Words that are both nouns and verbs: Where do I place the stress?

I found this at  http://www.dailystep.com/content.asp?id=28737

In this week’s audio blog about Austerity Britain, there are some words that have the same spelling but a different pronunciation. For example:

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1. a) …the Lib Dems have voted in favour of the fee increases.

b) The new government plans would increase the maximum amount of tuition fees to £9,000…

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2. a) It started as a student protest against rising tuition fees…

b) The students organised a march to protest against these changes

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Why are these words pronounced differently? It is because we are using the same word as both a noun and a verb.
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In sentence (a) of each example above, the word is a noun. These nouns are increase and protest.
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In sentence (b) of each sentence above, the word is a verb. These verbs are increase and protest.

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We have a rule in English about this:
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If a noun or an adjective has 2 syllables, the word stress is usually on the first syllable

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If a verb has 2 syllables, the word stress is usually on the second syllable.

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Let’s look at some other examples.

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1. You will progress a lot with your English if you follow this rule. (verb)

You will make a lot of progress with your English if you follow this rule. (noun)

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2. There has been a decrease in the number of visitors to the museum. (noun)

The number of visitors to the museum has decreased. (verb)

3. He rejected the plan.

This bowl was a reject, so I bought it at half price. (note: the noun ‘a reject’ means ‘something that was rejected due to deficiency’)

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4. Steel is one of Britain’s main exports. (noun)

Britain exports a lot of steel (verb)

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5. Britain imports a lot of food during the winter. (verb)

Food is a major import for Britain during the winter. (noun)

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6. Everyone was present at the meeting. (adjective)

He gave me a birthday present. (noun)

I will present my ideas to the company tomorrow in a presentation. (verb)

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But be careful, because sometimes the meaning of the noun and verb is different!

1. He refused to sign the document.

There is a refuse collection every Monday in the street where I live. (note: the noun ‘refuse’ means ‘rubbish’)

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2. He produces films. He is a film producer.

That shop sells fruit and other produce. (note: the noun ‘produce’ means ‘food or goods that are grown through farming’)

3. This car has a defect. It does not work properly. (note: the noun ‘defect’ means ‘fault’)

Rudolf Nureyev, the famous Russian ballerina, defected from the Soviet Union to the West in 1961. (note: the verb ‘defect’ means ‘to leave a country, political party, etc., especially in order to join an opposing one’.)

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(note: I'm afraid I made a mistake. Rudolf Nureyev was a ballet dancer, not a ballerina. Ballerinas are always female. Thank you Zoya for pointing that out!)

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Of course, there are exceptions to the rule about word stress in 2-syllable nouns and verbs. Some words have the same word stress for both the noun and the verb. Examples of these are:

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1. I answered the telephone. (verb)

I will give you my answer tomorrow. (noun)

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2. I can just picture you as a politician. (verb)

I like that picture. (noun)

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3. He travels a lot. (verb)

He told me all about his travels in Asia. (noun)