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Stress Patterns

To communicate clearly in English, it is important to stress the correct syllables in multisyllabic words, which is called word stress. There are four general rules for word stress: 1) stress the first syllable of most two-syllable nouns and adjectives, 2) stress the last syllable of most two-syllable verbs, 3) stress the second-to-last syllable of words ending in -ic, -sion, and -tion, and 4) stress the third-from-last syllable of words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy, -gy, and -al. Mastering these simple rules will improve pronunciation over time.

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2K views1 page

Stress Patterns

To communicate clearly in English, it is important to stress the correct syllables in multisyllabic words, which is called word stress. There are four general rules for word stress: 1) stress the first syllable of most two-syllable nouns and adjectives, 2) stress the last syllable of most two-syllable verbs, 3) stress the second-to-last syllable of words ending in -ic, -sion, and -tion, and 4) stress the third-from-last syllable of words ending in -cy, -ty, -phy, -gy, and -al. Mastering these simple rules will improve pronunciation over time.

Uploaded by

Ruku Goval
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Stress Patterns

To communicate clearly when you are speaking in English, it’s important to


stress the correct syllables in each word. This is called word stress, which means
pronouncing one syllable of a multisyllabic word with greater emphasis (stress)
than the other syllables in the word. Here are four general rules to keep in mind
about word stress as you practice pronunciation:

1. Stress the first syllable of:


o Most two-syllable nouns (examples: CLImate, KNOWledge)
o Most two-syllable adjectives (examples: FLIPpant, SPAcious)

2. Stress the last syllable of:


o Most two-syllable verbs (examples: reQUIRE, deCIDE)

3. Stress the second-to-last syllable of:


o Words that end in -ic (examples: ecSTATic, geoGRAPHic)
o Words ending in -sion and -tion (examples: exTENsion, retriBUtion)

4. Stress the third-from-last syllable of:


o Words that end in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy (examples: deMOCracy,
unCERtainty, geOGraphy, radiOLogy)
o Words that end in -al (examples: exCEPtional, CRItical)

Keep these simple rules in mind and you will soon find your pronunciation
getting better and better!

Source: [Link]
your-pronunciation

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