Word syllable stressed out

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

Stressed syllables

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

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

• PHOtograph,
• phoTOgrapher,
• photoGRAPHic

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

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

Top 5 simplest rules 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3-miss – meaning ‘wrong, wrong

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

4-pre – meaning ‘before, earlier

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

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

national ‘ national ‘ – ‘ inter’national ‘international

6-ex- with the meaning ‘ex, ex’ 

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

7-ultra- meaning ‘ultra, over

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phrasal /sentence stress 

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

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

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

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

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

1-In full negative forms, 

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

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

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

3-Demonstrative pronouns 

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

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

4-Prepositions

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

5-Regardless of the stress / non-stress,

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

6-The indefinite pronoun some 

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

7-In the final position in the phrase,

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

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

8-The adverb 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10-Words with two equal accents

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

11-Compound adjectives with two equal accents: `

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

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

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

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

A syllable is a unit of speech which is single and has a sound. It may have a vowel sound or one or more consonants before or after it. For example, ‘if’ is a mono-syllabic word. A mono-syllabic word is a word containing one syllable. On the other hand, a poly-syllabic word is a word containing more than one syllable, for example, ‘under’. In poly-syllabic words, a syllable is stressed, meaning it sounds more prominent than the other syllable in word. 

For example, in the word ‘beheaded’, ‘head’ is the stressed syllable, whereas ‘be’ and ‘ded’ remain unstressed. There is a change in the pitch of voice while saying the stressed syllable out loud. Therefore, a stressed syllable is the syllable which has more emphasis than the other syllables in a word. And, an unstressed syllable is the syllable which we don’t emphasize. So, let’s take a look at the stressed and unstressed syllables in words with their examples.

Almost all poly-syllabic words have a stressed syllable in them. You can find them out by noticing the syllable which has been emphasized in the word.

ahead	amended	radiator	abbreviated	authoritarian
wonderful	although	genius	incredibly	frustrating
appreciate	implicit	explain	allege	emphatic
demonstrable	cause	because	invoke	hoodwink
acoustic	confront	confirm	recite	devout
exploit	beauty	beautiful	deactivate	accuse

Words have different stressed syllables. It can be the first syllable, the second syllable, any syllable in the middle, or the final syllable. So, here is a list of examples according to the stressed syllable.

1. Words with the Stress on First Syllable

Here are examples of words where we put stress on the first syllable to correctly pronounce them.

government	question	office	power	money
family	country	service	area	order
council	interest	person	problem	body
father	management	morning	century	air
language	union	paper	quality	cost
girl	future	movement	city	action
issue	manager	capital	table	moment
chairman	basis	record	other	series
chapter	music	theory	structure	reason
practice	president	study	section	subject
own	local	second	possible	major
certain	likely	special	little	national
large	public	difficult	old	social
right	only	able	open	human
personal	middle	early	real	long
middle	ordinary	famous	nuclear	western
soviet	regional	regular	powerful	technical
very	suitable	quiet	ancient	busy
corporate	yellow	valuable	friendly	sensitive
crucial	roman	communist	massive	comfortable

2. Words with Stress on Second Syllable

Following is the list of words where stress is put on the second syllable to pronounce it.

society	idea	experience	decision	approach
police	community	support	result	account
production	example	control	position	committee
research	effect	report	authority	award
computer	security	success	performance	agreement
material	design	activity	technology	employment
commission	division	provision	discussion	protection
proportion	construction	procedure	assembly	debate
opinion	curriculum	description	consumer	republic
impression	location	comparison	resistance	foundation
mistake	alternative	inquiry	priority	defendant
awareness	regime	intelligence	convention	minority
command	consent	abuse	requirement	defendant
identity	recovery	efficiency	liability	request
initiative	career	expression	supply	existence
review	attack	advantage	solution	relief
complexity	diagnosis	divorce	pursuit	tribunal
portfolio	adviser	receiver	repair	integrity
adventure	attraction	exclusion	embarrassment	apartment
imprisonment	criterion	compliance	morality	humanity

3. Words with Stress on Third Syllable

volunteer	contradict	override	overlap	overthrow
disregard	underpin	underlie	disappoint	overrun
intercept	overwhelm	disapprove	recollect	overdo
engineer	disentangle	overflow	discontinue	apprehend
resurrect	contravene	supersede	rehabilitate	intersect
disillusion	referee	overhaul	disconnect	acquiesce
disobey	coalesce	disbelieve	intermediate	overshadow
overpower	disengage	decompose	disembark	overstate
subdivide	re-evaluate	disallow	recapitulate	reminisce
overheat	overstep	disassociate	reconnoitre	interbreed
recompense	disavow	realign	disembodied	overwork
convalesce	overlie	interpose	disinfect	circumnavigate
excommunicate	deconstruct	decontrol	interject	disconcert
institutionalize	appertain	condescend	disambiguate	interweave
proposition	disrespect	disabuse	dispossess	operationalize
disenfranchise	dislocate	equilibrate	countermand	barricade
dehydrate	overeat	overweening	overhang	deselect
decompress	satiate	disassemble	silhouette	overwear
mountaineer	overuse	overbear	disinter	intermeddle
dematerialize	souvenir	misconceive	reassume	decontrolled

So, these were the stressed syllable example words. There are tonnes of words with stress in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth syllable and so on. It is quite easy to identify once you pay attention to it.

