In our previous post, we shared 12 great tips to help you improve your English pronunciation. For tip number nine, Understanding Word Stress & Sentence Stress, we explained the importance of word stress rules for communicating effectively in English. In this post, we delve a little deeper into the subject.
What is Word Stress?
The stress placed on syllables within words is called word stress. In one word, we place emphasis on one syllable, while the other syllables are given less emphasis.
English words only have one stressed syllable. Whilst longer words can have a secondary stress, it is always a much lighter stress. It is also worth noting that we stress vowel sounds and not consonants.
In English we have variable stress where the position of the stress is unpredictable. This contrasts with some other languages – like Polish or Finnish – that have fixed stress where the stress on virtually any multi-syllable word falls on a particular syllable. Learn more here.
Where you place stress or emphasis within a word can affect the way in which it is pronounced and therefore its meaning. As a result, knowing which syllable within a word should be emphasised or stressed is very important for correct pronunciation. The reason for this is that placing stress on the wrong syllable within a word can completely change the meaning of a word.
Understanding The Importance of Word Stress
So, understanding the importance of word stress is vital if you want to improve your English pronunciation and speak English like a native English.
But if word stress is so important, exactly what are the rules that we need to follow?
As with so many aspects of the English language, there are many rules to learn. Then, to make things even more tricky, there are also many contradictions or exceptions to those rules. This can make learning English more challenging for some students.
To help you out, we have compiled some simple guidelines for learning the rules of word stress. We don’t cover all aspects of English word stress rules but the points we have mentioned will certainly get you started.
English Word Stress Rules
1. Word Stress For Two-Syllable Words
Two-Syllable Nouns
If the word is a two-syllable noun, we usually place the stress on the FIRST syllable.
Example: MONkey, TEAcher, DIStance, INsect, TAble,
Two-Syllable Adjectives
If the word is a two-syllable adjective, as with two-syllable nouns, we usually place the stress on the FIRST syllable.
Examples: SIlent, BORing, LIttle, PURple, STUpid, CLEver, FRIEndly
Two Syllable Verbs
Conversely, if the word is a two-syllable verb we generally stress the SECOND syllable.
Examples: beGIN, surVIVE, aTTEND, coLLECT, preVENT
See more examples of verbs where the second syllable is stressed.
Two Syllable Prepositions
The SECOND syllable is also stressed if the word is a preposition.
Examples: aROUND, beFORE, beLOW, inSIDE, toWARDS (See more examples of prepositions with stress on second syllable)
2. Word Stress For Words That Are Both Nouns & Verbs
When a word can be both a noun and a verb, we stress the FIRST syllable for the noun and the SECOND syllable for the verb.
Examples:
1) The violent CONflict between the couple conFLICTS with their pacifistic beliefs.
2) The PREsents he preSENTS his wife never fail to disappoint her.
3) They will no doubt disCOUNT my suggestion for DIScounts on Chinese courses for the elderly.
Click here for some good examples with audio included:
As mentioned, there are always exceptions to the rules. That said, it’s fairly accurate to say that only around 20% of two-syllable words have their stress on the second syllable.
3. Word Stress For Words Ending in ‘er’ & ‘ly’.
If a word ends in either ‘er’ or ‘ly’, whether it’s a noun, an adjective or an adverb, the general rules is that the stress is placed on the first syllable.
Example:
ANgrily, PERfectly, SUddenly, HAppily,
FOReigner, GARdener, BARtender, MANager
BIgger, BEtter, FAtter
4. Words That Use The Suffix ade, ee, ese, ique, ette & oon
Stress the actual suffix of words (including the first consonant before the suffix) ending in -ade, -ee, -ese, -ique and -ette and -oon
Examples:
deCADE, inVADE,
ampuTEE, guaranTEE, aGREE,
ChiNESE, oBESE, legaLESE,
vinaigRETTE, kitcheNETTE, laundeRETTE,
anTIQUE, obLIQUE,
carTOON, baBOON
5. Simple Word Stress Rules For Suffixes
The rule changes for words with a number of other suffixes such as -ery, -ian, -ible, -able, i-al, -cian, -ic, -ish, -ics, -ion, -ious, -ia, and -ient. Instead of placing the emphasis on the actual suffix as illustrated in the examples above, we stress the syllable just before the suffix.
Examples:
-ery: CELery, SURgery, reCOVery
-ian: boHEMian, coMEdian, ciVILian, beauTICian
-ible: AUDible, adMISSible, SENSible
-able: aDAPTable, SUITable, CHANGEable
-ial: fiNANcial, artiFICial, oFFICial
-cian: maGIcian, opTIcian, beauTIcian
-ic: BAsic, draMAtic, characteRIStic
-ish: GARish, ENglish, unSELfish
-ics: dyNAMics, aeRObics, hypNOtics
-ion: VERsion, classifiCAtion, CAUtion
-ious: harMONious, PREvious, VARious, FURious
-ia: TRIVia, maLARia, multiMEdia
-ient: ANcient, NUtrient, suFICient
-osis: thromBOsis, psyCHOsis, osMOsis
A good way to remember some of the suffixes above is to use the rule for nearly all suffixes that start with an ‘i’ or a ‘u’. For example, the suffixes -ion, -ual, -uous, -ial, -ient, -ious, -iuor, ior, -ic, -ity.
