Word stress in long words

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.

Word stress is the specific stressed syllable in the pronunciation of a particular word.

A great number of words in English only have one syllable (for example go, eat, wait, eight, house, prince, friends, thieves, straight, etc.). In these cases the stress can only be located in that syllable.

In longer words the stress can lie in any syllable:

• First syllable: doctor; handicap; testimony; capitalism;
• Second syllable: alone; important; comparison; sophisticated;
• Third syllable: understand; controversial; university;
• Fourth syllable: configuration; experimental; responsibility

While on the subject, as in all aspects of language, a constantly-evolving mode of communication among human beings, the stress on words can also shift over time.^[1]

IPA symbol[edit | edit source]

In IPA the primary stress is marked with a small raised vertical line preceding the stressed syllable: doctor /ˈdɒktər/, hotel /həʊˈtel/, experience /ɪkˈspɪərɪəns/, professional /prəˈfeʃənəl/.

Secondary stress[edit | edit source]

Long words may have an extra stress, the second most stressed syllable in the word.

The secondary stress is marked with a small lowered vertical line preceding the stressed syllable: information /ˌɪnfərˈmeɪʃən/, understand /ˌʌndərˈstænd/, represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/.

Words with secondary stress are pronounced as if they were two different words, and one of them has the primary stress: infor-mation, under-stand, repre-sent. If a word has two secondary stresses it is pronounced as three small words: onomatopoeia /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/ ono-mato-poeia; heterosexuality /ˌhetərəˌsekʃuːˈælətiː/ hetero-sexu-ality.

Some general rules[edit | edit source]

	First syllable	Second syllable
Nouns	coffee — expert — water	canal — hotel
Verbs	argue — follow	agree — complain — regret

Nouns, etc.[edit | edit source]

What is said here about nouns is also valid for other parts of speech, except verbs.

Two syllables[edit | edit source]

• Two-syllable nouns often, but not always, have the stress on the first syllable:

Nouns: coffee — country — effort — engine — exit — expert — export — increase — level — morning — number — people — pepper — problem — record — rescue — second — sentence — system — water

Other parts of speech: after — any — central — little — many — mental — only — other — over — something — very

Exceptions:

Nouns: aˈmount — atˈtack — atˈtempt — caˈnal — conˈtrol — deˈfence — deˈmand — diˈsease — eˈclipse — efˈfect — exˈcept — exˈtinct — hoˈtel — Juˈly — maˈchine — poˈlice — reˈceipt — reˈply — reˈport — reˈsearch — reˈsult — sucˈcess — supˈport

Other parts of speech: aˈbove — aˈbout — aˈgain — aˈgainst — aˈhead — aˈlone — alˈthough — aˈmong — aˈround — aˈware — aˈway — beˈcause — beˈfore — beˈhind — beˈlow — beˈtween — eˈnough — perˈhaps — toˈday — unˈtil — uˈpon — withˈin — withˈout

Three syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the first syllable

animal — benefit — company — definite — ˈexerˌcise — family — general — gentlemen — government — handicap — recipe — secretary^BrE — yesterday

• Stress in the second syllable:

aˈnother — beˈhavior — comˈposer — Deˈcember — deˈparture — deˈtective — eˈmotion — eˈxample — exˈpensive — goˈrilla — reˈmainder

• Stress in the third syllable:

ˌafterˈnoon — ˌanyˈmore — ˌengiˈneer — ˌguaranˈtee — ˌoverˈseas — ˌrefuˈgee — ˌsevenˈteen — ˌvolunˈteer

Four or more syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the first syllable

actually — ˈmiliˌtary^AmE — necessary — ˈsecreˌtary^AmE — television

• Stress in the second syllable:

acˈtivity — exˈperience — deˈvelopment — poˈlitical — seˈcurity

• In nouns ending -isation or -ization, we stress the /eɪ/:

ˈciviˌlise – ˌciviliˈsation; ˈimprovise – improviˈsation; organise – organiˈsation; privatise – privatiˈsation;

• Stress in the third syllable:

ˌcateˈgorical — ˌcontroˈversial — ˌenterˈtainment — ˌindisˈtinguishable — ˌinforˈmation — ˌinterˈmittent — ˌreproˈducible — ˌuniˈversity

• Stress in the fourth syllable:

ˌcharacteˈristic — conˌfiguˈration — ˌetymoˈlogical — matriculate

Verbs[edit | edit source]

Two syllables[edit | edit source]

• verbs with two syllables often, but not always, have the stress on the second:

aˈgree — apˈply — arˈrive — beˈcome — beˈgin — beˈlieve — comˈpare — comˈplain — comˈply — deˈcide — deˈclare — deˈfy — deˈpend — disˈcuss — enˈjoy — exˈplain — exˈport — forˈget — imˈprove — inˈclude — inˈcrease — inˈvite — preˈpare — preˈtend — preˈvent — proˈvide — reˈceive — reˈcord — reˈfer — reˈfuse — reˈgret — reˈmain — reˈpeat — reˈply — reˈport — reˈspect — reˈsult — reˈturn — reˈveal — reˈwind — sugˈgest

Exceptions: answer — argue — cancel — center^AmE/centre^BrE — color^AmE/colour^BrE — differ — edit — enter — exit — figure — follow — happen — issue — level — limit — matter — market — offer — open — order — question — reason — silence — study — value — visit

Three syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the first syllable

benefit — evidence — dominate — educate — hesitate — indicate — influence — multiply

