Find the stress in a 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.

English words have certain patterns of stress which you should observe strictly if you want to be understood. The best way to learn English stress is to listen to audio materials and to repeat them after the speaker. The links on the entrance pages of the sections Phonetics, Phrases, and Vocabulary lead to the sites that offer useful listening materials, including sounds, syllables, words, sentences, and conversations. An overview of typical English patterns of word stress in this material will help you to recognize and understand word stress when you work with listening materials. It will also be helpful to listen to examples of word stress in Listening for Word Stress (AmE) in the section Phonetics.

Note: Main stressed syllable in the word is indicated by capital letters in this material, for example, LEMon. In words with two stresses, capital letters with a stress mark before them show the syllable with primary stress, and small letters with a stress mark before them show the syllable with secondary stress, for example, ‘eco’NOMics.

General guidelines on word stress

Generally, common English nouns, adjectives, and adverbs are more often stressed on the first syllable than on any other syllable. Verbs with prefixes are usually stressed on the second syllable, i.e., on the first syllable of the root after the prefix. English words can’t have two unstressed syllables at the beginning of the word; one of these syllables will be stressed. If a word has four or more syllables, there are usually two stresses in it: primary stress (strong stress) and secondary stress (weak stress). Also, secondary stress may be present (in addition to primary stress) in shorter words in the syllable in which the vowel sound remains long and strong.

Prefixes are often stressed in nouns and less often in verbs. Suffixes at the end of the word are rarely stressed, except for a few noun, adjective, and verb suffixes that are usually stressed: rooMETTE, ‘ciga’RETTE / ‘CIGa’rette, Chi’NESE, ‘SIGni’fy, ‘ORga’nize, ‘DECo’rate. In longer derivative words, stress may fall on a suffix or prefix according to typical patterns of word stress. Endings are not stressed.

Stress in derivatives

Stress in a derivative may remain the same as in the word from which it was derived, or it may change in a certain way. When nouns are formed from verbs, or verbs are formed from nouns, the following patterns of stress often occur.

The same stress:

deNY (verb) – deNIal (noun)

ofFEND (verb) – ofFENCE (noun)

reVIEW (noun) – reVIEW (verb)

PREview (noun) – PREview (verb)

HOSpital (noun) – HOSpitalize (verb)

Shift of stress:

preSENT (verb) – PRESent (noun)

reFER (verb) – REFerence (noun)

exTRACT (verb) – EXtract (noun)

inCREASE (verb) – INcrease (noun)

OBject (noun) – obJECT (verb)

Other parts of speech derived from nouns and verbs have the following typical patterns of stress.

Adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable or repeat the stress of the nouns from which they were derived: fate (noun) – FATal (adj.); COLor (noun) – COLorful (adj.). But stress may change in longer derivative adjectives: METal (noun) – meTALlic (adj.); ATHlete (noun) – athLETic (adj.); geOLogy (noun) – ‘geo’LOGical (adj.); ARgument (noun) – ‘argu’MENtative (adj.).

Adverbs are usually stressed on the first syllable or repeat the stress of the adjectives from which they were derived: ANgry – ANgrily; WONderful – WONderfully; FOOLish – FOOLishly; athLETic – athLETically.

Gerunds and participles repeat the stress of the verbs from which they were formed: forGET – forGETting – forGOTten; CANcel – CANceling – CANceled; ‘ORga’nize – ‘ORga’nizing – ORganized.

Typical patterns of stress

Let’s look at typical examples of stress in English words. Main factors that influence stress are the number of syllables in the word, and whether the word is a noun, an adjective, or a verb.

ONE-SYLLABLE WORDS

One-syllable nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are stressed on the vowel sound in the word. Note that a diphthong is one complex vowel sound that forms only one syllable. A diphthong is stressed on its first main component.

book, cat, rain, boat, crow, chair

read, burn, touch, choose, laugh, hear

new, bright, large, short, clear, loud

late, fast, soon, now

TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS

Two-syllable nouns

Two-syllable nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable.

TEACHer, STUDent, CARpet, LESson

REgion, ILLness, STATEment, CITy

CONvict, INcrease, INstinct, OBject

PERmit, PRESent, PROject, SYMbol

Nouns may be stressed on the last syllable if there is a long vowel sound or a diphthong in it. Words of foreign origin (especially words of French origin) may be stressed on the last syllable.

trainEE, caREER, deLAY, conCERN

poLICE, hoTEL, beRET, rooMETTE

Two-syllable adjectives

Two-syllable adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable.

FUNny, LOCal, USEful

FOOLish, NATive, CAREless

Some adjectives are stressed on the last syllable if there is a long vowel sound or a diphthong in it.

abSURD, comPLETE, exTREME, moROSE

If there is a prefix in an adjective, stress often falls on the first syllable of the root after the prefix.

inSANE, imMUNE, enGAged

unWELL, unKNOWN

Two-syllable verbs

Two-syllable verbs are usually stressed on the second syllable, especially if the first syllable is a prefix.

adMIT, apPLY, beGIN, beLIEVE

comBINE, conFIRM, deNY, deSERVE

disLIKE, misPLACE, exPLAIN

forBID, forGET, igNORE, inVITE

oBEY, ocCUR, perMIT, prePARE

proPOSE, purSUE, reCEIVE, rePLY

supPLY, surPRISE, unDO, unLOCK

But there are many verbs that are stressed on the first syllable.

HAPpen, CANcel, PRACtice

ANswer, OFfer, MENtion

FOLlow, BORrow, PUNish

THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS

Three-syllable nouns

Three-syllable nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable.

POLitics, GOVernment, GENeral

INterest, GRADuate, CONfidence

But many nouns, especially those derived from verbs with prefixes, have stress on the second syllable.

apPROVal, conFUSion, conSUMer

corRECTness, eLECtion, diRECtor

Some nouns have primary stress on the last syllable if there is a long vowel sound or a diphthong in it.