Notice again how we stress the syllable immediately before the suffix in the following examples:
diVERsion,
unUSual,
conTINuous,
amBIGuous,
FATuous,
SPAtial,
TRANSient,
LUSCious,
suPERior,
behaviour,
JUNior,
STOic,
linGUIStic,
photoGRAPHic
Note, some exceptions to this rule include words ending in -ism, -ist and -ize.
English Word Stress Videos
How Dictionaries Help With Word Stress
If you are unsure about where to place the stress in a word, you can always refer to an English dictionary. All good dictionaries give the phonetic spelling of a word.
You can learn which syllable of a word is stressed by looking at the phonetic spelling. The stressed syllable is commonly shown with an apostrophe (‘) just before or just after the stressed syllable.
Unfortunately, dictionary creators never agreed on one system so you should refer to your dictionary’s (how to use this dictionary) notes to see which system they use.
Here’s an example from my dictionary that shows which syllable to stress by placing the apostrophe immediately BEFORE the stressed syllable:
photograph | ‘fəʊtəɡrɑːf
photographic | ˌfəʊtə’ɡrafɪk
Using the system of capitalising the stressed syllable as in all of my examples above, these two dictionary examples look like this:
PHOtograph
photGRAPHic
Learn Word Stress With Practise & Experience
As previously mentioned, the list of rules above is by no means complete. However, it does explain where to place the primary emphasis on numerous English words.
If the thoughts of learning all these rules is overwhelming, do not be too discouraged. Many English learners naturally assimilate to word stress rules simply by listening and practicing the language.
Probably the best way to learn is from experience. Try to get a feel for the music of the language by listening carefully to spoken English.
Of course, if you would like some extra assistance with your English speaking skills, contact us to find out more about our English courses in Hong Kong.
Here’s a brief overview of our English courses. Click the image for more details.
What is word stress in English and why is it important? It’s super important because a mistake in word stress can mean someone might not understand you.
Listeners’ ears are waiting to hear the sounds we stress to help them hear which words you are saying.
So, if you stress the wrong syllable, they may hear the wrong word or something that is not a word at all.
Using word stress correctly will help you speak clearly and it will improve your pronunciation.
This lesson will help you get syllable stress right so you can confidently communicate and start getting that natural rhythm in your English speaking. I also have a trick for you today that can help you figure out the stress for some of the longest, most difficult looking words to pronounce.
Easy tips to use word stress in English.
First — You Need to Understand What a Syllable Is
To understand what syllable stress is, first we have to make sure we know what a syllable is. Let’s do a little review of what a syllable is so we can then look at how to stress one.
In English our words are broken into smaller sound parts, syllables. A word might have one syllable, like dog, cat, mouse, or even strengths or stretched, which sound long but only have one syllable. So syllables are different sound parts, it is not about length. One syllable is usually made up of one vowel sound and you can usually tell something is a syllable if you have to move your chin down to say it.
For example, when I say ‘dog’, my chin moves once: one syllable. But when I say ‘puppy’, it moves twice because we have 2 syllables.
Now, Let’s Look at Syllable Stress
In English we do not treat syllables equally. We help the listener hear which word we are saying by stressing a syllable in each word.
For example, that thing we keep our food cold in is called a:
re-FRIG-er-a-tor
It is definitely not called a RE-frig-er-a-tor or a re-frig-ER-a-tor or a re-frig-er-A-tor or even a re-frig-er-a-TOR. This word is pretty unique, so a mistake in the stress here wouldn’t cause a huge problem but may be misunderstood and cause confusion.
But what about this example?
- I am going to reCORD some music. (verb)
- She ran so fast she broke the world REcord! (noun)
The stress of a syllable changes the meaning of these words. One is a noun, the other is a verb. So there is an important difference in meaning that is made through correct word stress.
There are lots of English words that are both verbs and nouns with just a syllable stress change, and I will share the most important ones with you coming up.
But Which Syllable Should You Stress in a Word?
There are 3 ways you can identify the correct syllable for word stress in English:
- You can listen carefully to native speakers and try to identify which syllable they stress.
- Use a dictionary. A dictionary will use an apostrophe just before the stressed syllable to mark the stress. Like this:
rɪˈfrɪdʒəreɪtə(r)
Re’frigerator
- Or the easiest is to use the following 3 tricks to help you. These tricks are based on common patterns in English.