Many verbs ending in «-ise^BrE/-ize»: civilise/civilize — organise/organize — realise/realize — recognise/recognize

• Stress in the second syllable

conˈtinue — conˈsider — deˈvelop — reˈcover — reˈmember

• Stress in the third syllable

decomˈpose — recomˈmend — underˈstand

Four or more syllables[edit | edit source]

• Stress in the second syllable

apˈpreciate — apˈpropriate — asˈsociate — coˈmunicate — exˈperiment — iˈdentify — exˈperience — eˈvaluate

Some verbs ending in «-ise^BrE/-ize»: comˈmercialise/comˈmercialize — faˈmiliarise/faˈmiliarize — priˈoritise/priˈoritize

• Stress in the third syllable

deconˈtaminate — ˌmanuˈfacture

The letter e[edit | edit source]

There are many words which have «e» in the first syllable. In many cases if you know the stress you can predict the pronunciation and viceversa

	Stress in first syllable	Stress in second syllable
/e/	general — level — yesterday	technique
/ɪ/	pretty	belief — prepare — refuse

• Most words with the first e pronounced like /ɪ/ are stressed in the second syllable.

Nouns: belief — December — defence — demand — departure — detective — eclipse — ellipse — emotion — example — except — expensive — experience — extinct — receipt — report — research — result

Verbs: become — begin — believe — decide — declare — defy — depend — enjoy — evaluate — explain — experience — prepare — pretend — prevent — receive — recover — refer — refuse — regret — remain — remember — repeat — reply — report — respect — return — reveal — rewind

Other parts of speech: because — before — between

• When the first e is the stressed syllable, it is usually pronounced /e/:

Nouns: beggar — benefit — celery — ceremony — effort — engine — exercise — exit — expert — general — gentlemen — level — mechanism — pepper — recipe — record — rescue — second — secretary — sentence — vegetable — yesterday

Verbs: detonate — edit — educate — enter — exit — hesitate — level

Other parts of speech: central — definitely — federal — mental

This is particularly noticeable in many verbs which have the same spelling for the noun; See Heteronym.

export (v.) — export (n.); record (v.) — record (n.);

Exceptions:

First syllable

/ɪ/: England — English — pretty

/iː/: decent — detail — even — female — legal — Peter — previous — recent — region — retail — secret — sequence — vehicle

Second syllable

/iː/: replay

/e/: technique

Third syllable

/e/: celebration

Heteronyms[edit | edit source]

Many heteronyms have a difference in stress. In many cases a noun is stressed in the first syllable and a verb is stressed in the second.

Noun-verb

• ˈattribute (n.) — atˈtribute (v.); ˈcontract (n.) — conˈtract (v.); ˈexport (n.) — exˈport (v.); ˈinsult (n.) — inˈsult (v.); ˈrecord (n.) — reˈcord (v.);

Other

• aˈrithmetic (n.) — arithˈmetic (adj.); ˈinvalid (n.) — inˈvalid (adj.);

Minimal pairs[edit | edit source]

• ˈdif ˈfer — deˈfer; ˈinsight — inˈcite; ˈinsult (n.) — inˈsult (v.)

Many words that appear to be minimal pairs, with only stress as a difference, also have a vowel change. For example the noun «ˈexport» is pronounced with /e/ and the verb «exˈport» is pronounced with /ɪ/.

Variant pronunciations[edit | edit source]

Some words may be pronounced with stress in different syllables. In some cases there is a regional variation.

• address/address^AmE — adult/adult — advertisement^BrE/advertisement^AmE — composite^BrE/composite^AmE — controversy (traditional pronunciation, both ^BrE and ^AmE)/controversy (new pronunciation, peculiarly ^BrE)^[2] — kilometre/kilometre — transference^BrE/transference^AmE

This is particularly noticeable in French borrowings.

• ballet^BrE/ballet^AmE — chauffeur^BrE/chauffeur^AmE — fiancé(e)^BrE/fiancé(e)^AmE — garage^BrE/garage^AmE — lingerie^BrE/lingerie^AmE

Many words that have a secondary stress in American English don’t pronunce that vowel in British English:

• cemetery /ˈseməˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈsemətriː/^BrE
• military /ˈmɪləˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈmɪlətriː/^BrE
• ordinary /ˈɔːrdənˌeriː/^AmE — /ˈɔːrdənriː/^BrE
• secretary /ˈsekrəˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈsekrətriː/^BrE
• temporary /ˈtempəreriː/^AmE — /ˈtemprəriː/^BrE

• laboratory /ˈlæbrəˌtɔːriː/^AmE — /ləˈbɒrətriː/^BrE

In other cases the vowel is a schwa in British English.

• adversary /ˈædvərˌseriː/^AmE — /ˈædvərsəriː/^BrE
• capillary: /ˈkæpəˌleriː/^AmE — /kəˈpɪləriː/^BrE
• category /ˈkætəɡɔːriː/^AmE — /ˈkætəɡəriː/^BrE
• customary /ˈkʌstəˌmeriː/ — /ˈkʌstəməriː/^BrE
• literary /ˈlɪtəˌreriː/^AmE — /ˈlɪtərəriː/^BrE
• necessary /ˈnesəˌseriː/^AmE — /ˈnesəsəriː/
• rosemary /ˈrəʊzˌmeriː/^AmE — /ˈrəʊzməriː/^BrE

Other words don’t have a secondary accent even if they end in «ry»:

• adultery /əˈdʌltəriː/
• delivery /dɪˈlɪvəriː/

See also Varisyllabic words.

