word stress

Word Stress

Characteristics of Stressed and Unstressed Syllables

Do you know the differences between stressed syllables and unstressed syllables?

Look at the following chart first.

	Loudness	Vowel Length	Vowel Clarity	Pitch
Stressed syllables	loud	long	full	high
Unstressed syllables	quiet	short	reduced	low

So, when you say a word more than one syllable, remember to make the stressed syllable louder, longer, clearer, and higher pitched.

Listening Exercise (A):

Listen to the words in each pair, and then decide whether the two words in each pair have the same stress pattern.
Choose " S " for the same or " D " for different.

e.g. You hear the words " ro man tic" and " ham bur ger,"

then you find the stress for "romantic" is on the 2nd syllable, but the stress for "hamburger" is on the 1st syllable, so you choose " D " - different.

two-syllable words		three-syllable words
1. advise compete 2. humid perform 3. discuss moral 4. critic courage 5. contain mislead	( S , D ) ( S , D ) ( S , D ) ( S , D ) ( S , D )	1. official magnify 2. referee pioneer 3. elastic optical 4. origin proficient 5. editor gratitude	( S , D ) ( S , D ) ( S , D ) ( S , D ) ( S , D

four-syllable words		five-syllable words
1. opposition necessity 2. geography calculator 3. economics politician 4. secondary competitive	( S , D) ( S , D) ( S , D) ( S , D)	1. incompatible sociology 2. technological participation 3. magnification examination 4. electricity organization	( S , D) ( S , D) ( S , D) ( S , D)

Word Stress Pattern Rules

1. Using suffixes to predict stress

(A) Stress the suffix itself:

- ee	employee refugee trainee referee
- eer	engineer career volunteer
- ese	Chinese Japanese Portuguese
- ique	unique antique technique

(B) Stress the syllable immediately before the suffix:

- ial	memorial financial artificial essential
- ual	visual unusual intellectual individual
- ian	Canadian vegetarian pedestrian politician
- sion	explosion occasion conclusion permission
- tion	definition production situation qualification
- cient	ancient sufficient efficient deficient
- cious	delicious conscious suspicious
- tious	ambitious superstitious cautious conscientious
- ic	academic energetic fantastic terrific realistic
- ity	ability necessity publicity possibility humidity
- ify	classify terrify humidify personify solidify
- logy	biology sociology anthropology psychology
- graphy	geography autobiography photography pornography
- meter	kilometer parameter speedometer thermometer

(C) Stress the second syllable before the suffix:

- ate	operate exaggerate associate integrate certificate
- ize	apologize criticize recognize computerize
- ary	secretary necessary contemporary vocabulary
- ous	dangerous mysterious spontaneous simultaneous

2. Using Parts of Speech to predict stress

(A) For certain two-syllable words used as both nouns and verbs,
stress nouns on the first syllable, and verbs on the second syllable.

       Noun            Verb                                   Example
1. record         record                  The bank recorded a new record yesterday.
2. present       present                He presented his wife with a beautiful present.
3. conduct      conduct               They're conducting a study into his conduct.
4. suspect      suspect               The suspect was suspected of robbing the bank.
5. desert         desert                  The desert is so dry that it is usually deserted.

(B) Stress compound nouns on the first part/word:

deadline classroom software typewriter policeman airplane
bus station air conditioner sports car credit card stock market Great wall

(C) Stress two-word verbs more strongly on the second word,
but for their noun equivalents, stress them on the first part.

Noun:   Here's the printout.
               She's a dropout.
               Where's the checkout counter?
               There was a holdup at the bank.
               This clearly is a setup.

Verb:   He printed it out.
               She dropped out.
               Can I check it out?
               Hold up your hand.
               I'll set up a meeting for you.

Listening Exercise (B): Word stress and Meaning

Listen to the sentences. Find which sentence in each pair you hear, and then choose the correct response.

e.g. Does Mary like history? / Does Mary like his story?

(A) Yes, that's her favorite subject.
(B) No, she's heard it hundreds of times.

If you hear the stress is on "history," you choose the answer (A).
If you hear the stress is on "story," you choose the answer (B).

1. Why doesn't he like the desert? Why doesn't he like the dessert?	(A) It's too dry. (B) It's too sweet.
2. What does he think of Europe? What does he think of your rope?	(A) It's a wonderful place to go. (B) It's not strong enough.
3. Is it elementary? Is it a lemon tree?	(A) No, it's very advanced. (B) No, it's an orange tree.
4. I like that greenhouse very much. I like that green house very much.	(A) Really? Can you see many plants there? (B) Really? I like the blue one.
5. What does "eligible" mean? What does "illegible" mean?	(A) It means qualified. (B) It means difficult to read.
6. Tom likes pineapples. Tom likes pie and apples.	(A) Yes, they are his favorite fruit. (B) Yes, he always eats them for breakfast.

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