Find stressed syllable word

Making stress on English words and sentences is very important as stress whether on words or sentences changes the meaning of the utterance. it’s a very mature approach to use the technique of stress. Here we will describe “how to find the stressed syllable in a word?”

Stressed syllables

The correct formulation of stress in English is important primarily because numerous reading rules depend on the stress and unstressed syllable. For example, if an open syllable is under stress, then the vowel in it is read as it is called in the alphabet: cucumber [‘kju: kʌmbə] – the stress falls on the first syllable.

If we assume that this word should have a stress on the second syllable, then it would read as [kʌ’kju: mbə], and if on the third, then [kʌkʌm’bə:]. In other words, an incorrectly placed stress changes the sound of the word, which means it makes it difficult to understand. By the way, you need to remember that in English transcription the stress mark is placed in front of the stressed syllable, and not above it, as in Russian. Another important point: in fluent speech, sometimes stress helps to distinguish similar words. For example

• PHOtograph,
• phoTOgrapher,
• photoGRAPHic

These three words have different stressed syllables, which allows them not to be confused when speaking at a fast pace.

These three words have different stressed syllables, which allows them not to be confused when speaking at a fast pace.

Top 5 simplest rules 

1. If there are 2 syllables in a noun or adjective, then the stress usually falls on the first syllable: “HAPpy”, “SOfa”, “SISter”, “PAper”, “SILly”, “CLEver”.
2. If the verb has 2 syllables, then the stress often falls on the second syllable: “beGIN”, “atTEND”, “exPLAIN”, “supPORT”. For some words, stress is the only way to distinguish between a noun and a verb:

• a PREsent – to preSENT;
• an INcrease – to inCREASE;
• an OBject – to obJECT.

1. In words with different “smart” suffixes, the stress is placed immediately before the suffix:

• -able: enJOYable, dePendable;
• -ary: LIBRary, DIary;
• -graphy: geOgraphy, calLIgraphy;
• -logy: psyCHOlogy, termiNOlogy;
• -ion: classifiCAtion, inforMAtion.

1. In compound nouns, the stressed one is usually the first syllable, in verbs and adjectives – the second:

• BLACKboard, STRAWberry, MERmaid
• overCOME, underSTAND, self-CONfident

1. Long words can have two stresses: primary and secondary. As a rule, the main, stronger and more clear, falls on the third syllable, and the secondary – on the first (we will designate the secondary stress in bold type in the examples, and in transcription,the icon of such stress is usually placed below in front of the syllable):

• un derSTAND [, ʌndə’stænd], au toMAtically, un beLIEvable.

In words ending with a suffix like -ion , the stress falls on the syllable immediately preceding it. Suffixes of this type include:

– i + on, -i + ous, -i + al, -i + an, -i + ant, -i + ance, -i + ent, -i + ence .

The syllable that precedes the -ic (-ical) suffix is always stressed : republ ic, period ical . Stress retains its original place in words formed with suffixes and endings: -ly, -ful, -less, -nees, -ism, -ing, -er, -or, – (e) d, – (e) s … Prefixes (prefixes) are most often found in verbs and adjectives, in adverbs and prepositions. These prefixes remain unstressed :

1-consoles with a negative value (un-, in-, dis-, non-)

`comfortable ‘place’ – ` un`comfortabl e ‘uncomfortable’; di`rect ‘direct’ – `in`direct ‘ indirect’; to ap`pear ‘appear’ – to `disap`pear ‘ disappear’; es`sential ‘essential’ – `non-es`sential ‘not essential’;

2-re – meaning ‘again’ often matches the Russian prefix re

to write ‘write’ – to `re`write ‘rewrite

3-miss – meaning ‘wrong, wrong

to under`stand ‘understand’ – to `misunder`stand ‘misunderstand

4-pre – meaning ‘before, earlier

hi`storic ‘historical ‘ – `prehi`storic ‘prehistoric

5-inter- with the meaning ‘between, among, mutually

national ‘ national ‘ – ‘ inter’national ‘international

6-ex- with the meaning ‘ex, ex’ 

champion’ champion ‘ – ‘ ex-‘champion ‘ex-champion

7-ultra- meaning ‘ultra, over

‘modern ‘ modern ‘ – ‘ ultra-modern ‘ultra modern

In modern English, there are a large number of words with various prefixes that have partially or completely lost their meaning. These words are indivisible and are not recognized as formed with the help of prefixes: re`peat ‘to repeat’, re`main ‘to leave’, re`fuse ‘to refuse’, pre`pare ‘to cook’, sub`ject ‘to expose’, inter`rupt ‘interrupt’, etc.

In English, polysyllabic words (with 4, 5 or more syllables) have, as a rule, two, less often three stresses, one of which is the main one and is indicated by an icon at the top of the stressed syllable, the other is secondary, which is placed at the bottom of the stressed syllable : , demon`stration ‘ demo ‘.

In most of the English compound nouns the stress falls on the first component of a compound word : a ` reading – lamp , a ` sitting – room , a ` writing – desk .

Two equal stresses are typical for compound and compound numerals, compound adjectives, phrasal verbs: `fif`teen,` forty -`five, an `arm`chair, an` ice -`cream, a `passer -`by,` up` stairs, `down`stairs, to` put` down, to `put` on,` north -`east, `well -`planned,` good – looking.