Unstressed words[edit | edit source]

Main article: Weak form

Many common words can be unstressed in a sentence. For example, «ˌI can ˈswim» has stresses in «I» and in «swim». In «ˌYes, ˌI ˈcan» all words are stressed.

Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1[edit | edit source]

Preconceived ideas and other interferences from L1 obviously interfere in many cases with how students perceive — and pronounce — sounds/words in English. The following sections aims to point out some of the most typical difficulties teachers and students may encounter regarding pronunciation.

Spanish[edit | edit source]

Many Spanish speakers think that all English words are stressed in the first syllable, and they pronounce *canal, *hotel, *perhaps, *between, or *preliminary. Even the word cartel is pronounced “cártel» by many people when speaking Spanish.^[3]

References[edit | edit source]

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.

Word stress is the specific stressed syllable in the pronunciation of a particular word.

A great number of words in English only have one syllable (for example go, eat, wait, eight, house, prince, friends, thieves, straight, etc.). In these cases the stress can only be located in that syllable.

In longer words the stress can lie in any syllable:

• First syllable: doctor; handicap; testimony; capitalism;
• Second syllable: alone; important; comparison; sophisticated;
• Third syllable: understand; controversial; university;
• Fourth syllable: configuration; experimental; responsibility

While on the subject, as in all aspects of language, a constantly-evolving mode of communication among human beings, the stress on words can also shift over time.^[1]

IPA symbol[]

IPA vowels

æ	ɑː
trap	father — start
e	eɪ	eə
dress	face	square
ɪ	iː	ɪə
kit	fleece	near
ɒ	əʊ	ɔː
lot	goat	taught
ʊ	uː	ʊə
foot	goose	mature
	juː	jʊə
cute	cure
ʌ	ə	ɜː
strut	comma	nurse
aɪ	aʊ	ɔɪ
price	mouth	choice

IPA consonants

Normal sound: /b, d, f, g, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, z/
ʃ	tʃ	ŋ
show	church	sing
ʒ	dʒ	j
usual	judge	you
θ	ð	s
think	that	see

IPA	Stress
ˈ	Primary stress hotel /həʊˈtel/
ˌ	Secondary stress understand /ˌʌndərˈstænd/

IPA	Syllabification
.	nitrate /ˈnaɪ.treɪt/, night-rate /ˈnaɪt.reɪt/

In IPA the primary stress is marked with a small raised vertical line preceding the stressed syllable: doctor /ˈdɒktər/, hotel /həʊˈtel/, experience /ɪkˈspɪərɪəns/, professional /prəˈfeʃənəl/.

Secondary stress[]

Long words may have an extra stress, the second most stressed syllable in the word.

The secondary stress is marked with a small lowered vertical line preceding the stressed syllable: information /ˌɪnfərˈmeɪʃən/, understand /ˌʌndərˈstænd/, represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/.

Words with secondary stress are pronounced as if they were two different words, and one of them has the primary stress: infor-mation, under-stand, repre-sent. If a word has two secondary stresses it is pronounced as three small words: onomatopoeia /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə/ ono-mato-poeia; heterosexuality /ˌhetərəˌsekʃuːˈælətiː/ hetero-sexu-ality.

Some general rules[]

	First syllable	Second syllable
Nouns	coffee — expert — water	canal — hotel
Verbs	argue — follow	agree — complain — regret

Nouns, etc.[]

What is said here about nouns is also valid for other parts of speech, except verbs.

Two syllables[]

• Two-syllable nouns often, but not always, have the stress on the first syllable:

Nouns: coffee — country — effort — engine — exit — expert — export — increase — level — morning — number — people — pepper — problem — record — rescue — second — sentence — system — water

Other parts of speech: after — any — central — little — many — mental — only — other — over — something — very

Exceptions:

Nouns: aˈmount — atˈtack — atˈtempt — caˈnal — conˈtrol — deˈfence — deˈmand — diˈsease — eˈclipse — efˈfect — exˈcept — exˈtinct — hoˈtel — Juˈly — maˈchine — poˈlice — reˈceipt — reˈply — reˈport — reˈsearch — reˈsult — sucˈcess — supˈport

Other parts of speech: aˈbove — aˈbout — aˈgain — aˈgainst — aˈhead — aˈlone — alˈthough — aˈmong — aˈround — aˈware — aˈway — beˈcause — beˈfore — beˈhind — beˈlow — beˈtween — eˈnough — perˈhaps — toˈday — unˈtil — uˈpon — withˈin — withˈout

Three syllables[]

• Stress in the first syllable

ˈanimal — ˈbenefit — ˈcompany — ˈdefinite — ˈexerˌcise — ˈfamily — ˈgeneral — ˈgentlemen — ˈgovernment — ˈhandicap — ˈpresident — ˈrecipe — ˈsecretary^BrE — ˈyesterday

• Stress in the second syllable:

aˈnother — beˈhavior — comˈposer — Deˈcember — deˈparture — deˈtective — eˈmotion — eˈxample — exˈpensive — goˈrilla — imˈportant — reˈmainder

• Stress in the third syllable:

ˌafterˈnoon — ˌanyˈmore — ˌengiˈneer — ˌguaranˈtee — ˌoverˈseas — ˌrefuˈgee — ˌsevenˈteen — ˌvolunˈteer

