Word Stress

Unit I.
Stress
Word stress
Prof. Oriana Gutiérrez. Departamento de Idiomas UNEFM

In this unit we’ll learn:
1. The syllable in English

2. Stress
3. Stressed and unstressed syllables
4. General word stress patterns.
5. Primary, secondary and weak stress.
6. Stress according to content and function words, affixes
and compound words
7. Sentence stress
The Syllable:
Before talking about stress, let’s first define what a syllable is:
A syllable is:
- A unit of pronunciation that has one vowel sound.
- A word part and the basic unit of English rhythm.
English words can have one (like “an” or “can”), two (“po-lice”), three (“com-
pa-ny”), four (“ne-ce-ssa-ry” ) or even more syllables.
One important thing to consider:

Syllables aren’t the same as letters.
For example, “scratch” has seven letters but one syllable;
“vegetable” looks like a four-syllable word but it’s actually a three-syllable
noun (“veg-tuh-bl”).
What is a syllable?
The Syllable:
What is stress?
Stress is:
• The degree of force with which a sound or syllable is uttered (Jones,
1972).
• The degree of loudness or intensity upon some syllable which makes it
louder and more prominent than unstressed syllables
Word stress is the emphasis we place in a specific syllable of a word

when pronouncing it.
Stress → force, emphasis, intensity

WHY IS WORD STRESS IMPORTANT?
Stress is one of the most important speech tools used by English

speakers to communicate meaning. English speakers use stress to
highlight information they think is important.
In addition, every English word with more than one syllable or word part
has a defined stress pattern.
HOW DOES IT WORK?

The English stress system is based on the contrast between stressed and
unstressed syllables, stressed and unstressed words. Stressed syllables are
longer and louder than unstressed syllables. They also have some pitch
change or movement of the voice up or down.
Stressed and unstressed syllables:
Stressed syllables are louder than the others - i.e. air comes out of our
lungs with more power; but they might also be longer, or pronounced with
higher or lower in pitch.
Syllables that are not pronounced with such emphasis are usually referred
to as unstressed syllables, and they are usually not pronounced as clearly
as the others.
WORD STRESS :
WORD STRESS MEANS A PROMINENT SYLLABLE
word pattern
tea.cher •.
beau.ti.ful •..
un.der.stand ..•
con.ti.nue .•.
Primary and secondary stress and weak syllables:
Syllables in English words don't all have the same level of loudness.
Some are loud, some are short, some are in between.
English has three levels of stress:
Primary stress: the loudest syllable in the word. Primary stress is marked
in IPA by putting a raised vertical line [ˈ] at the beginning of the syllable.
Secondary stress: syllables which aren't completely unstressed, but aren't

as loud as the primary stress. Secondary stress is marked with a lowered
vertical line [ˌ] at the beginning of the syllable. We can find them in words
with prefixes.
Unstressed or weak syllables: the syllable or syllables not stressed at all

and left unmarked. In English, almost all of these have schwa [ə] for their
vowel, though [i] will also often be unstressed.
4 general positions of English stress:
1. The fundamental rule is that stress is on the root syllable.

E.g. ‘careful, ‘kindness, be’loved, im’possible.
2. The stress tends to fall on the initial syllable.

E.g. ‘paper, ‘color, ‘family, ‘Sunday, ‘English.
4 general positions of English stress:
3. In most words of four or more syllables, the stress is placed on

the third syllable from the end.
E.g. uni’versity, ap’preciate, ‘handkerchief
4. In words of French origin the stress always appear on the final

syllable. E.g. Po’lice, ma’chine, pre’stige, bri’gade
Word Stress Rules:
1. Nouns and adjectives with two syllables:
The rule: When a noun (a word referring to a person, thing, place or abstract
quality) or an adjective (a word that gives information about a noun) has two
syllables, the stress is usually on the first syllable.
Examples:
Teacher /ˈtitʃɚ/
Feeling /ˈfilɪŋ/
confidence /ˈkɑnfɪdəns/
anyone /ˈɛniwən/
Exceptions: As usual in every language, there are exceptions to the rules.

It could be a word was borrowed from another language or it could be totally
random. You just have to learn these “outsiders” by heart:
hotel /hoʊˈtɛl/, police /pəˈlis/, exam /ɪgˈzæm/, guitar /gɪˈtɑr/

Word Stress Rules:
2. Verbs and prepositions with two syllables:
The rule:
When a verb (a word referring to an action, event or state of being) or a
preposition (a small word that comes before a noun, pronoun or the “-ing”
form of a verb, and shows its relation to another word or part of the
sentence) has two syllables, the stress is usually on the second syllable.
Examples:
Verbs:
become /bɪˈkʌm/
provide /prəˈvaɪd/
complain /kəmˈpleɪn/
Prepositions:
behind /bɪˈhaɪnd/
about /əˈbaʊt/
between /bɪˈtwin/
Word Stress Rules:
3. Words that are both a noun and a verb
The rule: Some words in English can be both a noun and a verb. In those cases,
the noun has its word stress on the first syllable, and with the verb, the stress falls
on the second syllable.
Examples:
a present /ˈprɛzənt/ (a gift) vs. to present /prez′ənt/, (give something formally)
He gave me a present.
He presented the prize.
a suspect /ˈsʌspɛkt/ (someone who the police believe may have committed a
crime) vs to suspect /sʌˈspɛkt/(to believe that something is true, especially
something bad)
The suspect was caught by the police.
They suspect him of a crime.
Exception: There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For example, the word
“respect ” /rɪˈspɛkt/ has a stress on the second syllable both when it’s a verb
and a noun.
Word Stress Rules:
4. Three syllable words ending in “er” and “ly”:
The rule: Words that have three syllables and end in suffixes“-er” or “-ly”
often have a stress on the first syllable.
Examples:
properly /ˈprɒpərli/ manager /ˈmænɪdʒɚ/
quietly /ˈkwaɪətli/ character /ˈkærɪktɚ/
5. Words ending in “ic,” “sion” and “tion”:
The rule: When a word ends in “ic,” “sion” or “tion,” the stress is usually on
the second-to-last syllable. You count syllables backwards and put a stress
on the second one from the end.
Examples:
creation /kriːˈeɪʃən/ aesthetic /esˈθet̬ .ɪk/
permission /pɚˈmɪʃən/ iconic /aɪˈkɒnɪk/