The rhythmic tendency to alternate stressed and unstressed syllables leads to the fact that words that have two stresses in isolated pronunciation may lose one of the stresses in coherent speech: She is a ‘ well – known ` writer . This ‘ writer is ‘ quite well -` known .

A number of words in the English language, unlike Russian, retains full vowel quality in an unstressed syllable, for example: google translate and , Adverb , the handwork , forward , football , prospect , schoolgirl , schoolboy , sunrise , Pronoun , etc .

Phrasal /sentence stress 

Not every word is stressed in an English sentence. For example, service words (prepositions, conjunctions, particles, articles), pronouns, auxiliary verbs often remain unstressed:

• What are you doing? – I am reading.
• She lives in the village.
• So, in these examples, only the highlighted words will be stressed.

Phrasal stress helps to build a kind of rhythm in English speech, because, as a rule, stressed syllables are pronounced at the same interval. Because of this, unstressed syllables should be shortened, pronounced fluently. In general, this is one of the reasons why it is sometimes so difficult to understand spoken language. A short video tutorial will help you deal with this issue.

In addition, it is important to understand which of the stressed words is the most important in the sentence, that is, it carries the main logical stress.

• He visits his parents once a week. (not she)
• He visits his parents once a week. (he does not call them, etc)
• He visits his parents once a week. (his parents, not his wife’s parents)
• He visits his parents once a week. (parents, not aunt and uncle, etc)
• He visits his parents once a week. (once, not twice)
• He visits his parents once a week. (once a week, not once a month)

1-In full negative forms, 

only a particle is stressed, the verb is unstressed: It is ` not on the` table. `Do I of not ` like IT. He can` not `do it.

2-The verb is (3rd person singular of the verb to be )

in an unstressed position retains the full vowel quality, but is pronounced less distinctly and with greater speed than under stress. Reduction is leading to a complete loss of the vowel. Such an abbreviated form is pronounced together with the preceding word, after a voiceless consonant as [s], after a voiced consonant as [z].

3-Demonstrative pronouns 

this , that , these , those are usually stressed if they are the subject or object in a sentence: ‘ This is an ` apple . ‘ Take ` these .

Demonstrative pronouns are not stressed as a definition: That ‘ orange is ` ripe . It should be remembered that in an unstressed position, the demonstrative that is not reduced and is pronounced with the vowel [æ] – [ðæt].

4-Prepositions

 in , on , off , without are not reduced in an unstressed position and retain their phonemic composition unchanged .

5-Regardless of the stress / non-stress,

the indefinite pronoun any [`enɪ] is always pronounced in full . In the meaning of ‘some amount’, it, as a rule, is not striking ( ‘ Is there any / paper ?), In the meaning of’ any ‘- it is striking ( ‘ Give me ‘ any book ,  please ). 

6-The indefinite pronoun some 

before the noun is not struck and has a reduced pronunciation [səm]: I ‘ need some ` milk . If there is no noun after some , the pronoun is stressed: ‘ Some like / coffee , ‘ others like ` tea .

7-In the final position in the phrase,

the unstressed some is not reduced and [sʌm] is pronounced: You may ` take some . In the meaning of ‘some, some’ some is not hit, but always retains the full form [sʌm]: Some ‘ students are ‘ waiting for you ` outside .

Usually it has a reduced form and does not strike the adverb there in the introductory construction there is  there are : There are some ` sweets on the plate .

8-The adverb 

there as a circumstance of place is not reduced: There are a ‘ few ` flowers there .

A phrase may contain several informatively significant words, emphasized. The stressed syllable of the most important word in meaning is the nucleus of the intonation group ( Nucleus ), and the stress on this word is called nuclear. The most important word in meaning is usually located in the final position, and the stressed syllable of the last lexically full-valued word is the nuclear one. At the same time, the core can shift to the middle or even the beginning of the phrase. The meaning of such statements becomes clear only in context. A shift of the core, highlighting by stressing a word in a sentence stronger than all other words is called logical stress… Logical stress is used to contrast one word to another or to strengthen the meaning of a word: He saw that picture . – He saw this picture . Highlighting the word he with a logical stress , we contrast it with pronouns: she or they . That day it was raining. – It actually rained that day . Allocating logical stress WAS , we thus reinforces the importance of this phrase in the sentence.

Since logical stress goes beyond the usual phrasal stress, it may turn out that it will use it to highlight the word in the sentence that is usually unstressed, for example, a personal pronoun, preposition, article or auxiliary verb: The book is on the table not under it .

The number of options for logical stress depends on the purpose of the statement and the communication situation:

This year we went on an excursion to New York for the first time.

This year we went on an excursion to New York for the first time.

This year we went on an excursion to New York for the first time.

This year we went on an excursion to New York for the first time.

This year we went on an excursion to New York for the first time.

This year we went on an excursion to New York for the first time.

9-Stress on the first part of a compound word:

a di`van-bed, a `coffee table, a` sitting-room, a `dining-room, a` bedroom, a `window-sill, a` flower-bed.

10-Words with two equal accents

an `ice-`cream, a` passer-`by, `south-`east,` north-`west, `up`stairs,` down`stairs.

11-Compound adjectives with two equal accents: `

ugly-`looking,` badly-`made, `fair-`haired,` broad-`shouldered, `hard-` working, `absent-`minded,` ill-`shaped, ` medium-`sized, `kind-`hearted.