‘engi’NEER, ‘refu’GEE

Three-syllable adjectives

Three-syllable adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable.

GENeral, DELicate, EXcellent

WONderful, FAVorite, CURious

Some adjectives have one more stress on the last syllable if there is a long vowel or a diphthong in it.

‘OBso’lete / ‘obso’LETE

‘Vietna’MESE, ‘Portu’GUESE

Some adjectives do not repeat the stress of the noun from which they were derived and are stressed on the second syllable.

geNERic, symBOLic, inSTINCtive

Three-syllable verbs

Three-syllable verbs often have primary stress on the first syllable (even if it is a prefix) and secondary stress on the last syllable (which is often a verb suffix).

‘ORga’nize, ‘MODer’nize

‘SIGni’fy, ‘SPECi’fy

‘COMpen’sate, ‘DECo’rate

‘COMpli’ment, ‘CONsti’tute

But many verbs, especially those with prefixes, have stress on the second syllable.

conTINue, conSIDer, reMEMber

If the prefix consists of two syllables, its first syllable usually gets secondary stress.

‘under’STAND, ‘decom’POSE

‘contra’DICT, ‘corre’SPOND

FOUR OR MORE SYLLABLES

Long nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs usually have two stresses: primary stress and secondary stress. But there are some long words with only one stress. There are four patterns of stress in long words.

Only one stress: on the first syllable

Nouns:

ACcuracy, DELicacy

Adjectives:

INteresting

Only one stress: on the second syllable

Nouns:

inTOLerance, geOMetry, aMERica

simPLICity, moBILity, teLEpathy

acCOMpaniment

Adjectives:

sigNIFicant, mysTErious, traDItional

inTOLerable, unREAsonable, noTOrious

Verbs:

acCOMpany

Two stresses: on the first and third syllable

This is a very common stress pattern in long words in English.

Nouns:

‘eco’NOMics, ‘infor’MAtion

‘consti’TUtion, ‘repe’TItion

‘coloni’ZAtion, ‘multipli’CAtion

Adjectives:

‘aca’DEMic, ‘geo’METrical

‘inter’NAtional, ‘cosmo’POLitan

‘capita’LIStic, ‘conver’SAtional

‘PAtro’nizing

Two stresses: on the second and fourth syllable

Nouns:

con’side’RAtion

in’vesti’GAtion

con’tinu’Ation

Adjectives:

ex’peri’MENtal

in’compre’HENsible

Verbs:

i’DENti’fy, in’TENsi’fy

in’TOXi’cate, ac’CUmu’late

com’MERcia’lize, a’POLo’gize.

Ударение в слове

Английские слова имеют определённые модели ударения, которые нужно строго соблюдать, если вы хотите, чтобы вас понимали. Лучший способ изучить английское ударение – слушать аудиоматериалы и повторять их за диктором. Ссылки на входных страницах разделов Phonetics, Phrases и Vocabulary ведут на сайты, которые предлагают полезные материалы для прослушивания, включая звуки, слоги, слова, предложения и разговоры. Краткий обзор типичных английских моделей ударения в данном материале поможет вам узнавать и понимать ударение в словах, когда вы работаете с материалами для прослушивания. Также будет полезно прослушать примеры ударения в материале для прослушивания Listening for Word Stress (AmE) в разделе Phonetics.

Примечание: Главный ударный слог в слове указан заглавными буквами в данном материале, например, LEMon. В словах с двумя ударениями, заглавные буквы со значком ударения перед ними показывают слог с главным ударением, а маленькие буквы со значком ударения перед ними показывают слог с второстепенным ударением, например, ‘eco’NOMics.

Общие рекомендации по ударению в словах

В целом, употребительные английские существительные, прилагательные и наречия чаще ударяются на первом слоге, чем на любом другом слоге. Глаголы с приставками обычно имеют ударение на втором слоге, т.е. на первом слоге корня после приставки. Английские слова не могут иметь два неударных слога в начале слова; один из этих слогов будет ударным. Если в слове четыре или более слогов, то в нём обычно два ударения: главное ударение (сильное ударение) и второстепенное ударение (слабое ударение). Также, второстепенное ударение может присутствовать (в дополнение к главному ударению) в более коротких словах в слоге, в котором гласный звук остается долгим и сильным.

Приставки часто ударные в существительных и реже в глаголах. Суффиксы в конце слова редко ударные, за исключением нескольких суффиксов существительных, прилагательных и глаголов, которые обычно ударные: rooMETTE, ‘ciga’RETTE / ‘CIGa’rette, Chi’NESE, ‘SIGni’fy, ‘ORga’nize, ‘DECo’rate. В более длинных производных словах ударение может падать на приставку или суффикс согласно типичным моделям ударения в слове. Окончания не ударные.

Ударение в производных словах

Ударение в производном слове может остаться таким же, как в слове, от которого оно образовано, или оно может измениться определённым образом. Когда существительные образуются от глаголов, или глаголы образуются от существительных, часто возникают следующие модели ударения.

Одинаковое ударение:

deNY (глагол) – deNIal (существительное)

ofFEND (глагол) – ofFENCE (существительное)

reVIEW (сущ.) – reVIEW (глагол)

PREview (сущ.) – PREview (глагол)

HOSpital (сущ.) – HOSpitalize (глагол)

Смещение ударения:

preSENT (глагол) – PRESent (существительное)

reFER (глагол) – REFerence (сущ.)

exTRACT (глагол) – EXtract (сущ.)

inCREASE (глагол) – INcrease (сущ.)

OBject (сущ.) – obJECT (глагол)

Другие части речи, образованные от существительных и глаголов, имеют следующие типичные модели ударения.

