-ive ending

Core Rule

The -ive ending appears mainly in adjectives and some nouns, historically from Latin -ivus, expressing “having a quality or function.” In modern English, -ive is pronounced /ɪv/. The final e is silent and serves a spelling and morphological role.

Pronunciation Guide

Start with the short vowel /ɪ/: relaxed tongue, slightly raised, neutral mouth opening. Then move smoothly to /v/, touching the upper teeth with the lower lip while voicing continuously.

Word Analysis

• imitative: meaning “tending to imitate,” with stable /ɪv/ regardless of word length.
• interactive: formed from interact + ive; the suffix keeps the same sound.

Pitfalls

Avoid reading -ive as /aɪv/ or /iːv/, and do not pronounce the final e.