Word Stress 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 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