Прилагательные обычно ударные на первом слоге или повторяют ударение существительных, от которых они были образованы: fate (сущ.) – FATal (прилаг.); COLor (сущ.) – COLorful (прилаг.). Но ударение может меняться в более длинных производных прилагательных: METal (сущ.) – meTALlic (прилаг.); ATHlete (сущ.) – athLETic (прилаг.); geOLogy (сущ.) – ‘geo’LOGical (прилаг.); ARgument (сущ.) – ‘argu’MENtative (прилаг.).

Наречия обычно ударные на первом слоге или повторяют ударение прилагательных, от которых они были образованы: ANgry – ANgrily; WONderful – WONderfully; FOOLish – FOOLishly; athLETic – athLETically.

Герундий и причастия повторяют ударение глаголов, от которых они были образованы: forGET (забывать) – forGETting – forGOTten; CANcel (отменять) – CANceling – CANceled; ‘ORga’nize (организовать) – ‘ORga’nizing – ORganized.

Типичные модели ударения

Давайте посмотрим на типичные примеры ударения в английских словах. Главные факторы, которые влияют на ударение – количество слогов в слове и является ли это слово существительным, прилагательным или глаголом.

ОДНОСЛОЖНЫЕ СЛОВА

Односложные существительные, глаголы, прилагательные и наречия имеют ударение на гласном звуке в слове. Обратите внимание, что дифтонг – это один сложный гласный звук, который образует только один слог. Дифтонг имеет ударение на своём первом главном компоненте.

книга, кот, дождь, лодка, ворона, стул

читать, гореть, трогать, выбрать, смеяться, слышать

новый, яркий, большой, короткий, ясный, громкий

поздний / поздно, быстрый / быстро, скоро, сейчас

ДВУСЛОЖНЫЕ СЛОВА

Двусложные существительные

Существительные из двух слогов обычно ударные на первом слоге.

учитель, студент, ковер, урок

район, болезнь, утверждение, город

осужденный, увеличение, инстинкт, предмет

пропуск, подарок, проект, символ

Существительные могут иметь ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг. Слова иностранного происхождения (особенно слова французского происхождения) могут иметь ударение на последнем слоге.

стажер, карьера, задержка, забота

полиция, гостиница, берет, одноместное купе

Двусложные прилагательные

Прилагательные из двух слогов обычно ударные на первом слоге.

смешной, местный, полезный

глупый, родной, беззаботный

Некоторые двусложные прилагательные могут иметь ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг.

абсурдный, полный, крайний, угрюмый

Если в прилагательном есть приставка, то ударение часто падает на первый слог корня после приставки.

безумный, имеющий иммунитет, занятый

нездоровый, неизвестный

Двусложные глаголы

Глаголы из двух слогов обычно ударные на втором слоге, особенно если первый слог – приставка.

допускать, применять, начинать, верить

соединять, подтвердить, отрицать, заслуживать

не любить, положить не на место, объяснять

запрещать, забывать, игнорировать, приглашать

подчиняться, возникать, разрешать, подготовить

предлагать, преследовать, получать, ответить

снабжать, удивлять, аннулировать, отпереть

Но есть много глаголов, которые имеют ударение на первом слоге.

случаться, отменить, практиковать

отвечать, предлагать, упоминать

следовать, заимствовать, наказывать

ТРЕХСЛОЖНЫЕ СЛОВА

Трехсложные существительные

Существительные из трёх слогов обычно имеют ударение на первом слоге.

политика, правительство, генерал

интерес, выпускник, уверенность

Но многие существительные, особенно образованные от глаголов с приставками, имеют ударение на втором слоге.

одобрение, замешательство, потребитель

правильность, избрание, директор

Некоторые существительные могут иметь главное ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг.

инженер, беженец

Трехсложные прилагательные

Прилагательные из трёх слогов обычно имеют ударение на первом слоге.

общий, деликатный, превосходный

чудесный, любимый, любопытный

Некоторые трёхсложные прилагательные имеют ещё одно ударение на последнем слоге, если в нём долгий гласный звук или дифтонг.

вышедший из употребления

вьетнамский, португальский

Некоторые прилагательные не повторяют ударение существительного, от которого они были образованы, и ударяются на втором слоге.

видовой, символический, инстинктивный

Трехсложные глаголы

Глаголы из трёх слогов часто имеют главное ударение на первом слоге (даже если это приставка) и второстепенное ударение на последнем слоге (который часто глагольный суффикс).

организовать, модернизировать

означать, уточнять

компенсировать, украшать

делать комплимент, составлять

Но многие глаголы, особенно те, которые с приставками, имеют ударение на втором слоге.

продолжать, рассмотреть, помнить

Если приставка состоит из двух слогов, её первый слог обычно получает второстепенное ударение.

понимать, разлагаться

противоречить, соответствовать

ЧЕТЫРЕ ИЛИ БОЛЕЕ СЛОГОВ

Длинные существительные, прилагательные, глаголы и наречия обычно имеют два ударения: главное и второстепенное ударение. Но есть некоторые длинные слова только с одним ударением. В длинных словах четыре модели ударения.

Только одно ударение: на первом слоге

Существительные:

точность, утончённость

Прилагательные:

интересный

Только одно ударение: на втором слоге

Существительные:

нетерпимость, геометрия, Америка

простота, мобильность, телепатия

аккомпанемент

Прилагательные:

значительный, таинственный, традиционный

невыносимый, неразумный, печально известный

Глаголы:

сопровождать

Два ударения: на первом и третьем слоге

Это очень распространённая модель ударения в длинных словах в английском языке.

Существительные:

экономика, информация

конституция, повторение

колонизация, умножение

Прилагательные:

академический, геометрический

международный, космополитический

капиталистический, разговорный

покровительственный

Два ударения: на втором и четвертом слоге

Существительные:

рассмотрение

расследование

продолжение

Прилагательные:

экспериментальный

непонятный / непостижимый

Глаголы:

идентифицировать, усиливать

опьянять, накапливать

превращать в источник прибыли, извиняться.

