By
Last updated:
April 13, 2022
8 English Word Stress Rules to Promote Clear Communication
There should be a rhythm to English sentences—it shouldn’t sound flat, monotone (all in the same tone) and boring!
I know it sounds like an additional challenge, especially when speaking English is already difficult.
However, when you pronounce every bit of a word and sentence with the same pitch, volume and length, it might make it difficult for native speakers to understand you.
Contents
- Why Word Stress Matters
- What Is Word Stress?
-
- Identifying syllables to understand word stress
- Features of a stressed syllable
- 8 Word Stress Rules to Improve Your English Pronunciation
-
- 1. Nouns and adjectives with two syllables
- 2. Verbs and prepositions with two syllables
- 3. Words that are both a noun and a verb
- 4. Three syllable words ending in “er” and “ly”
- 5. Words ending in “ic,” “sion” and “tion”
- 6. Words ending in “cy,” “ty,” “phy,” “gy” and “al”
- 7. Compound nouns
- 8. Compound adjectives and verbs
- Resources to Perfect Your Word Stress Skills
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Why Word Stress Matters
In her head, this sentence was understandable to Saskia:
“Dessert is my favorite thing!”
But when she said this to a friend, a native English speaker, he looked confused and asked her:
“Why? It’s just sand and has no life. It could also be dangerous!”
Then it was Saskia’s turn to be puzzled.
Can you guess the source of the problem?
Well, the problem here is word stress. Saskia got the word (“dessert”—the sweet heavenly thing) right, but she said it with the emphasis in the wrong place and the word sounded like “desert”—a dry perilous place.
This is just one example of how important word stress is to improving your pronunciation and speaking English like a native speaker. Perhaps you don’t know much (or anything at all) about the stress in English words yet, but trust me, it’s the key to improving your communication skills, both with speaking to a native English speaker and listening to English.
Also, I’m not just telling you how important word stress is. This guide will take you through the basics of this pronunciation challenge and provide you with eight rules to start doing it right.
Learning word stress is a crucial part of becoming an advanced English learner.
In addition to word stress, it is important to learn the pronunciation of the English dialect you want to speak.
What Is Word Stress?
In English, the individual sounds of a word (i.e. syllables—which we’ll discuss in just a moment) aren’t pronounced with the same weight. One syllable receives more emphasis than the others.
For example, there are three syllables in the word “beautiful” /BEAU-ti-ful/ and the word stress falls on the first one /BEAU/. (Please note that in this guide, I’ll demonstrate the stress in a word by capitalizing all the letters that make up the syllable.)
Now that you have the definition of word stress, let’s dive deeper into syllables to comprehend word stress.
Identifying syllables to understand word stress
A syllable is a unit of pronunciation that has one vowel sound. A word might have one syllable (like “an” or “can”) or more, such as “po-lice” (two syllables), “com-pa-ny” (three syllables), “ne-ce-ssa-ry” (four syllables), etc.
Just for fun, do you know the English word with the most syllables?
The answer is “antidisestablishmentarianism.” (The opposition of the belief that there shouldn’t be an official church in a country.)
The word has 12 syllables!
Remember that syllables aren’t similar to letters. For example, “scratch” has seven letters but one syllable, while “umami” has five letters but three syllables. Whatever the word, pay attention to the vowels because one of them will be where you find the stress of a word.
Features of a stressed syllable
Now you know that you need to emphasize a particular vowel in a specific syllable of a word. However, you might still wonder exactly how to do so. Let’s take a look at a native speaker’s speech pattern.
When a native speaker stresses a syllable in a word, this is what they do:
- Produce a longer vowel
- Raise the pitch of the syllable to a higher level
- Say the syllable louder
- Pronounce it with clarity
- Create a more distinctive facial movement
Don’t forget these five features next time you pronounce a word!
8 Word Stress Rules to Improve Your English Pronunciation
1. Nouns and adjectives with two syllables
The rule: When a noun (a word referring to a person, thing, place or abstract quality) or an adjective (a word that gives information about a noun) has two syllables, the stress is usually on the first syllable.
Examples:
table /TA-ble/
scissors /SCI-ssors/
pretty /PRE-tty/,
clever /CLE-ver/
Exceptions: Unfortunately, there are exceptions to this rule. It could be that a word was borrowed from another language or it could be totally random. You just have to learn these “outsiders” by heart. Here are three words you can start with:
hotel /ho-TEL/
extreme /ex-TREME/
concise /con-CISE/
2. Verbs and prepositions with two syllables
The rule: When a verb (a word referring to an action, event or state of being) or a preposition (a word that comes before a noun, pronoun or the “-ing” form of a verb, and shows its relation to another word or part of the sentence) has two syllables, the stress is usually on the second syllable.