12-Verbs with adverbs-postpositions with two equal stress: 

to `sit` down, to `stand` up, to `go` on, to `turn` off, to `come` back, to `think` over, to `find` out, to `look` through, to` do a`way.

So, the correct placement of the stress is very important, while the stress on each word is a clear sign of a foreign accent. If you want to get rid of it, learn to imitate the speech of native speakers, paying attention to rhythm, tempo, and phrasal stress. Just 5 minutes a day will significantly change your pronunciation for the better. Learning English on Skype will help you complete this task (and many others) with ease.

It is also important to
note that syllables are different from letters. For example, “come” has four
letters but one syllable. On the other hand, «Sunday» has six letters
but two syllables.

There are different types
of stress. Before you proceed, make sure you read it up using the links below.
It will aid your understanding of this article.

The meaning and types of stress. Episode 1

The meaning and types of stress. Episode 2

Features of a stressed
syllable

Stressed syllables
possess similar feature which enables us to identify them. According to Roach
(2004), «…all stressed syllables have one characteristic in common, and
this is prominence.» Four main factors make a stressed
syllable prominent:

1. Loudness

Loudness is an important
factor in determining the stressed syllable of a word. When pronouncing a word,
the syllable that is louder than the others is heard as stressed. In other
words, for hearers and listeners, stressed syllables are perceived as louder
than unstressed syllables.

2. Length

A stressed syllable is
usually longer than the other syllables in a word. Roach (2004) asserted that
«If one of the syllables in a word is made longer than the others, there
is quite a strong tendency for that syllable to be heard as stressed»(p.
94).

As regards this,
Umera-Okeke (2015, p. 125) asserted that «Syllables containing long vowels
are viewed as more prominent than those with short vowels.»

3. Pitch

Pitch is the extent of
vibration of the vocal cords when producing the syllables of a word. In a word,
a syllable is heard as stressed if it is said with a high pitch unlike the
other syllables. Umera-Okeke (2015) opined that «when there is a pitch
change on a syllable, that syllable is seen as being more prominent» (pp.
125 — 126). For example, in the word «Pandemonium», the primary
stress is on the third syllable, «mo», since there is a pitch change
on that syllable.

4. Quality

The quality of a sound in
a syllable determines whether or not that syllable is stressed. That is to say
that «a syllable of a sound will tend to be prominent if it contains a
vowel that is different in quality from the neighbouring vowels» (Roach,
2004, p. 94). Vowels are very important in determining the stressed syllable of
a word. Therefore, one needs to pay attention to the type of vowel a syllable
contains. Within vowels, open vowels are more prominent; thus, a syllable
containing an open vowel is most likely to be stressed.

When next you pronounce a
word, take note of these aforementioned features. It is also important to state
that, of all these factors, loudness and length are
more important in determining the stressed syllable of an English word.

Let’s
look at some rules that will enable you identify the stressed syllable of word.

RULES THAT WILL ENABLE
YOU IDENTIFY THE STRESSED SYLLABLE OF A WORD

1. Monosyllabic words,
such as come, go, sit etc., are
usually stressed since they can’t be divided into different syllables.

2. Numbers that end in
«ty» are stressed on the first syllable while numbers that end in
«teen» have their stress on the second syllable. For example,
«sixty» has its stress on first syllable (SIXty) while
«sixteen» has its stress on the second syllable (sixTEEN).

3. Most bisyllabic nouns
and adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable.

Examples: BAS-tard, PRE-tty,
CLE-ver, DOC-tor, STU-dent etc.

However, there is an
exception to this rule, and you have to learn these words by heart:
ho-TEL,  ex-TREME, con-CISE etc.

4. Bisyllabic verbs and
prepositions are usually stressed on the second syllable. Examples:
be-LOW, a-BOUT, a-BOVE, be-TWEEN, a-SIDE, pre-SENT, re-PLY, ex-PORT etc.

5. Some words in English
language function as both nouns and verbs. When such words function as noun,
the stress is usually on the first syllable, and as verbs, the stress is usually on
the second syllable.

Examples:

i. PRE-sent (a gift)
vs. pre-SENT (to give something formally to someone).

ii. RE-fuse (garbage) vs.
re-FUSE (to decline).

iii. SU-spect (someone
who the police believe may have committed a crime) vs. su-SPECT (to believe
that something is true, especially something bad).

However, this is not
always the case. For example, the word «respect» has its primary
stress on the second syllable both when it’s a verb and a noun.

6. Six syllable words
ending in «tion» are usually stressed on their fifth syllable. Examples:
per-so-ni-fi-CA-tion, ca-pi-ta-li-SA-tion, i-ni-tia-li-SA-tion etc.

7. Three syllable words
ending in «ly» often have their stress on the first syllable. Examples:
OR-der-ly, QUI-et-ly etc.

8. Words ending in
«ic», «sion» and «tion» are usually stressed on
the second-to-last syllable. In this case, you are to count the syllables backward
in order to get the second-to-last syllable. Examples: cre-A-tion, com-MI-ssion, au-THEN-tic etc. However, there are times when you need to count the syllable forward in order to get the second-to-last syllable. Examples: pho-to-GRA-phic, a-ccom-mo-DA-tion, ex-CUR-sion etc.