Stressing the right part of a syllable is a way to bring attention to the word.

Unstressed Syllable Words List

As mentioned earlier, an unstressed syllable is the syllable which is not emphasized in the word. In poly-syllabic words, except the stressed syllable, all remaining syllables of a certain words are unstressed. But we can’t stress mono-syllabic words. We can only stress a syllable when it is more than one. A word basically has one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables. So, let’s take a look at some unstressed syllable words.

bit	bite	Black	blade	blame
bland	blank	bleak	blind	block
blond	blood	blow	blue	blunt
board	boast	boat	boil	bold
bomb	Bond	bone	Book	boom
boost	boot	check	cheek	cheer
cheese	cheque	chest	chief	child
chip	choice	choose	church	cite
claim	clash	class	clause	Clay
clean	clear	clerk	cliff	climb
cling	clock	close	cloth	cloud
club	clue	dish	disk	DNA
DO	dock	dog	door	dose
doubt	dour	Down	drab	draft
drain	draw	dream	dress	drift
drink	drive	drop	drown	drug
drunk	dry	duck	duke	dull
dumb	dump	dust	ear	earl
earn	Earth	ease	gain	game
gang	gap	gas	gasp	gate
gaunt	gay	gaze	gear	gene
get	ghost	gift	girl	give
glad	glance	glass	go	goal
God	gold	golf	good	grab
grade	grain	grand	Grant	grasp
Grass	grave	great	Green	greet
Grey	grim	grin	grip	gross
ground	group	grow	Key	kick
Kid	kill	kind	King	kiss
kit	knee	knife	knit	knock
know	lack	lad	lake	lame
lamp	Land	lane	large	last
late	laugh	launch	law	lay
lead	leaf	league	lean	leap
learn	lease	leave	left	leg
lend	length	let	Lie	life
Light	like	limp	line	link
lip	list	live	mud	mum
myth	nail	name	near	neat
neck	need	nerve	nest	net
New	Nice	Night	No	nod
noise	norm	nose	note	nude
numb	nurse	posh	Post	pot
Pound	pour	praise	pray	press
Price	pride	priest	prince	print
prize	prompt	proof	proud	prove
pub	pull	pure	push	put
quaint	queen	queer	quick	quote
race	raid	rail	rain	raise
range	rank	rape	rare	rat
rate	roast	Rock	rod	role
roll	roof	room	root	rope
rose	rough	round	route	row
rub	rude	rule	run	Rush
sack	sad	safe	sail	sake
SALT	Sand	sane	save	say
scale	scan	scant	scarce	scene
scheme	school	scope	score	scratch
scream	screen	sea	SEAL	search
seat	see	seed	seek	seem
seize	self	sell	send	sense
serve	set	sex	shade	shake
shame	shape	share	shed	sheep
sheer	sheet	shelf	shell	shift
shine	ship	shirt	shit	shock
shoe	shoot	shop	shore	short
shot	shout	show	shrewd	shrill
shrug	shut	shy	sick	side
sigh	sight	sign	silk	Sin
sing	sink	Sir	sit	site
size	skill	skin	skirt	sky
slack	slam	sleek	sleep	slick
slide	slight	slim	slip	slope
slow	small	smart	smash	smell
smile	smoke	smooth	smug	snap
snide	Snow	snug	soft	soil
sole	solve	Son	Song	sore
sort	soul	sound	sour	source
South	soy	space	spare	sparse
speak	speech	speed	spell	spend
sphere	spill	spin	Split	spoil
spoilt	sport	spot	spread	spring
squad	square	squeeze	staff	stage
staid	stairs	stake	stale	stance
stand	star	stare	start	State
staunch	stay	steal	steam	steel
steep	stem	step	stick	stiff
still	stir	stock	Stone	stop
store	storm	stout	straight	strain
strange	stream	street	strength	stress
stretch	strict	strike	string	strip
stroke	strong	stuff	style	suck
Sue	suit	sum	Sun	sure
swear	sweep	Sweet	Swift	swim
swing	switch	sword	tail	take
tale	talk	tall	tame	tank
tap	tape	task	taste	taut

We hope that with this extended article you would be able to get the brief of stressed and unstressed syllable words.