In
linguistics, stress
is
the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a
word. It comprises five features:

It is l-o-n-g-e-r –
com-p-u-ter

It is LOUDER — comPUTer

It has a change in pitch from
the syllables coming before and afterwards. The pitch of a stressed
syllable is usually higher.

It is said more clearly. The
vowel sound is purer. Compare the first and last vowel sounds with
the stressed sound.

It uses larger facial
movements. Look in the mirror when you say the word. Look at your jaw
and lips in particular.

Degrees of word stress

English is
commonly believed to have three levels of stress – primary
stress
(in stressed syllable), secondary
stress (in half-stressed syllables), and weak (in unstressed
syllables).

The mark
(`) is used to indicate primary stress, secondary stress is marked by
(,).
A large group of polysyllabic simple words nave both primary and
secondary word stresses, eg ,conver`sation.

Position of the word stress

Word stress in English as well
as in Ukrainian is free, in the sense that the primary stress is not
tied to any particular syllable in all the words. But it always falls
on a particular syllable of any given word. The position of the word
stress is the product of its historical development.

Some ‘rules’ of word
stress

There are patterns in word
stress in English but, as a rule (!), it is dangerous to say there
are fixed rules. Exceptions can usually be found.

Here are some general
tendencies for word stress in English:

1. In a
monosyllabic
word
(a word that consists of a single syllable like cat) and most
disyllabic
words
(a word consisting of two syllables like monkey) the stress falls on
the initial syllable, eg `apple, `table, `happy (the exceptions are
ho`tel, la`goon).

2. In most
polysyllabic
words
stress falls on the third syllable from the end of the word, e.g.
`family, `cinema.

This stress pattern is
especially typical of polysyllabic words with suffixes:

—
ify classify, terrify, humidify, personify, solidify

—
ate operate, exaggerate, associate, integrate, certificate

—
ize apologize, criticize, recognize, computerize

—
logy biology, sociology, anthropology, psychology

—
graphy / grapher autobiography, photography, geographer

—
logist biologist

But exceptions are usually
found.

The stress falls on the second
syllable from the end of the word before the following suffixes:

—
ial memorial, financial, artificial, essential

—
ual visual, unusual, intellectual, individual

—
ian Canadian, vegetarian, pedestrian, politician

—
sion explosion, occasion, conclusion, permission

—
tion definition, production, situation, qualification

—
ient ancient, sufficient, efficient, deficient, proficient

—
cious delicious, conscious, suspicious, judicious

—
tious ambitious, cautious, superstitious, conscientious

—
ic academic, energetic, fantastic, terrific, realistic

—
ary secretary, necessary, contemporary, vocabulary

—
ous dangerous, mysterious, spontaneous, simultaneous

—
ible edible, flexible, incredible, impossible

—
ity ability, necessity, publicity, possibility, humidity

—
meter kilometer, parameter, speedometer, thermometer

The stress falls on the final
syllable by the following suffixes:

—
ee employee, refugee, trainee, referee

—
eer engineer, career, volunteer

— ese Chinese, Japanese,
Portuguese

— ique unique, antique,
technique

3. There are many two-syllable
words in English whose meaning and class change with a change in
stress. The word present, for example is a two-syllable word. If we
stress the first syllable, it is a noun (gift) or an adjective
(opposite of absent). But if we stress the second syllable, it
becomes a verb (to offer).

More examples:

Noun	Verb	Example
record present conduct suspect desert	record present conduct suspect desert	The bank recorded a new record yesterday. He presented his wife with a beautiful present. They’re conducting a study into his conduct. The suspect was suspected of robbing the bank. The desert is so dry that it is usually deserted

4. Most
words of more that four syllables have two stresses: primary
and secondary.
The primary stress usually falls either on the third or second
syllable from the end.

In words
with the primary stress on the third syllable the secondary stress
usually falls on the first syllable, eg ,deco`ration.

If the
primary stress falls on the fourth or fifth syllable the secondary
stress is very commonly on the second syllable: ar,ticu`lation,
ex,perimen`tation.

Consequently
the position of the secondary stress is often that of the primary
stress in the original word, i.e. in the word from which the
derivative word is formed: ‘possible
— possi`bility, ap`preciate — ap,preci`ation.

5. Some
English words have two
primary stresses,
the second being the nuclear one.

The
following groups of words have two primary stresses:

(a)
polysyllables with separable prefixes haying a distinct meaning of
their own:

—
negative prefixes un-, dis-. non-, in- (and its variants ir-. il-,
im), eg: ,un’able,
,un’known,
,unem’phatic,
,unpre’pared,
,disap’pear,
,discon`nect,
,disbe’lief,
,non’smoker,
,non’final,
,non’union,
,incon’venient,
,in`artistic,
,in’accurate,
,il`literate,
,il’legal,
,imma’terial,
,ir`regular,
,ir`responsible.

re-
(meaning repetition), eg: ,re’wi’ie,
,re`organize,
,reu’nite

mis-
(meaning wrong), eg: ,misunder’stand,
,mis’print,
,mis’count

pre-
(meaning ‘before’, ‘earlier’), eg: ,pre’paid,
,pre-‘war,
,prehis’toric

ex-
(meaning ‘former’), eg: ,ex-‘minister,
,ex-‘champion,
,ex-‘husband

under-,
sub-
(meaning ‘subordinate’), eg: ,under`charge,
,under`secretary,
,sub`conscious,
,subdi`vide

inter-
(meaning ‘among’), eg: ,inter`course,
,inter`change,
,inter`view

— some
other rarely used prefixes like
anti-, vice», ultra-, out-,
eg antifascist,
vice-president, ultra-fashionable, outspread.

Note that
very
common words with these prefixes

sometimes lose the stress on
the prefix in everyday usage, eg; un’usual,
im’possibie, mis’take; the
stress on the prefix is also lost in words which are not used without
these prefixes, eg dis’
courage
(v), dis’dain.

