Some verbs ending in -ate keep their original syllable stress when you add the suffix -ive to form an adjective
e.g.,
imitate/imitative
meditate/meditative
investigate/investigative
For others, the stress moves to the antepenultimate syllable and the 'a' in -ative is reduced;
e.g.,
indicate/indicative
contemplate/contemplative
interrogate/interrogative
Is there a rule or any kind of historical reason why a word would follow one pattern or the other?
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