authority or eligibility through meeting requirements. In everyday use, it can describe meeting conditions, limiting statements, or qualifying a claim. It implies adding a condition or narrowing scope, often with modal or subordinate phrasing. The form shown here is the present tense, third-person singular: qualifies.
"The candidate qualifies for the scholarship after submitting all documents."
"The statement qualifies the claim by outlining the limitations of the study."
"He qualifies his earlier remarks with a caveat about the sample size."
Pronounced /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/ (UK/US) with primary stress on the first syllable. Break it into three parts: /ˈkwɒ/ (start with an open back rounded vowel and lip rounding), /lɪ/ (short, lax ‘i’), and /faɪz/ (f + long “i” as in “fly”). In careful speech, you clearly enunciate the /l/ and the /aɪ/ diphthong before the final z. Audio references: compare with authoritative pronunciations on Cambridge/Oxford, Forvo samples, and Pronounce resources. Practice by isolating the initial “quad” sound with a crisp /kw/ cluster, then the /ɒ/ to /l/ transition, and finally the /ɪfaɪz/ tail. IPA: US /ˈkwɑː.ləˌfaɪz/ or /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/ depending on vowel quality; UK /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/; AU /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/.
Common errors: (1) Stress misplacement, saying ku-WAL-fizes or kwah-LIFES with the wrong syllable stressed. (2) The middle vowel reduction, turning /lɪ/ into a fuller /liː/ or confusing /ə/ sound. (3) Final consonant mispronunciation, not voicing the /z/ or adding an /s/ instead. Correction: keep primary stress on the first syllable, pronounce the middle as /lɪ/ (short, lax) and finish with /faɪz/ where the /z/ is voiced. Use minimal pairs to train: QUAL- (ˈkwɒ) vs. QUAL-i-/ – work on crisp vowel transitions and the voiced /z/.
US tends to have /ˈkwɑː.ləˌfaɪz/ with a longer first vowel and light schwa in the second syllable; UK keeps /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/ with a short /ɒ/ and quick /lɪ/; Australian is similar to UK but may exhibit a slightly broader vowel in /ɒ/ and a less centralized /ɪ/. Rhoticity is present in US and AU; UK is non-rhotic in careful speech, so r is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel. Overall, the final /z/ remains voiced in all. Maintain three-syllable rhythm and ensure the first syllable carries primary stress. IPA notes: US /ˈkwɑː.ləˌfaɪz/; UK /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/; AU /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/.
The difficulty comes from three elements: the initial consonant cluster /kw/ followed by a short /ɒ/ or /ɒː/ vowel, then a rapid transition into the /l/ and the diphthong /aɪ/ before the final /z/. The stress on the first syllable, plus the weak middle syllable /lə/ or /lɪ/ can blur in casual speech. Mastery requires clear articulation of the /kw/ onset, crisp /l/ quality, and a precise, voiced /z/ at the end, while maintaining even-paced rhythm. IPA guidance helps anchor the exact placements.
Do you reduce the middle syllable in rapid speech, turning /lə/ into a schwa, or do you keep it distinctly /lə/? Answer: In careful speech, you keep /lə/ distinct as /lə/; in fast speech, the middle syllable often reduces toward a more centralized /lə/ or /lə/ with reduced vowel quality. The key is keeping the initial /kw/ crisp and the final /z/ voiced, ensuring the three-syllable cadence remains, even if the middle vowel weakens. IPA examples: /ˈkwɑː.lə.faɪz/ vs /ˈkwɒ.lə.faɪz/.
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Qualifies comes from the Latin qualis, meaning of what kind or what sort. The term passed into Old French as qualifier (to qualify, to certify) and then into Middle English through Anglo-Norman and later English usage. The core sense settled as to make something definite, to limit or modify a claim, with a legal or academic flavor. The modern sense expands to “to meet the necessary conditions” (as in eligibility) and to “to modify or temper” a statement. First attested forms appear in legal, academic, and administrative prose in the late medieval to early modern periods, with the sense narrowing toward formal qualification in law, education, and regulation. Over time, the verb absorbed common usage in everyday speech to indicate meeting criteria or adding restrictions, while preserving the nuance of making something precise or conditional. In contemporary English, qualify retains both conditional and eligibility meaning, frequently appearing in contexts of assessment, criteria, and limits. The phonetic form settles on /ˈkwɒ.lɪ.faɪz/ in non-rhotic and rhotic varieties, with the root elements clearly segmented as qual-i-fies, though speech rhythm can blur the middle. First known written occurrences reflect the root word qual-, connected to quality and characteristic determinations, with suffixes shaping verb form and meaning.
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Words that rhyme with "qualifies"
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