(b)
numerals from 13 to 19 including (otherwise in oral speech they might
be easily mixed with such numerals as 30, 40,
50…
90).

(c)
compound numerals, eg ‘twenty-‘
three.

(d)
compound adjectives,
eg: ‘well-‘known,
‘absent-‘minded, ‘kind-‘hearted.

(e)
compound verbs consisting of a verb followed by a post-position or a
preposition-like adverb which changes the primary meaning of the verb
and as a result of it becomes very important and obtains a strong
stress, eg to ‘give
‘in, to ‘put ‘on, to ‘take ‘off, to ‘try ‘on.

6.
Word
stress in compounds (words composed of separable root morphemes)
depends on the semantic weight of the elements. When the first
element determines, restricts the second one or introduces some
contrast it is stressed while the second element of the compound
remains unstressed though the stressed vowel of the second element
retains its qualitative and quantitative prominence.

This is the
case with the majority of compound nouns. They are usually
single-stressed, eg: ‘reading-room,
‘writing-table, apple-tree, ‘suitcase, ‘raincoat, ‘music-hall,
‘blackboard, ‘fountain-pen, ‘deadline,
‘classroom,
‘software,
‘typewriter,
‘policeman,
‘airplane,
‘bus
station, ‘air
conditioner, ‘sports
car, ‘credit
card, ‘stock
market, ‘Great
wall.

This type
of word stress in compound nouns differentiates compounds from word
combinations in which every word has a stress, compare:

‘blackbird — дрозд ‘blackboard — классная доска ‘goldfish — золотая рыбка ‘strong-box — сейф

‘black ‘bird — черная птица ‘black ‘board — черная доска ‘gold ‘fish — рыба золотого цвета ‘strong ‘box — крепкий ящик

Double-stressed
compound nouns are comparatively rare. In such compounds both
elements are equally important, eg ‘gas-‘stove,
‘gas-‘ring, ‘absent-‘mindedness, ‘ice-‘cream.

Compound
adjectives have generally two stresses for both elements are equally
significant in them, eg: ‘clean-‘shaven,
‘well-‘bred, ‘bare-‘footed, ‘broad-‘shouldered; ‘first-‘class,
‘home-‘made, ‘bad-‘tempered, ‘good-‘natured, ‘absent-‘minded,
‘clean-‘shaven, ‘close-‘shaded, ‘old-‘fashioned.

Compound
adjectives with only one stress on the first element occur when the
second element is semantically weak, and add little meaning to the
first element, eg ‘spring-like,
‘childlike, ‘oval-shaped, ‘square-shaped, ‘yellowish-looking,
‘bottle-shaped, ‘heavy- looking.

Compound
verbs have stresses on both elements as they are of equal semantic
significance, but more strongly on the second word, eg ‘give
‘in — ‘give ‘out, ‘turn ‘on — ‘turn ‘out.

Their noun equivalents have
stress on the first part, compare:

Noun:	Verb:
Here’s the ‘printout. She’s a ‘dropout. Where’s the ‘checkout counter? There was a ‘holdup at the bank. This clearly is a ‘setup.	He ,printed it ‘out. She ,dropped ‘out. Can I c,heck it ‘out? ,Hold up your ‘hand. I’ll ,set ‘up a meeting for you

Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]

• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #

What is Word Stress in English?

1.7.1  Word stress is the system of stress within an individual word. Word stress is important because English is a stress-timed language, which means that we speak with rhythm, pronouncing the stress in each content word. Each content word is broken into parts called syllables. One of the syllables in a word will have a stronger stress than the others. We pronounce the stressed syllable more loudly and with more power, while the other syllables are pronounced more quietly and with less power. Every content word in English has one strong stress. For example:

teacher             has two syllables: tea cher         Tee ch (Clear Alphabet)

The first syllable has strong stress, while the second syllable does not. It is weak.

1.7.2  Word stress is not regular in English. The positioning of word stress varies, although it is very often on the first syllable of a word, so if you need to have a guess you should choose the first syllable! This is mainly because suffixes – word endings – in English are not usually stressed. For example, a two syllable word ending with the suffix  ing  must be stressed on the first, because  ing  is never stressed:

Click here for 100 of the most common suffixes in English: most-common-suffixes-in-english

1.7.3  Suffixes can also help us to find word stress because there are many suffixes which follow a rule that the stress must be on the syllable before, for example:

These suffixes are very common, so it’s reassuring to know that the stress will always be before each one. Read and learn the full list here: suffixes-and-word-stress

There are also a number of common suffixes which are stressed. (Click here: most-common-suffixes-in-english.) They are the exception to the rule that suffixes are unstressed. For example:

1.7.4  Other rules of word stress include:

a) Compound nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable. These are words which combine two words, such as:

airport    air + port
football    foot + ball
popcorn    pop + corn
strawberry    straw + berry

There is a list of 300 common compound nouns here: common-compound-nouns.

b) Both parts of phrasal verbs are stressed, for example:

wake up
go out

c) Acronyms are usually stressed on the final syllable, for example:

BBC
DVD

d) There is a small group of words called homographs which are pairs of words with the same spelling, but different stress depending on the type of word, (whether it is a noun or a verb), for example:

Click here for a longer list of noun-verb homographs: noun-verb-homographs.

e) As we can see in the table above, it is very common for two-syllable verbs to be stressed on the second syllable.

This advice can help us to find word stress because modern English often consists mainly of:

• words of one syllable – where the word stress is obvious
• words with suffixes, which guide us because they are not stressed or follow a word stress rule
• words which are compound nouns

Click here for an analysis of a newspaper article that proves this point: working-out-word-stress.

1.7.5  Apart from the helpful guidance above, the best place to start if you want to find the stressed syllable in a word is the final syllable. In general, a word is stressed on the nearest strong syllable to the end. We must work from right to left, beginning with the final syllable, and assess whether each syllable is strong or weak. It depends on the vowel sound: a strong syllable is one with a long vowel sound (e.g. ar, ee), a diphthong (e.g. ai, ei), or a short vowel sound (e.g. a, o, but not a schwa sound). If it is strong, we have found the stressed syllable. If it is weak, we must move along until we find a strong syllable. Click here to read examples of this process: english-stress-rules.