9. Words ending in
«cy», «phy», «al», «ty» and
«gy» are usually on the third-to-last syllable. You should also the
count the syllables backward to get the third syllable. Examples: de-MO-cra-cy,
pho-TO-gra-phy, CLI-ni-cal, a-TRO-si-ty, psy-CHO-lo-gy etc.

10. Most
compound nouns (a word made up of two or more nouns) have their stress on the
first noun. Examples: PLAYground, BLACKboard, FOOTball, KEYboard
etc.

BONUS
Compound
verbs (a verb made up of two or more words) and compound adjectives (an
adjective that is made up of two or more adjectives, which are linked together
by a hyphen) usually have their stress on the second word or syllable.

Examples:

outRIDE (compound verb).

outSHINE (compound verb).

old-FA-shioned (compound
adjective).

In sum, the
identification of the stressed syllables of English words is not an easy task; it is a process that requires a lot of practice and repetition as there are many
rules and exceptions. For native speakers, this wouldn’t be a problem, but for
non-native speakers of the language, the reverse is always the case. 
Therefore, the latter should immerse themselves in the enlightening dew of word
stress through constant practice in order to be fortified. Should there be any
problem while going through this process, don’t hesitate to make reference to
this page.

TRANSCRIPT

If you didn’t understand what I was saying here it’s because I misplaced the primary stress in almost every word. “The engineer complained to the manager on the conclusions of the company survey.”

The primary stress is one of the most important elements when it comes to clear pronunciation. Yet it is one of the things that causes the most headache for non-native speakers when communicating in English, because it is inconsistent and elusive. This is why in this video, I’m going to help you understand everything related to primary stress. Because first, we’re going to learn what is primary stress and how to identify the primary stress in new words in English.

Then I’m going to share with you some patterns to help you predict how to use the primary stress in certain words, that will ground you and help you feel more confident when speaking English. Then I’m going to share with you my 3-step system to help you learn and practice the primary stress. And finally, I’m going to quiz you to see how you are doing with your primary stress.

So, what is the primary stress? The primary stress is the one syllable in the word that sticks out the most. It is longer, louder, and higher in pitch. A syllable is the smallest unit of a word that usually has one vowel in it, and one or more consonants. For example, if we take the word ‘example’, here if we break it down to the smallest units – ig-ZAM-p’l – we hear and feel that we have three syllables – ig-ZAM-p’l. In this example, the middle syllable, the ZAM is the primary stress, because it is longer, louder, and tire and pitch. ig-ZAM-p’l.

Every word must have a primary stress. Technically it’s every content word, but right now let’s just generalize it and talk about the fact that every word must have a primary stress. So for example, if we take the word ‘dog’, it has one syllable, and that syllable is the primary stress. But if we take the word ‘apple’, we here have two syllables. The first one, A, is the primary stress – longer, louder, higher in pitch: A-p’l. And the second syllable is a weak stress.

So, when we talk about the stress system of English, we have the primary stress, we have one and only one. Then the rest of the syllables are either getting the secondary stress, which is a pure vowel – we’ll just treat it as the default pronunciation, it’s not to stress not to reduce – and then it could also be reduced to a schwa. And that is the weak stress.

Now, if you know me for a little bit, you know that I’m obsessed with the schwa, and I have a lot to say about it. But right now we’re not talking about the schwa and we don’t have all day. So I’m going to link to all of the necessary content for you to understand the schwa in the description below. Check it out cause it’s really interesting.

Now. As we said, you have the primary stress, which is the one syllable that sticks out the most, and then you either have a secondary stress or a weak stress. Like in the example, ‘A-p’l’ – primary, weak. In the word ‘unite’ the ‘NAIT’ is the primary stress. Notice what I’m doing with my voice: u-NAIT, right? And the ‘u’ is a secondary stress, it is lower and it is shorter. Unite. Unite. Let’s stick the word ‘condition’. The middle syllable – DI –  is the primary stress: k’n-DI-sh’n, k’n-DI-sh’n. The middle syllable is longer, louder, and higher in pitch. k’n-DI-sh’n.

Now, how can you identify what syllable use stress when you say a word? Here’s the thing. When you break down a word into smaller units, when you reach the primary stress – and primary stress is something that we all use and we all have, you’re doing it in your native language as well. And you’re doing it in English. You might be doing it slightly differently than how I explained. Maybe you’re just saying it a little louder, maybe you’re just saying it higher in pitch, but you are doing something to distinguish one syllable from all the other syllables. Almost all languages have words with primary stress.

So, when you break down a word saying it really slowly, you’re breaking it down into syllables. And then there will be one syllable that is more dominant. So for example, if you’re saying the word ‘condition’ and you want to identify what part you’re stressing, you want to say it slowly. And then there is like this one part that is a little bit more dominant.

Let’s say, if I ask you to punch your palm when you say the word, when you say it slowly, you’re going to do it on a certain syllable, right? And if we use the word ‘condition’, where would you do it? So, first of all, let’s say it slowly: condition, condition, right. And if you had to punch once when you say the word, would it be on the first syllable – CONdition? Would it be on the second syllable – conDItion? Would it be on the last syllable – condiTION, right? What would feel more intuitive and natural, and not out of place?