Four or more syllables[]

• Stress in the first syllable

ˈactually — ˈmiliˌtary^AmE — ˈnecessary — ˈˈsecreˌtary^AmE — ˈtelevision

• Stress in the second syllable:

acˈtivity — exˈperience — deˈvelopment — poˈlitical — seˈcurity

• In nouns ending -isation or -ization, we stress the /eɪ/:

ˈciviˌlize – ˌciviliˈzation; ˈimproˌvise – improviˈsation; orgaˌnize – organiˈzation; privaˌtize – privatiˈzation;

• Stress in the third syllable:

ˌcateˈgorical — ˌcontroˈversial — ˌenterˈtainment — ˌindisˈtinguishable — ˌinforˈmation — ˌinterˈmittent — ˌreproˈducible — ˌuniˈversity

• Stress in the fourth syllable:

ˌcharacteˈristic — conˌfiguˈration — ˌetymoˈlogical — exˌperiˈmental — reˌsponsiˈbility

Verbs[]

Two syllables[]

• verbs with two syllables often, but not always, have the stress on the second:

aˈgree — apˈply — arˈrive — beˈcome — beˈgin — beˈlieve — comˈpare — comˈplain — comˈply — deˈcide — deˈclare — deˈfy — deˈpend — disˈcuss — enˈjoy — exˈplain — exˈport — forˈget — imˈprove — inˈclude — inˈcrease — inˈvite — preˈpare — preˈtend — preˈvent — proˈvide — reˈceive — reˈcord — reˈfer — reˈfuse — reˈgret — reˈmain — reˈpeat — reˈply — reˈport — reˈspect — reˈsult — reˈturn — reˈveal — reˈwind — sugˈgest

Exceptions: answer — argue — cancel — center^AmE/centre^BrE — color^AmE/colour^BrE — differ — edit — enter — exit — figure — follow — happen — issue — level — limit — matter — market — offer — open — order — question — reason — silence — study — value — visit

Three syllables[]

• Stress in the first syllable

benefit — evidence — dominate — educate — hesitate — indicate — influence — multiply

Many verbs ending in «-ise^BrE/-ize»: civilise/civilize — organise/organize — realise/realize — recognise/recognize

• Stress in the second syllable

conˈtinue — conˈsider — deˈvelop — reˈcover — reˈmember

• Stress in the third syllable

decomˈpose — recomˈmend — underˈstand

Four or more syllables[]

• Stress in the second syllable

apˈpreciate — apˈpropriate — asˈsociate — coˈmunicate — exˈperiment — iˈdentify — exˈperience — eˈvaluate

Some verbs ending in «-ise^BrE/-ize»: comˈmercialise/comˈmercialize — faˈmiliarise/faˈmiliarize — priˈoritise/priˈoritize

• Stress in the third syllable

deconˈtaminate — ˌmanuˈfacture

The letter e[]

There are many words which have «e» in the first syllable. In many cases if you know the stress you can predict the pronunciation and viceversa

	Stress in first syllable	Stress in second syllable
/e/	general — level — yesterday	technique
/ɪ/	pretty	belief — prepare — refuse

• Most words with the first e pronounced like /ɪ/ are stressed in the second syllable.

Nouns: belief — December — defence — demand — departure — detective — eclipse — ellipse — emotion — example — except — expensive — experience — extinct — receipt — report — research — result

Verbs: become — begin — believe — decide — declare — defy — depend — enjoy — evaluate — explain — experience — prepare — pretend — prevent — receive — recover — refer — refuse — regret — remain — remember — repeat — reply — report — respect — return — reveal — rewind

Other parts of speech: because — before — between

• When the first e is the stressed syllable, it is usually pronounced /e/:

Nouns: beggar — benefit — celery — ceremony — effort — engine — exercise — exit — expert — general — gentlemen — level — mechanism — pepper — recipe — record — rescue — second — secretary — sentence — vegetable — yesterday

Verbs: detonate — edit — educate — enter — exit — hesitate — level

Other parts of speech: central — definitely — federal — mental

This is particularly noticeable in many verbs which have the same spelling for the noun; See Heteronym.

export (v.) — export (n.); record (v.) — record (n.);

Exceptions:

First syllable

/ɪ/: England — English — pretty

/iː/: decent — detail — even — female — legal — Peter — previous — recent — region — retail — secret — sequence — vehicle

Second syllable

/iː/: replay

/e/: technique

Third syllable

/e/: celebration

Heteronyms[]

Many heteronyms have a difference in stress. In many cases a noun is stressed in the first syllable and a verb is stressed in the second.

Noun-verb

• ˈattribute (n.) — atˈtribute (v.); ˈcontract (n.) — conˈtract (v.); ˈexport (n.) — exˈport (v.); ˈinsult (n.) — inˈsult (v.); ˈrecord (n.) — reˈcord (v.);

Other

• aˈrithmetic (n.) — arithˈmetic (adj.); ˈinvalid (n.) — inˈvalid (adj.);

Minimal pairs[]

• ˈdif ˈfer — deˈfer; ˈinsight — inˈcite; ˈinsult (n.) — inˈsult (v.)

Many words that appear to be minimal pairs, with only stress as a difference, also have a vowel change. For example the noun «ˈexport» is pronounced with /e/ and the verb «exˈport» is pronounced with /ɪ/.

Variant pronunciations[]

Some words may be pronounced with stress in different syllables. In some cases there is a regional variation.

