Nine rules of word stress Flashcards
Word stress is the emphasis placed on a syllable.
A syllable is a unit of sound in a word that usually contains a vowel sound.
cat. - /kæt/ (has one syllable and on vowel sound)
Picture. - /ˈpɪkʧər/ ( has two syllable and two vowel sounds
*** we do not stress every syllable.
**we do not stress consonants; unless they sound like vowel letter like in the Y when it sounds like:
Physical - /ˈfɪzɪkəl/
There are three ways to stress syllables in English:
- Primary stress (the loudest syllable in a word)
- Secondary stress (syllables which aren’t completely unstressed but, aren’t loud as primary stress)
- Weak or unstressed.
Primary stress
Primary stress is the emphasis placed on certain syllables in a word that makes them more prominent than other syllable.
It is indicated with an apostrophe:
- Table - /ˈteɪbəl/
- Banana. - /bəˈnænə/
Secondary stress
Secondary stress occurs in longer words and is indicated by a coma.
Academic - /,ækəˈdɛmɪk/
organization - /ˌɔrɡənɪˈzeɪʃən/
***Weak stress is where there is no stress at all on the syllable.
***The vowel will often take the sound of the schwa instead of the full vowel sound
Rule #1
Two syllable nouns have the main stress on the first syllable
Pic-ture. - /ˈpɪkʧər/
Mi-rror. - /ˈmɪrər/
Bo-ttle. - /ˈbɑtəl/
Cup-board - /’kʌbəd/
***We do not stress both vowel sounds.
Rule #2
Two syllables adjectives have the main stress on the first syllable
Prett-y - /’prɪti/
Per-fect - /ˈpɜrˌfɪkt/
Comm-on. - /ˈkɑmən/
Help-ful - /ˈhɛlpfəl/
Rule #3
Two syllable verbs have the main stress on the second syllable
pro-vide. - /prəˈvaɪd/
believe. - /bɪ’li:v/
bi-gin. - /bɪˈɡɪn/
de-cide - /ˌdɪˈsaɪd/
There are lots of two syllable verbs in English and very often the change of stress can change the word class.
The following words are examples of this:
Noun: Ex-port - /ˈɛkspɔrt/
Verb: to export - /tu ɪk’spↄːt/
Noun: import. - /ˈɪmpɔrt/
Verb: to import - /tu ɪm’pɔrt/
Noun: contract. - /ˈkɑnˌtrækt/
verb: to contract. - /tu kɑn’trækt/
***Stress can change the class and the meaning of a word too:
object. - /ˈɑbʤɛkt/
to object - /tu ɑb’ʤɛkt/
Rule #4
Words ending in IC
These words have the main stress on the syllable before the IC ending.
music. - /ˈmjuzɪk/
heroic. - /hɪˈroʊɪk/
graphic - /ˈɡræfɪk/
geographic - /ˌʤiəˈɡræfɪk/
magnet-ic. - /mæɡˈnɛtɪk/
e-lec-tric. - /ɪˈlɛktrɪk/
el-ec-tro-nic - /ɪˌlɛkˈtrɑnɪk/
Rule #5
Words endings in sion and tion
these words have the main stress on the syllable before the sion and tion endings
in-va-sion. - /ɪnˈveɪʒən/
po-llu-tion. - /pəˈluʃən/
ed-u-ca-tion - /ˌɛʤəˈkeɪʃən/
con-ver-sa-tion. - /ˌkɑnvərˈseɪʃən/
Rule #6
Words ending in CY, TY, PHY and GY
These words have the main stress on the antepenultimate syllable.
psy-chol-o-gy. - /saɪˈkɑləʤi/
Rule #7
Words ending in AL
These words have the main stress on the antepenultimate syllable.
Phy-si-cal. - /ˈfɪzɪkəl/
cri-ti-cal. - / ˈkrɪtɪkəl/
Mag-i-cal. - /ˈmæʤɪkəl/
hy-ster-i-cal. - /hɪˈstɛrɪkəl/
Rule #8
For compound nouns: the stress is on the first part.
black-bird - /’blæk-bɜrd/
book-case. - /’bʊk-keɪs/
green-house. - /’ɡrin-haʊs/
Rule #9
For compound adjectives: the main stress is on the second part.
old-fast-ioned. - /,oʊld-ˈfæʃənd/
well-known. - /,wɛl-noʊn/
When you learn a word is a good idea to learn word family.
Verb: educate - /ˈɛʤəˌkeɪt/
Noun: education - /ˌɛʤəˈkeɪʃən/
Adj: educational - /ˌɛʤəˈkeɪʃənəl/
Prefixes:
Uneducated. - /əˈnɛʤʊˌkeɪtɪd/
well-educated. - /wɛl-ˈɛʤəˌkeɪtəd/
poorly-educated. - /ˈpurli-ˈɛʤəˌkeɪtəd/
highly-educated. /ˈhaɪli-ˈɛʤəˌkeɪtəd/