I’m assuming that most of you said ‘conDItion’ because that is the primary stress, that is where the power of the word is. And this is how you should think about it. So if you want to practice understanding where the primary stress is, you can use the punching method. Condition, condition, condition.

– Son, what are you doing over there? I’m a little concerned about you.

– Oh, don’t worry, mom. I’m just practicing my primary stress.

So make sure you’re home alone when practicing the primary stress.

Another way to understand where the primary stress is to call the word out the window: condition, come home! Casual, come home! That part, where you go higher in pitch, is the primary stress. You might want to be home alone when practicing this too.

Okay. So now you know how do I identify the primary stress when you are saying the word, because it’s a huge part of the work that we’re doing. But what happens if you are misplacing the primary stress, like I did at the beginning of this video? Here’s the thing. When we speak a second language, oftentimes we apply things from our first language on to the second language. We do that with sounds.

So let’s say, I can use ‘rrr’ instead of ‘ur’, and say ‘rrrun’ instead of run. I can use international patterns, different international patterns from my native language, it happens intuitively. And I can use different stress patterns. In many languages the stress is easily predicted, meaning, when you have a word, it’s either always going to be at the end or always going to be on the one syllable before the end. Or it might change according to the word in the sentence, but it’s very, very consistent.

So you might be applying that onto English. And in English, the stress is really inconsistent. Sometimes it’s at the beginning, sometimes it’s in the middle, sometimes it’s at the end, sometimes it can be both – at the beginning or the end, depending on the word. And sometimes the stress is just, you know, going crazy and it’s inconsistent altogether. So this is why it’s so confusing.

So, what you’re likely to do is, you know, cause you want some certainty in life, you might bring the patterns that you know from your native language, but then you might say something like ENgineer instead of engiNEER, or CONtent when you want to say conTENT. And that causes lack of clarity.

Now, the reason why it’s so confusing is because when people hear a word, the first thing that they detect is the primary stress, because it’s so dominant. Even if you don’t think that right now, it is. And people search for the meaning or they search in their vocabulary, best based on where the stress is.

So if you’re saying something like conTENT, they will look for the word that has the stress on the second syllable. And even though you intended to say CONtent, this might create a confusion, and it’ll take the person listening a little longer to understand what it is that you’re trying to say.

And remember, it is always about getting heard and delivering your message, right? It’s not about sounding just more American or British or Australian. Ultimately, you want people to understand you, so you can communicate, so you get what you want, right? And this is why it is so incredibly important. And I’m so passionate about understanding it better and practicing it. Because intelligibility is everything. This is your tool to communicate with confidence.

So as you can see, this could be very, very confusing. So don’t feel bad, there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s just because this is how it is when communicating in a second language. So now, let’s move on to the second part where I give you actionable tools to know how to identify the primary stress, or at least to practice it when you don’t have something concrete to work with.

So, when it comes to stress patterns, here’s something interesting to look at. When you add a suffix to a word – a suffix is that small addition that changes the meaning of the word and the lexical function. So for example you can say ‘available’, but if you add ‘-ity’ it turns into ‘availability’, right?

When we add a suffix, in most suffixes it kind of like draws and pulls the stress closer to the suffix, no matter where the stress is at the beginning. So for example, with the word ‘available’, here the primary stress is on the VAI – a-VAI-la-ble, right? But once I add ‘-ity’, it draws the stress, and the stress moves from a-VAI-la-ble to a-vai-la-BI-li-ty. PO-ssi-ble – po-ssi-BI-li-ty.

So, when you add the suffix ‘-ity’ the stress moves to the one syllable before the suffix. Same thing with ‘-cal’. gra-MMA-ti-cal. TECH-ni-cal. po-LI-ti-cal. Right? PO-li-tics – po-LI-ti-cal. Now, I have an entire lesson about stress in words with suffixes, so I’m going to link to that in the description below so you can learn more about that.

Now, it happens not in all suffixes, but with some of the most common suffixes in English, which gives you a lot of words to work with and to predict where the primary stress is, so make sure you check it out.

The next pattern that I’m going to share with you is when there is a word with two syllables. If the word with two syllables is a verb, usually the stress is going to be on the second syllable: com-PLETE, a-PPROVE, cre-ATE. If the word is a noun, the stress is likely to be on the first syllable: A-pple, TA-ble, CAP-tion. Right?

Now, here’s another example that will help you understand it even better. Sometimes there are words that are exactly the same, and the only thing that changes is the stress. If it’s a verb, the stress is going to be on the second syllable: pre-SENT. If it’s a noun, the stress is going to be on the first syllable: PRE-sent. Con-VICT – CON-vict. re-CORD – RE-cord. So, understanding suffixes and understanding this pattern of verbs and nouns can help you quite a lot when trying to identify the primary stress.

But what happens if a word does not have that particular suffix that moves the stress closer to it, or it’s not a word with two syllables? Then you have to use my 3-step system for identifying, learning, and practicing the primary stress.

So, if you come across a word – let’s take the word ‘congratulate’ – and you’re trying to identify the primary stress. First, I want you to guess what the primary stress is, and then pronounce it and record it. When you record yourself and you listen back to it, you hear things more clearly. Because you’re not doing it while all these other things going on in your head. And you’re more focused on identifying what it is that you’re doing, you know, checking your performance.