• address/address^AmE — adult/adult — advertisement^BrE/advertisement^AmE — composite^BrE/composite^AmE — controversy (traditional pronunciation, both ^BrE and ^AmE)/controversy (new pronunciation, peculiarly ^BrE)^[2] — kilometre/kilometre — transference^BrE/transference^AmE

This is particularly noticeable in French borrowings.

• ballet^BrE/ballet^AmE — chauffeur^BrE/chauffeur^AmE — fiancé(e)^BrE/fiancé(e)^AmE — garage^BrE/garage^AmE — lingerie^BrE/lingerie^AmE

Many words that have a secondary stress in American English don’t pronunce that vowel in British English:

• cemetery /ˈseməˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈsemətriː/^BrE
• military /ˈmɪləˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈmɪlətriː/^BrE
• ordinary /ˈɔːrdənˌeriː/^AmE — /ˈɔːrdənriː/^BrE
• secretary /ˈsekrəˌteriː/^AmE — /ˈsekrətriː/^BrE
• temporary /ˈtempəreriː/^AmE — /ˈtemprəriː/^BrE

• laboratory /ˈlæbrəˌtɔːriː/^AmE — /ləˈbɒrətriː/^BrE

In other cases the vowel is a schwa in British English.

• adversary /ˈædvərˌseriː/^AmE — /ˈædvərsəriː/^BrE
• capillary: /ˈkæpəˌleriː/^AmE — /kəˈpɪləriː/^BrE
• category /ˈkætəɡɔːriː/^AmE — /ˈkætəɡəriː/^BrE
• customary /ˈkʌstəˌmeriː/ — /ˈkʌstəməriː/^BrE
• literary /ˈlɪtəˌreriː/^AmE — /ˈlɪtərəriː/^BrE
• necessary /ˈnesəˌseriː/^AmE — /ˈnesəsəriː/
• rosemary /ˈrəʊzˌmeriː/^AmE — /ˈrəʊzməriː/^BrE

Other words don’t have a secondary accent even if they end in «ry»:

• adultery /əˈdʌltəriː/
• delivery /dɪˈlɪvəriː/

See also Varisyllabic words.

Unstressed words[]

Main article: Weak form

Many common words can be unstressed in a sentence. For example, «ˌI can ˈswim» has stresses in «I» and in «swim». In «ˌYes, ˌI ˈcan» all words are stressed.

Anticipated pronunciation difficulties depending on L1[]

Spanish[]

Many Spanish speakers think that all English words are stressed in the first syllable, and they pronounce *canal, *hotel, *perhaps, *between, or *performance. Even the word cartel is pronounced «cártel» by many people when speaking Spanish.^[3]

References[]

1. ↑ David Crystal, «A pronounced change in British speech» PDF format
2. ↑ The Telegraph, The ‘conTROversy’ over changing pronunciations, 5 Feb 2011
3. ↑ Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española (DLE) cartel²

See also[]

• Different stress in similar words

Word Stress in
English

Word stress is
your magic key to understanding spoken English.  Native speakers of
English use word stress naturally.  Word stress is so natural for them that
they don’t even know they use it.  Non-native speakers who speak English to
native speakers without using word stress, encounter two problems:

1. They find it difficult to understand native speakers, especially
   those speaking fast.
2. The native speakers may find it difficult to
   understand them.

To understand
word stress, it helps to understand syllables.  Every word is made from
syllables.  Each word has one, two, three or more syllables.

word	number of syllables
dog	dog	1
green	green	1
quite	quite	1
quiet	qui-et	2
orange	or-ange	2
table	ta-ble	2
expensive	ex-pen-sive	3
interesting	in-ter-est-ing	4
realistic	re-al-is-tic	4
unexceptional	un-ex-cep-tion-al	5

Notice that (with
a few rare exceptions) every syllable contains at least one vowel (a, e,
i, o or u) or vowel sound.

What is Word Stress?

In English, we
do not say each syllable with the same force or strength.  In one word, we
accentuate ONE syllable.  We say one syllable very loudly (big,
strong, important) and all the other syllables very quietly.

Let’s take 3
words: photograph, photographer and photographic.  Do they
sound the same when spoken?  No.  Because we accentuate (stress) ONE syllable
in each word.  And it is not always the same syllable.  So the shape of
each word is different.

	shape	total syllables	stressed syllable
PHO TO GRAPH		3	#1
PHO TO GRAPH ER		4	#2
PHO TO GRAPH IC		4	#3

This happens in
ALL words with 2 or more syllables: TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion,
INteresting, imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera, etCETera, etCETera

The syllables
that are not stressed are weak or small or quiet. 
Native speakers of English listen for the STRESSED syllables, not the weak
syllables.  If you use word stress in your speech, you will instantly and
automatically improve your pronunciation and your comprehension.

Try to hear the
stress in individual words each time you listen to English — on the radio, or
in films for example.  Your first step is to HEAR and recognise it.  After
that, you can USE it!

There are two
very important rules about word stress:

1. One word, one stress.  (One word cannot have two stresses. 
   So if you hear two stresses, you have heard two words, not one word.)
2. The stress is always on a vowel.

 

Why is Word Stress Important?

Word stress is
not used in all languages.  Some languages, Japanese or French for example,
pronounce each syllable with eq-ual em-pha-sis.  Other languages, English for
example, use word stress.