Examples:
present /pre-SENT/
export /ex-PORT/
aside /a-SIDE/
between /be-TWEEN/
3. Words that are both a noun and a verb
The rule: Some words in English can be both a noun and a verb. In those cases, the noun has its word stress on the first syllable, and with the verb, the stress falls on the second syllable.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll see that this rule is a derivation from the prior two sections and notice some of the same words. However, this is a separate section since those pairs of words are relatively common in English and they’re likely to cause misunderstanding due to the same spelling.
Examples:
present /PRE-sent/ (a gift) vs. present /pre-SENT/ (give something formally)
export /EX-port/ (the practice or business of selling goods to another country or an article that is exported) vs. export /ex-PORT/ (to sell goods to another country)
suspect /SU-spect/ (someone who the police believe may have committed a crime) vs suspect /su-SPECT/ (to believe that something is true, especially something bad)
There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For example, the word “respect” has a stress on the second syllable both when it’s a verb and a noun.
4. Three syllable words ending in “er” and “ly”
The rule: Words that have three syllables and end in “-er” or “-ly” often have a stress on the first syllable.
Examples:
orderly /OR-der-ly/
quietly /QUI-et-ly/
manager /MA-na-ger/
5. Words ending in “ic,” “sion” and “tion”
The rule: When a word ends in “ic,” “sion” or “tion,” the stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable. You count syllables backwards and put a stress on the second one from the end.
Examples:
creation /cre-A-tion/
commission /com-MI-ssion/
photographic /pho-to-GRA-phic/
6. Words ending in “cy,” “ty,” “phy,” “gy” and “al”
The rule: When a word ends in “cy,” “ty,” “phy,” “gy” and “al,” the stress is often on the third to last syllable. Similarly, you count syllables backwards and put a stress on the third one from the end.
Examples:
democracy /de-MO-cra-cy/
photography /pho-TO-gra-phy/
logical /LO-gi-cal/
commodity /com-MO-di-ty/
psychology /psy-CHO-lo-gy/
7. Compound nouns
The rule: In most compound nouns (a noun made up of two or more existing words), the word stress is on the first noun.
Examples:
football /FOOT-ball/
keyboard /KEY-board/
8. Compound adjectives and verbs
The rule: In most compound adjectives (a single adjective made of more than one word and often linked with a hyphen) and compound verbs (a multi-word verb that functions as a single verb), the stress is on the second word.
Examples:
old-fashioned /old-FA-shioned/
understand /un-der–STAND/
Resources to Perfect Your Word Stress Skills
Here are some resources to learn about this important factor of English pronunciation:
- Forvo — Forvo is definitely one of the more popular audio dictionaries on the market. Translations are provided if you type in a word in English, and a map is shown to give you audio clips of how people say the particular word in varying dialects. For your convenience, we’ve linked the words in the guide to this resource so you’ll be able to hear the pronunciation immediately.
- Merriam-Webster — Merriam-Webster is a well-known dictionary and has high-quality definitions—all available offline. It lets you save favorites, has a word of the day and keeps track of recent searches you did. It’s also available as an app on both iOS and Android devices. Other dictionaries with pronunciation citations you can check out are MacMillan and Cambridge.
- FluentU — FluentU is a language learning website and app that teaches with videos made by, and for, native English speakers. This means you can learn and get used to the sounds of the language in context. Each clip comes with interactive subtitles where you can click on a word to get its definition as well as information on pronunciation. You can also practice writing and speaking vocabulary with personalized quizzes.
- English Club — English Club is a popular site for both English learners and teachers. It provides grammar lessons in small, easy-to-understand parts. There are also fun quizzes and games so you can practice the knowledge you learn. It’s entirely free. You can also find more word stress quizzes and exercises from Word Stress Rules and esl-lounge.
Constant practice will improve your stress pronunciation quickly and effectively! Soon, you can confidently apply what you learned to real conversations and sound like a true native speaker.
Mastering the subject of word stress isn’t easy, as there are many rules and exceptions. While native speakers do it naturally, English learners have to get there through a lot of practice and repetition.
These eight English speaking and word stress rules in this guide might seem a bit overwhelming but they work as references. Next time you hear a word or look something up in a dictionary, come back to these rules.
Make it a habit to be more aware of what you learn and soon you’ll perfect your pronunciation.
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
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 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.
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 desert |
record present suspect desert |
The bank recorded a new He They’re The The |
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
‘goldfish
‘strong-box |
‘black
‘black
‘gold ‘strong |
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
She’s a
Where’s There |
He
She
Can I
,Hold I’ll |
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
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.