Exercises

Ex. 1.7.1 Reading  Put the words into groups depending on how many syllables there are:

Ex. 1.7.2 Writing  Write more words on the topic of Learning English in each group:

Ex. 1.7.3 Reading  Underline the stressed syllable in each word:

1. adverb
2. article
3. beginner
4. course
5. dictionary
6. elementary
7. English
8. grammar
9. homework
10. intermediate
11. level
12. listening
13. mobile
14. noun
15. paper
16. partner
17. pen
18. pronunciation
19. qualification
20. reading

Ex. 1.7.4 Reading  Underline the suffix in each word and put the words into groups:

1. dictionary
2. reading
3. grammar
4. syllable
5. consonant
6. determiner
7. answer
8. elementary
9. listening
10. spelling
11. speaking
12. advanced
13. writing
14. tablet
15. mobile
16. example
17. beginner
18. qualification
19. student
20. level
21. computer
22. article
23. teacher
24. paragraph
25. certificate
26. intermediate
27. conjunction
28. partner
29. preposition
30. pronunciation

Ex. 1.7.5 Reading  Match the words to make 20 compound nouns:

Ex. 1.7.6 Reading  Add a word to each word to make a compound noun:

1. basket _______________
2. green _______________
3. under _______________
4. super _______________
5. land _______________
6. dust _______________
7. sales _______________
8. news _______________
9. tooth _______________
10. wind _______________
11. work _______________
12. play _______________
13. life _______________
14. ward _______________
15. paper _______________
16. milk _______________
17. every _______________
18. hair _______________
19. day _______________
20. wall       _______________

Ex. 1.7.7 Reading  Use a dictionary to help you complete the table and underline the stressed syllable(s) in each item:

English Syllables and Stress Patterns

Syllables and stress are two of the main areas of spoken language. Pronouncing words with the stress on the correct syllables will help you improve your spoken English, make your sentences easier to understand and help you sound more like a native speaker.

English syllables are stress-timed. English is classed as a ‘stress-based’ language, which means the meanings of words can be altered significantly by a change in word stress and sentence stress. This is why it is important to learn how to use word stress in English and develop an understanding of sentence stress and English stress patterns.

 

The English language is heavily stressed with each word divided into syllables. Here are some examples of English words with different numbers of syllables. These sets of words are followed by a series of examples using the correct stress placement:

Words with one syllable 

The, cold, quite, bed, add, start, hope, clean, trade, green, chair, cat, sign, pea, wish, drive, plant, square, give, wait, law, off, hear, trough, eat, rough, trout, shine, watch, for, out, catch, flight, rain, speech, crab, lion, knot, fixed, slope, reach, trade, light, moon, wash, trend, balm, walk, sew, joke, tribe, brooch

Words with two syllables

Party, special, today, quiet, orange, partner, table, demand, power, retrieve, doctor, engine, diet, transcribe, contain, cabbage, mountain, humour, defend, spatial, special, greedy, exchange, manage, carpet, although, trophy, insist, tremble, balloon, healthy, shower, verbal, business, mortgage, fashion, hover, butcher, magic, broken

Words with three syllables

Fantastic, energy, expensive, wonderful, laughable, badminton, idiot, celery, beautiful, aggression, computer, journalist, horrify, gravity, temptation, dieting, trampoline, industry, financial, distinguished, however, tremendous, justify, inflation, creation, injustice, energise, glittering, tangible, mentalise, laughable, dialect, crustacean, origin

Words with four syllables

Understanding, indecisive, conversation, realistic, moisturising, American, psychology, gregarious, independence, affordable, memorandum, controversial, superior, gymnasium, entrepreneur, traditional, transformation, remembering, establishment, vegetation, affectionate, acupuncture, invertebrate

Words with five syllables

Organisation, uncontrollable, inspirational, misunderstanding, conversational, opinionated, biological, subordination, determination, sensationalist, refrigerator, haberdashery, hospitality, conservatory, procrastination, disobedience, electrifying, consideration, apologetic, particularly, compartmentalise, hypochondria

Words with six syllables

Responsibility, idiosyncratic, discriminatory, invisibility, capitalisation, extraterrestrial, reliability, autobiography, unimaginable, characteristically, superiority, antibacterial, disciplinarian, environmentalist, materialism, biodiversity, criminalisation, imaginatively, disobediently

Words with seven syllables

Industrialisation, multiculturalism, interdisciplinary, radioactivity, unidentifiable, environmentalism, individuality, vegetarianism, unsatisfactorily, electrocardiogram

English Stress Patterns

When thinking about syllables and stress in English, usually we find that one syllable of a word is stressed more than the others. There are always one or more stressed syllables within a word and this special stress placement helps words and sentences develop their own rhythm.

Syllables and stress patterns in English help to create the sounds, pronunciations and rhythms that we hear all around us.

Word Stress in English

We come to recognise these English syllables and stress patterns in conversations in real life interactions and on the radio and television. Using the correct stressed syllables within a word is an important part of speech and understanding.