So, I recommend recording the word and then trying to identify what was the primary stress that you used. You can also use the ‘punching method’ or ‘calling it out the window’, and then you want to mark that primary stress. Then you want to go to the dictionary. My favorite is either a simple Google search – ‘how to pronounce…’ and then put the word, or ‘define…’ and then write the word, or go to dictionary.com.

Then you’ll see the word written out. On Google it’ll be in bold, and on dictionary.com you’re likely to see the apostrophe to the left of the primary stressed syllable. So, when you see that apostrophe above a certain letter, that means that what comes after is the primary stress. So that’s how you know where the primary stress is for sure. And you want to compare it with what you detected. If it’s okay, good for you, pat yourself on the back, you’re doing an amazing job. If it’s not, you’re still doing an amazing job, but maybe we need to put in a little more work into practicing the word with the right pronunciation.

So, let’s say you took the word ‘congratulate’, and you said that the ‘late’ is the primary stress, and in the dictionary you saw that it’s ‘gra’. So, you want to practice it with the right pronunciation. That means saying the word, but exaggerating the syllable that is the primary stress. ConGRAAAAAtulate. You want to drag it and stretch it forever. ConGRAAAAAtulate. AAAAApple. FRUUUUUstrated. CAAAAAsual. Right? And you can use your arm, it really does help.

Or you want to go higher in pitch, but significantly.  Apple. conGRAtulate. opporTUnity. SoPHISticated. Right? So you either go a little longer or a little higher in pitch, or both, but you’re practicing the right pronunciation again and again and again, developing new speaking habits and building pronunciation confidence.

This is how you shift from old habits that might not be serving you anymore, because it’s not the accurate pronunciation, and step into speaking with new speaking habits using the right primary stress. But you have to do it again and again, and you have to exaggerate it because that’s the only way for you to know if you’re actually practicing it correctly or not.

Because a lot of times people will practice the right pronunciation, but in fact use the old pronunciation using the wrong primary stress without even noticing, because it is so incredibly elusive. And sometimes we think that we’re doing one thing, but our mouth and our brain are taking us to a totally different place.

So you always want to be in control. And what I’m telling you here to do will help you to be in control and really start changing those habits. Okay? And then you want to do it again and again and again, and of course use it in context, in a small phrase, and then a sentence, and then try to use it intentionally when speaking.

Now, here’s what you’re probably saying to yourself, “Wait, Hadar, there are so many words. Am I supposed to do it with every word that I mess up?” No, because the actual practice, the act of identifying and practicing is what creates awareness. And awareness works in a miraculous way. It doesn’t only help you identify what it is that you’re working on right now, it gives you a broader sense of how the language works. Because your brain starts becoming more attentive and starts paying more attention to that thing called primary stress. Because up until now, your brain was like, “I don’t need this information. I know what to do here.” When in fact what you did was applying patterns from your first language.

So now you become more aware. Practicing it makes you be more in control of how you use your sounds and speech and voice. And that alone will help you use the right stress, even in words that you haven’t practiced before. So, don’t be discouraged if you feel that this is just such a small part of the entire language. Because that is the work that will help you improve and understand and become more aware of the primary stress in English.

Okay. So now that you know what is the primary stress and how do I identify it, and you know a little bit more about how to predict the stress in certain situations. And you also know my 3-step system to help you learn and practice by identifying, searching for the right stress, and practicing it in a certain way.

Now, let’s put it into practice. I’m going to say the words you need to identify the primary stress – I also have them written down in the description – and then go to my website, and check if you got it right. Let’s begin.

Democracy. Economics. Responsibility. Graduation. Psychology. Vegetables. Employee. Sitcom. Abundance. Profitable. Comprehend. Content. Saturated. Elusive. Sexuality. Residential. Interpersonal. Hidden. Recreate. Natural.

Okay, that’s it. First of all, if you like this video, make sure to like and subscribe to my channel. I would really, really appreciate it and would love to have you here with us. And then let me know in the comments, how many words you got right in the quiz. So, share your wins or struggles with us. And if you have any other tips to share with the community on how to practice the primary stress, don’t be shy, share them in the comments below.

Thank you so much for watching. And remember, even if you don’t get it right, do not worry because mistakes is the only way to learn.

Have a beautiful day. And I will see you next week in the next video. Bye.

This article is for: Beginning and Intermediate poets

Welcome to the second article in my series about the most ancient poetry tool there is—Meter.

Meter means “a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.” In my first article about it, I went through:

• What syllables are

• How syllables are either stressed (said with more emphasis or weight) or unstressed

• Finding the main stressed syllable in multi-syllable words.

In this article, I’m going to take you to the next level, which is finding the stresses in whole sentences, not just individual words.

Stresses in Sentences: Getting started

Basic principles

When you’re looking for stresses in sentences things get more complicated. Instead of taking it one word at a time, you have to consider lots of words strung together, and see how they share out the stresses.

In particular, you have to think pretty darn hard about the one-syllable words, which are trickier than multi-syllable words, because there’s no rule for where the stress goes! They are just either stressed or unstressed, and for every single one of them, you have to figure out which.

How do you do this? By listening carefully to the way you say the sentence.

In fact, the Golden Rule of stresses and meter is:

Listen hard and trust your ear.

• Listen hard: there’s no other way to do this than by listening. There isn’t a formula or shortcut, though as I said it does get easier the more you do it.