You can also download the following resource to quickly revise the difference between stressed and unstressed syllables.

Keep exploring EnglishBix for more quality resources on pronunciation of different words.

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.

Words are made up of letters and those letters create syllable sounds. You can recognize a syllable by remembering that each one contains a vowel sound. For example, in the word computer, there are three syllables: com / pu / ter. The word bike, however, has only one syllable. A single syllable may contain as little as just one letter, or as many as five:

idea — i / de / a (three syllables)

cough — cough (one syllable)

In words that have more than one syllable, one syllable will be stressed. In English, there are a number of word syllable stress patterns.

Counting Syllables

You can check how many syllables a word has by putting your hand under your chin and saying a word. Each time your chin moves to make a vowel sound, count a syllable. For example, the word difficult moves your chin three times. Therefore, difficult is three syllables.

Exercise

Count the number of syllables in each of these words. Answers are below.

1. house
2. jacket
3. glasses
4. encyclopedia
5. employer
6. information
7. troublemaker 
8. thought 
9. happy
10. incoherent

Answers

1. 1 (house)
2. 2 (ja / ket)
3. 2 (gla / sses)
4. 6 (en / cy / clo / pe / di / a)
5. 3 (em / ploy / er)
6. 4 (in / for / ma / tion)
7. 4 (trou / ble /ma / ker)
8. 1 (thought)
9. 2 (ha / ppy)
10. 4 (in / co / her / ent)

Word Syllable Stress

In multi-syllable words, the stress falls on one of the syllables. The other syllables tend to be spoken quickly. This leads to sounds that are not clear (muted) on unstressed syllables. In order to improve your pronunciation, focus on pronouncing the stressed syllable clearly. However, don’t be afraid to mute (not say clearly) the other unstressed vowels.

For example:

Listen to these specific examples. Notice where the syllables are stressed:

• PersonNEL
• TOtally
• InDUstrial
• ToMAto
• FanTAstic

One Syllable — Stressed

All one-syllable words have the stress on the one syllable. The intonation should go down. 

Listen to the general pattern.

• EAT
• DRINK
• SIGN
• WELL

Two-Syllable

First Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

• GIant
• PICture
• HEAting

Second Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

• toDAY
• aHEAD
• aLLOW

Three-Syllable

First Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

• ENergy
• Operate
• ORganize

Second Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

• meMORial
• aSSUMPtion
• caNAdian

Third Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

• employEE
• japanESE
• voluntEER

Four-Syllable

Second Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

• psyCHOLogy
• eVAporate
• cerTIficate

Third Syllable Stressed

Listen to the general pattern and these specific examples:

• poliTIcian
• indiVIdual
• repuTAtion

Double Vowel Sounds

It’s not the number of letters that make up a syllable, rather it is the number of single vowel sounds. Sometimes, a number of vowels combine to make just a single sound. For example:

tree = 1 sound

goal = 1 sound

because = 1 sound

Common Double Vowel Sounds

It’s important to learn spelling patterns for these sounds. Here are some of the most common:

ay — (diphthong EI sound) play, say, may

au — (long A sound) fault, launch, haunt

augh — (long A sound) caught, taught, daughter

augh — (short A sound as in «cat») laugh

ee — (long EE sound) tree, see, three

ea — (long EE sound) each, peach, teach

ea — (short E sound) dead, head, health

ea — (long EE sound) break, steak, great

eu — (long U sound) deuce, sleuth

ei — (diphthong EI sound) beil, eight, weigh

ey — (diphthong EI sound) they, grey

eigh — (diphthong EI sound) eight, freight

eigh — (long EE sound) seize

eigh — (diphthong AI sound) height

ie — (long EE sound) thief, pice

ie — (long I sound) die, tie

oo — (long U sound) moo, boo

oo — (short U sound) book, foot

oa — (long O sound) boat, moat

oe — (long O sound) hoe, Joe

oi — (diphthong OY sound) soil, toil

ou — (long O sound) soul, your

ou — (short U sound) tough, rough

ue — (long U sound) cue, muse

ui — (long U sound) fruit, juice

Schwa for Unstressed Syllables

Unstressed syllables keep the correct sound, but are muted. Sometimes, unstressed vowels become a schwa sound — like a soft uh sound.

Listen to these specific examples:

• Little
• Repeat
• Tomato

At other times, the vowel is pronounced but not stressed. Listen to these specific examples:

• Industrial
• Noisily

Generally speaking, stressed syllables retain a clear vowel sound, while unstressed syllables tend to soften towards a schwa-like sound.