Word stress is
not an optional extra that you can add to the English language if you want.  It
is part of the language!  English speakers use word stress to
communicate rapidly and accurately, even in difficult conditions.  If, for
example, you do not hear a word clearly, you can still understand the word
because of the position of the stress.

Think again
about the two words photograph and photographer.  Now imagine
that you are speaking to somebody by telephone over a very bad line.  You
cannot hear clearly.  In fact, you hear only the first two syllables of one of
these words, photo…  Which word is it, photograph or photographer?  Of
course, with word stress you will know immediately which word it is because in
reality you will hear either PHOto… or phoTO…  So without hearing the whole
word, you probably know what the word is ( PHOto…graph or phoTO…grapher).  It’s magic!  (Of course, you
also have the ‘context’ of your conversation to help you.)

This is a simple
example of how word stress helps us understand English.  There are many, many
other examples, because we use word stress all the time, without thinking about
it.

Where do I Put Word Stress?

There are some
rules about which syllable to stress.  But…the rules are rather complicated! 
Probably the best way to learn is from experience.  Listen carefully to spoken
English and try to develop a feeling for the «music» of the language.

When you learn a
new word, you should also learn its stress pattern.  If you keep a vocabulary
book, make a note to show which syllable is stressed.  If you do not know, you
can look in a dictionary.  All dictionaries give the phonetic spelling of a
word.  This is where they show which syllable is stressed, usually with an
apostrophe (‘) just before or just after the stressed syllable. 
(The notes at the front of the dictionary will explain the system used.)  Look
at (and listen to) this example for the word plastic. There are 2 syllables.
Syllable #1 is stressed.

example	phonetic spelling: dictionary A	phonetic spelling: dictionary B
PLAS TIC
/plæs’tIk/	/’plæs tIk/

 

Rules of Word Stress in English

There are two
very simple rules about word stress:

1. 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.)
2. 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.

1 
Stress on first syllable

rule	example
Most 2-syllable nouns	PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble
Most 2-syllable adjectives	PRESent, SLENder, CLEVer, HAPpy

2 
Stress on last syllable

rule	example
Most 2-syllable verbs	to preSENT, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN

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.

3 
Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end)

rule	example
Words ending in -ic	GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic
Words ending in -sion and -tion	teleVIsion, reveLAtion

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.

4 
Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end)

rule	example
Words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy	deMOcracy, dependaBIlity, phoTOgraphy, geOLogy
Words ending in -al	CRItical, geoLOGical

5 
Compound words (words with two parts)

rule	example
For compound nouns, the stress is on the first part	BLACKbird, GREENhouse
For compound adjectives, the stress is on the second part	bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned
For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part	to underSTAND, to overFLOW



Most non-native speakers think that their accent will improve when they work on their pronunciation.

And they’re right. Well, sort of. ?

For most people, pronunciation means the articulation of sounds.

By articulation of sounds, I mean the way you move your lips, your mouth, your tongue, and your jaw.

While these elements are important, they’re not as essential as word stress.

Word stress is when we make one syllable of a word longer, louder and higher in pitch.

(This is why word stress is sometimes called syllable stress. We’re talking about which syllables in a word to stress.)

When we use the word “stress,” we mean emphasize. Like I said, word stress is when we make one syllable of a word longer, louder and higher in pitch.

As a quick reminder, a syllable is one beat of a word. When we stress a syllable, we make the vowel sound in the syllable clear and easy to understand.

The reason that syllable stress is so important for clear English pronunciation is that native English speakers are expecting to hear this syllable stressed correctly.

If you don’t correctly stress a word, a native English speaker may hear that it doesn’t sound quite right, but they probably wouldn’t be able to tell you why.

When you stress the wrong syllable, the word sounds off.

If you’ve ever noticed that a native English speaker didn’t understand you, it may not actually be your pronunciation of the word.

Instead, it may be the way you stress a word.

---

Examples of Common Words That Are Often Stressed Incorrectly

A common example is the word “hotel.” I’ve heard a lot of non-native speakers struggle to pronounce the word “hotel” the way we do in American English.

Some people make both syllables of the word “hotel” exactly the same length: ho-tel. Other people stress the first syllable of the word: HO-tel.

As you can hear in the video, when you don’t stress either syllable or you stress the wrong syllable, the word sounds a little strange in American English.

We pronounce the word with stress on the second syllable:  ho-TEL.

Even if you correctly pronounce the different consonant sounds and vowels, if you’re not stressing the second syllable of the word “hotel,” it’s going to sound a little off.

Let’s look at another example: the word “university.”

Many non-native speakers have trouble with this word because they either make each syllable exactly the same length (un-i-ver-si-ty) or they pronounce the word with stress on the first syllable (U-ni-ver-si-ty.

If I hear someone say “U-niversity,” I can decipher what they’re saying if I’m listening carefully and it makes sense in the context of the sentence.

However, the word should be pronounced u-ni-VER-si-ty, u-ni-VER-si-ty.

As you can hear, when I stress the syllable “ver” – uniVERsity – it’s easier to understand the word.

Knowing exactly which syllable should receive stress in a word makes it easier to pronounce: uniVERsity.

Instead of getting overwhelmed by how long the word is, look for that stressed syllable.

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Why Word Stress is Challenging: Stress-Timed Languages and Syllable-Timed Languages

In just a moment, I’ll give you more examples of word stress in words of different lengths. I’ll also tell you how to identify which syllable should be stressed using your favorite dictionary.

But first, I want to talk about why word stress is so challenging for many non-native speakers.