• Trust your ear: The way you hear a sentence is the right one—for you! Other people may hear it differently, but that doesn’t mean yours is wrong.

A simple method for finding stresses

This is the approach I recommend for finding stresses in a sentence:

1. Say it out loud or in your head, looking for particularly strong (or stronger) stresses.

2. Look at the multi-syllable words and work out where the main stress will be in them.

3. Then see if you need extra stresses between the ones you’ve identified already.

Let’s try that with the following sentence:

Can you stop on the way and pick up pizza?

This has lots of one-syllable words, so it will be good practice!

1. Look for strong stresses

Do you hear any strong or stronger stresses in that sentence?

If you’re not sure which words you’re hearing stressed, try putting EXAGGERATED stress on each word in turn.

• If the sentence sounds strange, that word should not be stressed.

• If the sentence sounds as though it could be normal except for the extreme emphasis, then that word probably is stressed.

For example, if you try to say

Can you stop ON the way and pick up pizza?

it should sound pretty silly—like someone thumped you in the diaphragm right when you said “on”!

But if you say

Can you STOP on the WAY and pick up pizza?

it may sound weirdly urgent, but still like basically the same sentence.

So that tells us that there are two strong(er) stresses we can start with: STOP and WAY.

2. Multi-syllable words

“Pizza” is the only multi-syllable word in this sentence. Using the techniques from Article #1, you can see that the stress is on the first syllable:                   PEE-zah.

So there will probably be a stress there in the sentence too.

3. See if you need extra stresses

So far we have:

Can you STOP on the WAY and pick up PEE-zah

If you say that sentence, can you hear any additional syllables getting some stress besides the three I’ve bolded?

To test it, you can try to keep your voice excessively flat and boring on all the syllables that aren’t bold. Does that sound right?

I think the first part of the sentence sounds just fine like that—

Can you STOP on the WAY

—but I hear a problem with

and pick up PEE-zah

Three entirely flat, unstressed syllables before pizza sounds false—it’s too level and dull for too long. So I think there must be another stress in there, and I hear it on “pick.”

Putting it all together

So here’s what I get after all 3 steps:

Can you STOP on the WAY and PICK up PEE-zah?

Four stressed syllables in all. Although I am aware that the stress on “PICK” is a bit weaker than the others, I still count it as stressed.

Job done! We’ve found all the stresses in this sentence. Hopefully that wasn’t too hard: you may even have heard the stresses right off the bat, without having to go through my three steps

Change stresses, change meaning

In the Next Steps section below, I’ve given you some practice at finding stresses in a few sentences.

However, before you get to that, I need to let you know that the picture is a bit more complex than I’ve said so far.

You see, stress is more than just an abstract pattern than happens to appear in all sentences. It’s actually a fundamental tool for our communication, because:

Where you put the stresses can change the meaning of what you’re saying.

To see how this works, let’s go back to our pizza sentence.

What if this sentence was actually part of a conversation, in which two people are each trying to avoid having to get the food? It might go like this:

A: Let’s get a takeout tonight.

B: Great idea! You can get it after you’re done at school.

A: No way, I’ve got too much homework! Can’t you stop on the way from work and get tacos?

B: No, I’ve got get straight home to let the dog out. Can you stop on the way and pick up pizza?

The conversation has changed the meaning of our pizza sentence—now it’s all about person B saying that person A should do the job, not person B! So a word that wasn’t very important in our original reading of it, has suddenly taken on new significance: “you.”

That means that person B is going to put their biggest stress on YOU, like this:

Can YOU stop on the way and pick up pizza?

So then we have to re-do our steps 1-3, and check if that means new places for other stresses.

I think actually STOP, WAY, PICK, and PEE remain stressed (although “stop” gets a lot lighter, and you might even hear it as unstressed):

Can YOU STOP on the WAY and PICK up PEE-zah?

All this goes to show is:

You also need to consider how the sentences before your sentence may change its meaning and therefore its stresses.

Next up: How all this stress becomes useful for us as poets (at last!!)

That’s enough for one article! In the next one, I will show you how you can use these tools to think about rhythm in poetry.

But right now, it’s time to practice finding stresses in sentences. Have fun!

Next Steps: Practice finding stresses in sentences

Below are 5 sentences from a prose poem by Louise Glück in her fabulous book Faithful and Virtuous Night. Use these to practice all you now know about finding stresses in sentences.

Once you’re done with your own version, you can click here to download my answers.

Remember that you may have heard the sentences differently from me, and that’s OK!

1. As I turned over the last page, after many nights, a wave of sorrow enveloped me.

2. Where had they all gone, these people who had seemed so real?

3. To distract myself, I walked out into the night; instinctively I lit a cigarette.

4. In the dark, the cigarette glowed, like a fire lit by a survivor.

5. But who would see this light, the small dot among the infinite stars?

• Intro to Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
• What is A Stressed and Unstressed Syllable?
• How Do You Know if a Syllable is Stressed or Unstressed?
• Takeaways about Stressed and Unstressed Syllables

In this post, I will show you a facet of words that 99% of people do not explicitly know exists. Poets and linguistic students aside, when’s the last time you heard about stressed and unstressed syllables?

Now of course you know that tone of speech carries impact and that the way you say a phrase changes its meaning.