Pronouncing words with the right word stress will make your language sound more natural to native speakers. Here are some words from the previous lists with the stressed syllable in bold:

Two syllable words stress patterns:

Quiet, party, special, today, orange, partner, table, demand, power, retrieve, engine,  diet, greedy, exchange, manage, carpet, although, relax, comfort

Three syllable words stress patterns:

Fantastic, energy, expensive, aggresion, wonderful, laughable, badminton, celery, temptation, trampoline,  industry, dintinguished, financial, however, tremendous, library

 

Four syllable words stress patterns:

Understanding, indecisive, conversation, realistic, moisturising, American, psychology, independence, entrepreneur, transformation, fascinating, comfortable

Five syllable words stress patterns:

Uncontrollable, inspirational, misunderstanding, conversational, opinionated, biological, alphabetical, subordination, refrigerator, haberdashery, hospitality

Six syllable words stress patterns:

Responsibility, idiosyncratic, invisibility, capitalisation, discriminatory or discriminatory, antibacterial, superiority, autobiography, materialism, biodiversity, criminalisation, imaginatively,

Seven syllable words stress patterns:

Industrialisation, multiculturalism, interdisciplinary, radioactivity, unidentifiable, environmentalism, individuality, vegetarianism, unsatisfactorily, electrocardiogram

Syllables and Stress Patterns in English Speech

Using clear syllables and stress patterns is an important part of speech. The correct word stress in English is crucial for understanding a word quickly and accurately.

Even if you cannot hear a word well and are not familiar with the context, you can often still work out what the word is, simply from listening to which syllable is stressed.

In the same way, if a learner pronounces a word differently from the accepted norm, it can be hard for a native speaker to understand the word. The word or sentence might be grammatically correct, but if they have used the wrong (or an unexpected) stress pattern or the wrong stressed syllables, it could make it unintelligible to a native.

Learning a language is all about communication and being able to make yourself understood. This is why syllables and stress patterns in spoken English are so important.

 

English Word Stress Rules

Here are some general rules about word stress in English:

• Only vowel sounds are stressed (a,e,i,o,u).

• A general rule is that for two syllable words, nouns and adjectives have the stress on the first syllable, but verbs have the stress on the second syllable.

For example: table (noun), special (adjective), demand (verb).

• Words ending in ‘ic’, ‘tion’ or ‘sion’ always place their stress on the penultimate (second to last) syllable. (e.g. supersonic, Atlantic, dedication, attention, transformation, comprehension).

• Words ending in ‘cy’, ‘ty’, ‘gy’ and ‘al’ always place their stress on the third from last syllable. (e.g. accountancy, sincerity, chronology, inspirational, hypothetical).

• Words ending in ‘sm’ with 3 or fewer syllables have their stress on the first syllable (e.g. prism, schism, autism, botulism, sarcasm) unless they are extensions of a stem word. This is often the case with words ending ‘ism’.

• Words ending in ‘ism’ tend to follow the stress rule for the stem word with the ‘ism’ tagged onto the end (e.g. cannibal = cannibalism, expression = expressionism, feminist = feminism, opportunist = opportunism).

• Words ending in ‘sm’ with 4 or more syllables tend to have their stress on the second syllable (e.g. enthusiasm, metabolism).

Words ending in ‘ous’

• Words ending in ‘ous’ with 2 syllables have their stress on the first syllable (e.g. monstrous, pious, anxious, pompous, zealous, conscious, famous, gracious, gorgeous, jealous, joyous).

• English words ending in ‘ous’ with 4 syllables usually have their stress on the second syllable (e.g. gregarious, anonymous, superfluous, androgynous, carnivorous, tempestuous, luxurious, hilarious, continuous, conspicuous). There are some exceptions using different stressed syllables, such as sacrilegious, which stresses the 3rd syllable.

Words ending in ‘ous’ with 3 or more syllables do not always follow a set stress pattern. Here are some common English words with 3 syllables ending in ‘ous’ and their stress placement:

Words ending in ‘ous’ with stress on first syllable

fabulous, frivolous, glamorous, calculus, dubious, envious, scandalous, serious, tenuous, chivalrous, dangerous, furious

Words ending in ‘ous’ with stress on second syllable

enormous, audacious, facetious, disastrous, ficticious, horrendous, contagious, ambitious, courageous

Stress can changing the meaning of a word

Remember, where we place the stress in English can change the meaning of a word. This can lead to some funny misunderstandings – and some frustrating conversations!

Words that have the same spelling but a different pronunciation and meaning are called heteronyms. Here are a few examples of words where the stressed syllable changes the meaning of the word:

• Object

The word ‘object’ is an example of an English word that can change meaning depending on which syllable is stressed. When the word is pronounced ‘object’ (with a stress on the first syllable) the word is a noun meaning an ‘item’, ‘purpose’ or ‘person/thing that is the focus’ of a sentence.

For example:

• • She handed the lady a rectangular object made of metal
  • He was the object of the dog’s affection
  • The ring was an object of high value
  • The object of the interview was to find the best candidate for the job
  • The object was small and shiny – it could have been a diamond ring!

But if the same word is pronounced ‘object‘ (with the stress on the second syllable) the word is now a verb, meaning ‘to disagree with’ something or someone.

For example:

• • They object to his constant lateness
  • The man objected to the size of his neighbour’s new conservatory
  • She strongly objects to being called a liar
  • We object to the buildings being demolished
  • No one objected to the proposal for more traffic lights

• Present

When the word ‘present’ is pronounced ‘present’ (with the stress on the first syllable) the word is a noun meaning ‘a gift’ or an adjective meaning ‘here / not absent’.

For example:

• • She handed him a beautifully wrapped present
  • The book was a present from their grandparents
  • Everyone was present at the meeting

But when the word is pronounced ‘present’ (with the stress on the second syllable) the word is now a verb meaning ‘to introduce’ something or someone, ‘to show’ or ‘to bring to one’s attention’. It can also be used when talking about presenting a TV or radio show (i.e. to be a ‘presenter’).

For example:

• • May I present Charlotte Smith, our new store manager
  • Bruce Forsyth used to present ‘Strictly Come Dancing’
  • I’d like to present my research on the breeding habits of frogs
  • They presented the glittering trophy to the winner
  • She was presented with the Oscar
  • This new situation presents a problem

• Project

Another example of an English word changing meaning depending on where you place the stress is the word ‘project’. This can be the noun when the stressed syllable is at the start – ‘project’ (a task).