Many non-native speakers struggle with word stress in English because the rhythm of their native language is a little bit different.

Some languages are what we call syllable-timed languages. This means that each syllable is more or less the same length. The rhythm of the language is measured by the syllables.

On the other hand, English is what we call a stress-timed language. The rhythm of English comes from stressed syllables. The beats are between stressed syllables.

You may be struggling with word stress because you haven’t thought about these lengthened syllables or you may need to adjust to the rhythm of English.

(If you’re interested in learning more about isochrony and the rhythm of different English accents and dialects, this article is really interesting.)

It can take some time to get used to hearing the different rhythm that comes from a syllable that is longer, louder and higher in pitch, especially if you’ve been speaking your native language for decades and you’re used to hearing each syllable be more or less the same length.

This is why it can take some work to start stressing words correctly in English.

However, it is well worth the effort!

You’ll find when you put more attention on word stress, you’re going to be more easily understood by native English speakers.

Improving your word stress requires you to unlearn the habits you’ve picked up from your native language and re-learn the habits of English.

To be honest, it can feel a little awkward to hold the syllable a little longer than you’re used to. You may feel like it’s really obvious and you may feel uncomfortable.

You may also feel a little silly making your pitch go up and down, or maybe you’re not used to changing up your volume in order to emphasize certain syllables.

Like I said, it’s well worth the practice if you want to speak clearly and be easily understood. You wouldn’t be here if that weren’t important to you!

---

How to Identify Word Stress Patterns in a Dictionary

In order to speak English more clearly, you need to pay more attention to word stress.

Whenever you learn a new word, be sure to identify the word stress pattern first.

Let’s talk about how you can identify word stress patterns. I’m going to show you the phonetic spelling of the two words I just gave as examples:

• hotel: /hoʊˈtɛl/
• university: /ˌjunəˈvɜrsəti/

If you’re not familiar with the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), don’t worry, you don’t need to know every single detail right now.

What I want you to pay attention to are the symbols that indicate word stress in English.

You can use any online dictionary or resource and you can even search in Google. These symbols are consistent across dictionaries.

To identify which syllable receives primary stress (the most stress), you want to look for the symbol that kind of looks like an apostrophe: ˈ.

This ˈ symbol appears at the top of the word and comes before the stressed syllable.

When you’re pronouncing a word, you want to make sure this syllable receives the most stress.

In other words, you want it to be longest, loudest, and highest in pitch.

Let’s look at another example, education: /ˌɛdʒuˈkeɪʃən/

If you’re looking carefully, you may notice a symbol that looks somewhat like a comma at the bottom of the word: ˌ.

The ˌ symbol identifies secondary stress.

This means that these syllables are still pretty clear, but they’re not as long, loud or high in pitch as the primary stressed syllable.

When you’re getting started with word stress, don’t worry too much about secondary stress.

Focusing most of your attention on primary stress will help people understand you.

As you continue to work on your accent and you continue to evolve as a non-native English speaker, you’re going to be able to add in secondary stress.

Keep in mind that not every word has secondary stress.

This is why it is just something to be aware of, but your attention should go to the syllable that receives primary stress. This is absolutely essential to correctly stressing words in English.

Native English speakers are going to be listening for the primary stressed syllable more than anything else.

Now that you know how to identify primary and secondary stress using the phonetic alphabet, let’s look at a few examples.

---

Word Stress in One Syllable Words

Let’s get started with one syllable words. In my experience, many non-native speakers rush through one syllable words.

Because they’re easier to say than those longer multi-syllable words, most people just jump over them in order to rush to the more tricky words.

But I know you’re smarter than this. I want you to pay extra attention to these one syllable words.

Of course, we do use longer words as well, but most of the words we use are simple. So you want to make sure you stress these one syllable words.

So now that I’ve convinced you to pay attention to one syllable words, let’s look at some examples.

Let’s start with the word “time” – TIME, or /taɪm/.

Many non-native speakers rush through that word, but as you can hear in the video, the word “time” is stressed.

I pronounce the word “time” by lengthening the vowel sound, making it louder, and also making it higher in pitch: TIME, TIME.

Another common example is “school” – school, or /skul/. This word is tricky for a lot of non-native speakers.

If you put extra emphasis on lengthening that vowel sound – schooooool, schooooool – and moving your mouth through all those different shapes, it’s going to be clear and easy for a native English speaker to understand: SCHOOL, SCHOOL.

Can you hear the difference?

Remember, don’t rush through those words. Make sure to make them longer, louder and higher in pitch.

---

Word Stress in Two Syllable Words

Now, let’s look at two syllable words.

First, let’s talk about the word “today” – toDAY, or /təˈdeɪ/.

As you can hear in the video, I’m emphasizing the second syllable, “day.”

That vowel sound is super clear and easy to understand. It’s longer, louder and higher in pitch: to-DAY.

Here’s another example: patient, or /ˈpeɪʃənt/.  In the word “patient,” I’m emphasizing the first syllable: PA-tient.

Even though you can still hear all the sounds in the second syllable, the first syllable is the clearest and the easiest to understand: PA-tient.

---

Word Stress in Three-Syllable Words

Let’s move on to three syllable words. Let’s talk about the word “analyze,” or /ˈænəˌlaɪz/.

As you can hear, the word “analyze” is stressed on the first syllable: AN-al-yze.

That means that the vowel sound is the clearest and the easiest to hear: AN-al-yze.

