Word is the of a word that you say with more force: it is longer, louder, higher in pitch and has a clearer . Every English word of two or more syllables has one main stress, for example eCONomy. The position follows patterns you can learn.
What is word stress?
In every English word with more than one , one syllable is stronger than the others. This is the . You make it longer, louder and a little higher in pitch, and its is clear. The other syllables are short and quiet, and often use the .
Compare photograph and photographer. In photograph the strong syllable is the first: PHO-to-graph. In photographer it moves to the second: pho-TOG-ra-pher. Same letters, different , and the vowels change too.
- photograph (stress on PHO) · photographer (stress on TOG)
- economy (stress on CON) · economic (stress on NOM)
- decide (stress on CIDE) · decision (stress on CI)
Why word stress matters
Listeners recognise words by their rhythm as well as their sounds. When the is in the wrong place, the word has the wrong shape, and the listener has to work harder to know which word you mean. Research by Field (2005) found that putting stress on the wrong can make it harder for listeners to recognise the word.
This is one reason why stress is among the first things a pronunciation teacher checks. A wrong sound in one word is a small problem. A wrong stress pattern in many words changes the rhythm of the whole answer.
Basic word stress rules
English cannot be predicted perfectly, but several patterns are reliable. Use them as guides and check new words in a dictionary. Dictionaries mark the main stress with the sign ˈ before the strong .
- Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives: stress on the first syllable (TAble, HAPpy, STUdent).
- Most two-syllable verbs: stress on the second syllable (deCIDE, beGIN, reLAX). Exceptions include visit, answer and listen.
- Compound nouns: stress on the first part (TOOTHpaste, BLACKbird, HOMEwork).
- Words ending in -tion, -sion, -ic, -ical and -ity: stress on the syllable just before the ending (eduCAtion, ecoNOMic, aBILity).
- Words ending in -ee, -eer, -ese and -ique: stress on the ending itself (employEE, engiNEER, JapaNESE, techNIQUE). Common exceptions include COFfee and COMmittee.
- Words that end in -ate with three or more syllables: stress usually on the third syllable from the end (comMUnicate, EDucate).
What does not change the stress
Some endings and beginnings never move the . The endings -ing, -ed, -er, -ly, -ness, -ment and -ful keep the stress where it was in the base word. So beGIN becomes beGINning, deVELop becomes deVELopment, and CAREful keeps its first .
Prefixes such as un-, re- and dis- also usually leave the stress on the base word: unHAPpy, reTURN, disAGREE.
Stress changes the meaning
In a small group of words, the tells you the . A noun has first- stress and a verb has second-syllable stress: a REcord and to reCORD, an INcrease and to inCREASE. Moving the stress also changes the in the weak syllable. The article on homographs gives a longer list.
Long words and secondary stress
Longer words often have a second, lighter beat as well as the main one. In information, the main is on MAY, and there is a weaker beat on the first : /ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃn/. A dictionary marks the lighter beat with the sign ˌ.
The also has the clearest . Compare the first and second syllables of photograph: PHO has the full , but the second syllable, to, is the . If you know where the stress is, you also know where to reduce the vowels.
How to practise word stress
When you meet a new word, do not only learn how it looks. Learn its beat. Say it aloud, tap on the strong and say the weak syllables quickly. Use a dictionary with audio to check.
A good way to remember is to learn words in families. Say photograph, photographer and photographic together, and notice how the stress moves. Group other words by the same rule: education, information, organisation and situation all have stress just before -tion.
- Look up the stress mark ˈ in the dictionary for every new word.
- Tap the strong syllable and say the others quickly.
- Say the word in a short phrase, not alone.
- Make a personal list of ten words from your topics and mark the stress.
How to make the sound
- Say the strong longer, louder and a little higher in pitch.
- Open your mouth and make the clear in the strong syllable.
- Say the weak syllables quickly and quietly, with a relaxed .
- Tap once on the strong syllable to feel the beat: pho-TOG-ra-pher.
IELTS tip
In the Speaking test, wrong on key words such as 'economy', 'environment', 'develop' or 'important' can make you harder to follow. Check the stress of the ten most important words for your topics before the test. In Listening, knowing stress patterns also helps you catch words in a fast recording.
Frequently asked questions
What are the basic word stress rules in English?
Two- nouns usually take first-syllable and two-syllable verbs second-syllable stress. Endings such as -tion and -ic pull the stress to the syllable before them.
How can I find the stress of a word?
Look it up in a dictionary. The sign ˈ before a syllable shows the strong syllable. Many online dictionaries also have audio.
Is word stress the same as sentence stress?
No. Word stress is the strong syllable within one word. Sentence stress is which words in a sentence carry the beat, and those are usually the content words.
What happens to the weak syllables?
They become short and quiet, and their is often reduced to the .
Sources
- Field, J. (2005). Intelligibility and the listener: the role of lexical stress. TESOL Quarterly, 39(3), 399-423.
- Roach, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Cruttenden, A. (2014). Gimson's Pronunciation of English (8th ed.). Routledge.