Word Stress Rules:
6. Words ending in “cy,” “ty,” “phy,” “gy” and “al”:
The rule: When a word ends in sufixes “cy,” “ty,” “phy,” “gy” and “al,” the
stress is often on the third to last syllable. Similarly, you count syllables
backwards and put a stress on the third one from the end.
Examples:
democracy /dɪˈmɑkrəsi/
photography /fəˈtɑgrəfi/
typical /ˈtɪpɪkəl/
celebrity /səˈlɛbrɪti/
psychology /saɪˈkɑlədʒi/
Word Stress Rules:
7. Compound nouns:
The rule: In most compound nouns (a noun made up of two or more

existing words), the word stress is on the first noun.
Examples:
classmate /ˈklæs.meɪt/
boyfriend /ˈbɔɪ.frend/
software /ˈsɑːft.wer/
8. Compound adjectives and verbs:
The rule: In most compound adjectives (a single adjective made of more

than one word and often linked with a hyphen) and compound verbs (a
multi-word verb that functions as a single verb), the stress is on the
second word.
Examples:
overestimate /ˌoʊ.vɚˈes.tə.meɪt/ well-known /ˌwel ˈnoʊn/
Understand /ʌn.dɚˈstænd/ good-looking /ˌɡʊdˈlʊk.ɪŋ/
Word Stress Rules:
9. Phrasal verbs:
The rule: in phrasal verbs (made up of a verb + a preposition) the word
stress is on the preposition.
Examples:
Turn off
Give up
Buckle up
10. Words ending in –meter:

The rule: in this type of nouns, the stress goes on the third from the last
syllable.
Examples:
Parameter
Thermometer
barometer
Distinc tive feature of stress:
 The location of stress in

English distinguishes
meaning. Two-syllable words
have different stress pattern
if they are verbs or nouns (or
adjectives).
 As verbs they are stressed on

the last syllable and as nouns
(or adjectives) on the first.
 The spelling is the same in

either case.
Let’s practice! Where is the stress?
• increase your wealth / observe an increase

• student conduct / conduct a test
• receive a permit / permit me to enter

• a schedule conflict / our schedules conflict
• progress quickly / quick progress
• produce good work / the produce section

• make a record / record a song
• sign a contract / contract him to do work
• present an award / accept a present

• protest an action / join a protest
References:
Jones, Daniel. (1972). An outline of English Phonetics. Cambridge University
Press. Cambridge.
Obediente, Enrique (2007). Fonética y Fonología. Consejo de Publicaciones

de la Universidad de Los Andes. Mérida.
The syllable:
https://thriveedservices.com/the-6-types-of-syllables/
What is word stress:

https://www.whatiselt.com/single-post/2018/08/03/what-is-word-stress
English word stress:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/english-word-stress/

Word Stress

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Word Stress

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Word Stress

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit I.

Prof. Oriana Gutiérrez. Departamento de Idiomas UNEFM

1. The syllable in English

One important thing to consider:

Word stress is the emphasis we place in a specific syllable of a word

Stress → force, emphasis, intensity

Stress is one of the most important speech tools used by English

HOW DOES IT WORK?

WORD STRESS MEANS A PROMINENT SYLLABLE

Secondary stress: syllables which aren't completely unstressed, but aren't

Unstressed or weak syllables: the syllable or syllables not stressed at all

1. The fundamental rule is that stress is on the root syllable.

2. The stress tends to fall on the initial syllable.

3. In most words of four or more syllables, the stress is placed on

4. In words of French origin the stress always appear on the final

Exceptions: As usual in every language, there are exceptions to the rules.

hotel /hoʊˈtɛl/, police /pəˈlis/, exam /ɪgˈzæm/, guitar /gɪˈtɑr/

quietly /ˈkwaɪətli/ character /ˈkærɪktɚ/

5. Words ending in “ic,” “sion” and “tion”:

permission /pɚˈmɪʃən/ iconic /aɪˈkɒnɪk/

The rule: In most compound nouns (a noun made up of two or more

8. Compound adjectives and verbs:

The rule: In most compound adjectives (a single adjective made of more

10. Words ending in –meter:

 The location of stress in

 As verbs they are stressed on

 The spelling is the same in

• increase your wealth / observe an increase

• receive a permit / permit me to enter

• produce good work / the produce section

• present an award / accept a present

Obediente, Enrique (2007). Fonética y Fonología. Consejo de Publicaciones

What is word stress:

English word stress:

You might also like