In the video, you can hear me make that first syllable longer, louder and higher in pitch.

Here is another example: attention, at-TEN-tion, or /əˈtɛnʃən/.

As you can hear, I’m stressing “ten”: at-TEN-tion.

You can hear a difference between the stressed and unstressed syllables.

---

Difference Between Primary Stress, Secondary Stress, Unstressed Syllables, and Reduced Syllables

At this point, you may be asking me, “What about the syllables that aren’t stressed? What happens to those?”

As I’ve been explaining, the vowel sounds on stressed syllables are the clearest and easiest to understand.

On vowels that receive secondary stress, they are still clear and easy to understand, but they aren’t the clearest.

They’re just a slight bit shorter, lower in volume, and lower in pitch.

When syllables are unstressed, the vowel sound is still clear, but you really don’t hear them as much.

Lastly, we even have what we call reduced syllables.

When syllables are reduced, they’re reduced to either the schwa sound – /ə/, or the “uh” sound in about – or they’re reduced to the “i” sound, /ɪ/, like in my name.

The sound of reduced syllables will vary based on regional accents and it will depend on the word.

You really have to listen carefully to which sound it’s reduced to.

But since the sounds are reduced, you don’t want to make those vowel sounds really easy to understand.

You’ll be able to hear this a little bit more when I go through the longer examples.

---

Word Stress in Four Syllable Words

Moving on, let’s talk about four syllable words. Let’s start with the word “experience,” or /ɛkˈspɪriəns/.

Can you hear which syllable is being stressed in “experience”?

As you can hear, it’s the second syllable: ex-PER-i-ence, ex-PER-i-ence.

In the word experience, the second syllable is the clearest and the easiest to hear because it’s the longest, the loudest, and the highest in pitch.

However, in the other unstressed syllables, you can still hear the vowel sounds.

They’re just not as distinct.

Next, let’s look at everyone’s favorite word, “education,” or /ˌɛdʒuˈkeɪʃən/.

As you can hear, I’m stressing the second to last syllable: e-du-CA-tion.

You can hear a clear difference: my pitch rises to the stressed syllable and then falls back down afterwards: e-du-CA-tion.

Have you noticed a relationship between the word “attention” and “education”?

If you’re listening carefully, you may notice that words that end in -tion have a particular stress pattern: at-TEN-tion, e-du-CA-tion.

The syllable before the -tion ending is stressed.

In order to continue to develop your word stress, you want to try to identify these patterns.

While there are no rules that are true a hundred percent of the time for word stress, you will be able to pick up on patterns and that will help you communicate clearly and confidently in English.

If you’re interested in working on stress patterns, the Stress Simplified program includes lots of practice so you’ll feel confident about how you’re saying words.

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Word Stress in Five Syllable Words

Last but not least, let’s talk about five syllable words. We already mentioned one: “university,” or /ˌjunəˈvɜrsəti/.

Like I said earlier, looking for the stressed syllable in these longer multi-syllable words makes them easier to pronounce: u-ni-VER-si-ty.

Here’s another common five-syllable word: “communication,” or /kəˌmjunɪˈkeɪʃən/.

You may have noticed that’s another -tion word, and that means that the syllable before -tion is stressed: com-mu-ni-CA-tion, com-mu-ni-CA-tion.

As I mentioned a moment ago, this is a pattern that you can practice.

However, you may hear some words that don’t follow this particular stress pattern.

When you identify where the stress is on these longer words, you can often figure out the pronunciation.

That’s why I encourage you to pay so much attention to word stress!

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Tune Your Ear to Hear Word Stress in Natural Speech

Even better, tune your ear to word stress.

Listen for the syllable of a word that is longest, loudest and highest in pitch. This will help you start to decipher how to pronounce it.

Of course, you can always check to be sure by looking in a dictionary!

That said, the sooner you can tune your ear to listening to this stress, the quicker you’re going to be able to pronounce words clearly.

In my opinion, stress accounts for 60 to 75 percent of your accent in English.

When you start to master word and sentence stress, you’ll start to sound even more natural.

If you’d like more guidance on word and sentence stress and thought groups, be sure to check out my Stress Simplified program.

You’ll practice with over 50 drills to tune your mouth and your ear!

On top of that, tuning your ear to word stress will help you understand native English speakers.

We stress syllables on the words that are most important.

By listening for this stress, you’re going to be able to understand what you should be listening to in order to better comprehend spoken English.

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In case you’re wondering, there *is* a difference in word stress between British and American English.

Some words are stressed the same, while others are stressed differently.

(Learn 30 words that Americans and Brits stress differently here.)

When you’re practicing word stress, be sure to practice the same accent. It will make life a lot easier!

We can understand the differences between British and American pronunciation, but you want to be consistent and choose one accent to practice when working on your word stress.

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Your Turn

Now it’s your turn! I encourage you to watch this video a few times and practice along with the examples.

It can take some time to get comfortable with the natural rhythm of English, especially if your native language uses stress differently (or it doesn’t exist at all!).

To practice, I encourage you to look up the word stress pattern for a word you find challenging.

Leave a comment below , let me know which word you’re struggling with, and emphasize which syllable should be stressed in that particular word. I’ll let you know if you’re correct!

If you have any additional questions, let me know in the comments. I’ll be making more videos on stress and intonation and I’d love to hear what you need more help with.

Want to communicate clearly and confidently? Head over to this series of videos and find YOUR voice in American English.