For example:

• • They started work on the research project immediately
  • She looked forward to her next project – repainting the house
  • He enjoyed writing restaurant reviews – it was his current passion project

However, this word becomes a verb when the stressed syllables moves to the end – ‘to project‘ (to throw/launch, to protrude, to cause an image to appear on a surface, or to come across/make an impression).

For example:

• • The object was projected into the air at high velocity
  • The film will be projected onto the screen
  • The chimney projects 3 metres from the roof
  • She always projects herself with confidence

Stress patterns in compound words 

Compound words are single words made up of two distinct parts. They are sometimes hyphenated. Here are examples of stress patterns in compound words in English:

• Compound nouns have the stress on the first part: e.g. sugarcane, beetroot, henhouse, tripwire, lighthouse, newspaper, porthole, roundabout, willpower

• Compound adjectives and verbs have the stress on the second part:
  e.g. wholehearted, green-fingered, old-fashioned, to understand, to inform, to short-change, to overtake

English sentence stress 

Once you understand word stress in English, you need to think about sentence stress. This means deciding which words to stress as part of the sentence as a whole. Stressed syllables can create a distinctive, rhythmic pattern within a sentence. This is how English stress patterns are related to the rhythm of English and help create the ‘music’ of a language.

English speakers tend to put stress on the most important words in a sentence in order to draw the listener’s attention to them. The most important words are the words that are necessary for the meaning of the sentence. Sentence stress is just as important as word stress for clarity. For example:

‘The cat sat on the mat while eating its favourite food’

The most important words here are: ‘cat’, ‘mat’, ‘eating’ and ‘food’. Even if you only hear those words, you would still be able to understand what is happening in the sentence simply from hearing which words are stressed.

Clearly, it is the nouns and verbs that are the most important parts of the sentence, as these are the ‘content words’ that help with meaning. Content words are usually stressed.

 

The adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions all add flavour to the sentence, but they are not absolutely necessary to understand the meaning. These ‘helper’ words are usually unstressed.

In our example sentence: ‘The cat sat on the mat while eating its favourite food’, we have already used the word ‘cat’ so we do not need to emphasise the word ‘its’ (or ‘he/she’ if you want to give the cat a gender), because we already know who is eating the food (i.e. the cat).

English word stress within a sentence

Stress patterns affect words and sentences in English.

The stress on a word (the word stress) is the emphasis placed on that word. In the sentence below, “I never said he ate your chocolate”, the stressed word will change the meaning or implication of the sentence:

Stressing the first word ‘I’ implies that I (the speaker) never said it. It might be true or it might not be true – the point is, I never said it – someone else did.

Stressing the second word ‘never’ emphasises that I never said it. There was never an occasion when I said it (whether it is true or not).

Stressing the third word ‘said’ means that I never said it. He might have eaten your chocolate, but I didn’t say it. I might have thought it, but I never said it out loud (I may only have implied it).

Stressing the fourth word ‘he’ means I didn’t say it was him that ate your chocolate, only that someone did.

Stressing the fifth word ‘ate’ means I didn’t say he had eaten it. Perhaps he took it and threw it away or did something else with it.

 

Stressing the sixth word ‘your’ means it wasn’t your chocolate he ate –  it could have been someone else’s chocolate.

Stressing the seventh word ‘chocolate’ emphases that it was not your chocolate he ate – he ate something else belonging to you.

So the sentence stress in English makes all the difference to the meaning of the whole sentence. The stressed word in the sentence is the one we should pay the most attention to.

Stress placement affects the whole understanding of the English language. This issue is strongly related to the rhythm of English. Getting the right word stress, sentence stress and rhythm leads to the perfect communication of your intended message.

Stressed Vowel Sounds and Weak Vowels in English

The necessary words in an English sentence are stressed more by increasing the length and clarity of the vowel sound.

In contrast, the unnecessary words are stressed less by using a shorter and less clear vowel sound. This is called a ‘weak’ vowel sound.

In fact, sometimes the vowel sound is almost inaudible. For example, the letter ‘a’ in English is often reduced to a muffled ‘uh’ sound. Grammarians call this a ‘shwa’ or /ə/.

You can hear this ‘weak’ vowel sound at the start of the words ‘about’ and ‘attack’ and at the end of the word ‘banana’. They can sound like ‘ubout’, ‘uttack’ and ‘bananuh’ when spoken by a native English speaker. The article ‘a’ as a single word is also unstressed and reduced in this way to a weak ‘uh’ sound.

 

For example: ‘Is there a shop nearby?’ sounds like ‘Is there-uh shop nearby?’ This shwa can also be heard in other instances, such as in the word ‘and’ when it is used in a sentence. For example: ‘This book is for me and you’ can sound sound like ‘This book is for me un(d) you’.

The reason for this weak stress pattern in English is to help the rhythm and speed of speech. Using this weak ‘uh’ sound for the vowel ‘a’ helps the speaker get ready for the next stressed syllable by keeping the mouth and lips in a neutral position.

To pronounce the ‘a’ more clearly would require a greater opening of the mouth, which would slow the speaker down.

As English is a stress-timed language, the regular stresses are vital for the rhythm of the language, so the vowel sounds of unstressed words in English often get ‘lost’.

In contrast, syllable-timed languages (such as Spanish) tend to work in the opposite way, stressing the vowel sounds strongly, while the consonants get ‘lost’.

Click on the highlighted text to learn more about how English word stress and sentence stress relates to the rhythm of English and intonation in English.

 

What do you think about syllables and stress in English?

Do you find the syllables and stress patterns a difficult part of learning a new language?

Have you had any funny misunderstandings from stressing the wrong syllable in English? We’d love to hear your stories!

Are there any English words or sentences with odd stressed syllables or difficult stress patterns that you would like advice on?

Can you think of good way to remember or practise correct English word stress and sentence stress?

Do you have any ideas to help EFL students improve their understanding of syllables and stress?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments box.