Ok let’s eat grandma
vs
Ok let’s eat, grandma

I hate you!
vs
I hate you?

This is natural and everyone picks up on it intuitively, and so if we go from looking at a phrase to looking at a single word, the same discomfort or humor can come from mixing with the emphasis on certain syllables. From Borat’s funny accent to some brutal mispronunciation that leaves you embarrassed.

What’s much harder to pick up on (without practice) is where exactly in these words the syllables are stressed, vs where they aren’t. And so this guide will help you find them.

What is A Stressed and Unstressed Syllable?

Before we start looking for the difference I think, that I should define what each of these types of syllables is. To do this let’s use the word: DELIGHT.

Example: Delight

Most words in the English language have a stressed syllable and the rest unstressed. (In reality, the amount of stress varies on every single syllable but that’s relatively unnecessary to dive into.)

When a syllable is stressed it sounds emphasized and POWERFUL. So let’s get to the example word, Delight. Doing a simple syllable count we get a total count of two syllables, de- and -light.

One of these syllables is more emphasized than the other, can you identify it?

The -light is the stressed syllable. Kind of hard to figure out at first right?

You pronounce the word deLIGHT, not DElight. Try saying DElight, it’s kind of strange…

Maybe you got this right, maybe you got it wrong. But either way, you’re going to want to be able to do this consistently right? So let’s get to the guide!

How Do You Know if a Syllable is Stressed or Unstressed?

Method 1: Listen To the Frequency

If you listen really really really closely you will hear that the stressed syllables have higher pitches. To demonstrate I have picked a word that this phenomenon is very easy to see:
Prepare

Now before you mix your pre-‘s and your -pare’s, you need to clean your palate. So repeat the word over and over without trying to determine anything.

Turn your brain off and repeat: prepare, prepare, prepare, prepare, prepare.

Ok now say it normally and determine where the pitch is higher on the pre- or the -pare?

It’s the -pare

As I can’t hear you either, Good Job! or You’ll Get The Next One!

---

Method 2: Frequency Part 2

If you struggled with the first method this is for you.

Now, this isn’t exactly a completely different method than the first, but it is something I discovered that builds on the same idea.

So let’s take the word Shadow. Cleanse your palate, by repeating shadow without listening.

And now as you say it normally three times then stop on the first syllable and hold/sing it.

shadow, shadow, shadow, shaaaaaaaa-, ok now remember that frequency.

now for round two, repeat but hold the second syllable,

shadow, shadow, shadow, -dooooooo, now note that frequency

Now compare the two frequencies.

Is the -dooooo higher-pitched than the shaaaaa-?

Which one is the stressed or unstressed syllable?

The shaaa- is higher-pitched which means the SHAdow is the correct pronunciation.

Method 3: Yellin’

You are going to say the word, but really emphasize one part, not as dramatically as the title of this method suggests but noticeably enhance one syllable.

Now let’s try with Yelling

Say Yel- -ing
Now Say Yel- -ing

One of those should have sounded weirder than the other.

Which syllable do you think is stressed?

It’s Yell-

---

Method 3.5: Yellin’ Part 2

Now if Method 3 was not useful, I will give you another expanded method that will make it work.

This time, you should stress the word in a sentence and see if that solves the issue.

Take the word Water

Say: “Where is my wa- -ter bottle?”

Now Say: “Where is my wat- -ter bottle?”

One of those should have sounded much weirder than the other.

Which syllable do you think is stressed?

This is probably the most useful method on this list and should be used if you can’t hear the frequencies. Ok, one more flower picture.

Its the Wa,

Give me my WAter bottle. The other pronunciation sounds awkward and spasmodic.

---

~Method 4: The Dictionary & Practice

If every single method fails you, go here https://www.howmanysyllables.com/words/water, it will highlight the stressed and unstressed syllables in any word you look up. There are lots of possibilities: sometimes you may get words with only stressed syllables, and it will give you a primary and secondary: “daylight”, or where both are stressed “moonlight”. So have fun!

But just know that practice will make you much better at this and you will start to see patterns in 2,3, or 4 syllable words and be able to retrieve the results faster than taking out your phone and looking it up, so good luck practicing here is a list of words to try!

Make sure to try the frequency method before the sounding-it-out method, as practice will soon have you understanding where the stress is without having to repeat the word

Here is Some Practice Try Out Your New Skills!

Monkey

Banana

Jeremiah

Orangutang

Fresh

Answers below:

MONkey

BaNAna

JEreMIah

ORANguTANG

FRESH (it’s only one syllable hehe) *Tip* Single syllable, Nouns and Verbs are usually stressed

Takeaways about Stressed and Unstressed Syllables

Even after reading this whole article, you may still be struggling to identify the stressed syllable every time. But Do Not Worry! With enough practice you will become a pro, just remember:

• Listen To The Frequency
• Hold The Frequency
• Yell (not actual yelling but emphasizing)
• And If All Else Fails Dictionary!

Want to learn more? Check out Pat Pattison. I developed these methods taking one of his courses!

Mark D.

Hi, I’m Mark.
I’ve been playing instruments since I was just a little kid. I’ve played cello and piano for a few years, and recently picked up guitar. I’ve produced bad music. I also run this blog where I share interesting things I’ve learned.

I hope you Enjoy my posts!

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