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Word stress

By Will SalisburyUpdated

Word stress is the syllable of a word that you say with more force: it is longer, louder, higher in pitch and has a clearer vowel. Every English word of two or more syllables has one main stress, for example eCONomy. The position follows patterns you can learn.

1 · Read the problems2 · One lesson a day3 · Review your mistakes4 · Go round again

1 · Pronunciation

Hear it, see it, say it

IELTS tip. In the Speaking test, wrong stress 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.

How to make it

  1. Say the strong syllable longer, louder and a little higher in pitch.
  2. Open your mouth and make the vowel clear in the strong syllable.
  3. Say the weak syllables quickly and quietly, with a relaxed schwa /ə/.
  4. Tap once on the strong syllable to feel the beat: pho-TOG-ra-pher.

Say it after me

photograph (stress on PHO)
photographer (stress on TOG)
economy (stress on CON)
economic (stress on NOM)
decide (stress on CIDE)
decision (stress on CI)

economy, photograph, photographer, decision, develop, education, engineer, technique

Quick answers

What are the basic word stress rules in English?

Two-syllable nouns usually take first-syllable stress 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 vowel is often reduced to the schwa /ə/.

Read the full lesson: Word stress