3 Tricks for Word Stress in English
Rule Number 1:
For most 2 syllable nouns & adjectives, stress the first syllable:
- ‘CLI mate
- ‘PAR ent
- ‘KNOWL edge
- ‘FLIP pant
- ‘SPA cious
- ‘BA sic
- ‘OB ject
Rule Number Two
For most 2 syllable verbs do the opposite, stress the second syllable:
- be ’COME
- em ’BRACE
- re ’FLECT
- for ‘GAVE
- a ‘DORE
- ob ‘JECT
Rule Number Three
This rule about syllable stress helps us out with some of the longest and most difficult words like: administration, exploitation, interruption, accusation, intervention, abbreviation, commission, extension, incomprehension
In words like these, with the final sound or word ending (suffix) -tion or -sion, we stress the syllable right before -tion and -sion. This gives us a sound to focus on saying clearly.
For example:
- ad min i ‘STRA tion
- in com pre HEN sion
- a ccu ‘SA tion
- in ter RUP tion
- ex TEN sion
Word Stress for Nouns & Adjectives vs. Verbs
We have many words in English work two jobs: both noun and verb.
But, the syllable stress helps us to make sure we know which one is which. Other words like this include:
- an ‘IN crease vs. to in ‘CREASE
- a ‘DE crease vs. to de ‘CREASE
- a ‘RE fund vs. to re ‘FUND
- an ‘IN vite vs. to in ‘VITE
- a ‘PRO ject vs. to pro ‘JECT
- an ‘EX port vs. to ex ‘PORT
- a ‘SUS pect vs. to sus ‘PECT
- an ‘IN sult vs. to in ‘SULT
- a ‘PRE sent vs. to pre ‘SENT
❤️lessons on English pronunciation? Be sure to check out:
The Right Way to Ask Questions with Intonation
How Intonation Changes Meaning in English
Now it is your turn to practice.
Choose one of the words from our list of -tion and -sion suffixed words and come up with an example sentence.
Practice saying your sentence, stressing the correct syllable.
Remember to share it with us in the comments below, and show us the stressed syllable with an apostrophe or you can use capital letters to show it if you like. We look forward to hearing your examples!
Have a fantastic Confident English Wednesday!
~ Annemarie
You’ll also get my Confident English lessons delivered by email every Wednesday and occasional information about available courses. You can unsubscribe any time.
There are two very simple rules about word stress:
- One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one word. It is true that there can be a «secondary» stress in some words. But a secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long words.)
- We can only stress vowels, not consonants.
Here are some more, rather complicated, rules that can help you understand where to put the stress. But do not rely on them too much, because there are many exceptions. It is better to try to «feel» the music of the language and to add the stress naturally.
A. Stress on first syllable
| rule | examples |
|---|---|
|
Most 2-syllable nouns |
PRESent |
|
Most 2-syllable adjectives |
PRESent |
B. Stress on last syllable
| rule | examples |
|---|---|
|
Most 2-syllable verbs |
preSENT |
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: the words export, import, contract and object can all be nouns or verbs depending on whether the stress is on the first or second syllable.
C. Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end)
| rule | examples |
|---|---|
|
Words ending in -ic |
GRAPHic |
|
Words ending in -sion and -tion |
teleVIsion |
For a few words, native English speakers don’t always «agree» on where to put the stress. For example, some people say teleVIsion and others say TELevision. Another example is: CONtroversy and conTROversy.
D. Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end)
| rule | examples |
|---|---|
|
Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy |
deMOcracy |
|
Words ending in -al |
CRItical |
E. Compound words (words with two parts)
| rule | examples |
|---|---|
|
For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part |
BLACKbird |
|
For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part |
bad-TEMpered |
|
For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part |
underSTAND |
Contributor: Josef Essberger
Updated: August 2020
Word stress/Stress
pattern is one of the important topics in the learning and teaching of English
as a second language (henceforth ESL). However, most teachers of ESL skip or
shy away from this topic because of their incompetence; thus, leaving their students
helpless in an external exam. In Nigeria, with essay writing occupying the
front seat as regards «the reasons why students fail English in WAEC, NECO
or NABTEB», one can inarguably place word stress/stress pattern, which
comes as paper 3 (Test of Oral) in WAEC examination, as the second reason why
students fail English in WAEC, NECO or NABTEB. Students have no option(s) other
than resorting to error and trial method when it comes to answering questions
on word stress because they were neither taught nor properly
taught. Therefore, this article is written to expose students and teachers of
English to the rudiments of word stress in order to enable them easily identify
the stressed syllable of a word.
Stress is the degree of
force applied when pronouncing the syllable(s) of a word. The stressed syllable is
the syllable on which the speaker uses more muscular energy and breath effort
when pronouncing a word. A syllable is a unit of pronunciation that has one
vowel sound. A word might have one syllable (like “come or “go”), two syllables
(like «doc-tor» or «pre-sent»), three syllables
(«dis-a-gree» or «com-pa-ny») and more (like
«pan-de-mo-nium» or «per-so-ni-fi-ca-tion»). A word with
one syllable is called a monosyllable; a word with two syllables is
called a bisyllable, and a word with more than two syllables is
called a polysyllable. Whatever the word, pay attention to the
vowels because one of them will be where you find the stress of a word.
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.