Word stress in English
The six basic rules of English word stress
How to correctly place the tonic accent on multi-syllable words in English.
These
rules do not cover all the aspects of word stress in English; but they
do cover the
large majority of
plurisyllabic words in the language.
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See grammar in a new light
From
Amazon,
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See grammar in a new light
From
Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, Waterstones and good bookshopsThe six essential rules of word stress or accentuation in English.
2. The
"reasons" are either suffixes
(like -ity
or
-ion)
or prefixes
(like
con-,
dis-,
ex- or in-).
Suffixes
3.
The "-ion" rule: strong endings. This rule takes priority over all
other rules.
Well it's not quite an "iron rule", but it is the most important rule
of word stress in English. If
the
suffix
(ending) starts with the
letters i
or
u
, as with the common ending -ion,
this will determine
the position of stress in a word. [Exceptions: the endings -ist, -ism,
-ize and -ing.]Sample suffixes: -ion, -ual, -uous, -ial, -ient, -ious, -ior, -ic, -ity, etc.
The
stress comes on the syllable
before
the suffix.
Examples:
Atlantic,
comic,
sufficient,
relation, explanation,
residual.There are only a very few exceptions to this rule.
4.
Other
suffixes,
known as weak endings,
do
not
affect
the stress of a word. Sample
suffixes: -al,
-ous, -ly,
-er, -ed, -ist, -ing, -ism, -ment etc.
-al and -ary behave as strong endings when added to words ending in -ment, so we say government but governmental, parliament but parliamentary, department but departmental.
Examples:
Permanent,
permanently,
develop,
development
Special case:
adding the endings -al or -ary to words ending in -ment.
-al and -ary behave as strong endings when added to words ending in -ment, so we say government but governmental, parliament but parliamentary, department but departmental.
Prefixes
Words beginning with: a- ab- be- con- com- de- dis- e- ex- in- im- per- pre- and re, except for those whose stressed syllable is determined by rule 3 above.Unless the presence of a suffix means that rule 3 must be applied, rules 5 and 6 apply.
5.
► Prefixes in
two-syllable words
are not
normally
stressed except
in some
nouns
or
adjectives.
Two-syllable verbs starting with a prefix are almost all stressed on the second syllable.
Two-syllable nouns and adjectives starting with a prefix need to be learned individually.
This is why all such words need to be learned individually (and also why even native English speakers sometimes make mistakes! )
Two-syllable verbs starting with a prefix are almost all stressed on the second syllable.
Examples
- To address,
to become, to complete, to contrast,
to discuss, to export to improve, to present
Two-syllable nouns and adjectives starting with a prefix need to be learned individually.
Examples
-
Adjectives and nouns stressed on the prefix: Absent, complex, distant, an 'expert, a contract, a permit, a record,
Adjectives and nouns not stressed on the prefix: extreme, concise a report, an express, dismay
In many cases, such as to export / an export,
or to conflict
/ a conflict,
verb and noun are distinguished by being stressed differently. But
unfortunately this is not always the case, as in to
report / a report , to design
/ a design.Adjectives and nouns stressed on the prefix: Absent, complex, distant, an 'expert, a contract, a permit, a record,
Adjectives and nouns not stressed on the prefix: extreme, concise a report, an express, dismay
This is why all such words need to be learned individually (and also why even native English speakers sometimes make mistakes! )
6. ►
Prefixes in three-syllable words.
Prefixes are usually stressed in three-syllable nouns and adjectives,
They are not always stressed in verbs, which need to be learned individually
Examples: to indicate, indicated, to conjugate, conjugating, to complicate complicated
Prefixes are usually stressed in three-syllable nouns and adjectives,
They are not always stressed in verbs, which need to be learned individually
Examples nouns
and adjectives : Accident, confident,
decadent, exercise, infamous,
incident, permanent;
Examples verbs : to consider, to envisage but to complicate, to 'indicate
Useful
note: All
three
syllable verbs ending in -ate
are stressed on the first syllable.... and never on the ate syllable.Examples verbs : to consider, to envisage but to complicate, to 'indicate
Examples: to indicate, indicated, to conjugate, conjugating, to complicate complicated
Rule 3 takes priority over all others, notably when a "rule 3 ending" is followed by a "rule 4 ending",
Examples : perpetually, deliciously, conditional, conditioner, illusionist.
Or when a rule 3 ending is added to a two-syllable word stressed on the first syllable,
Examples : complex > complexity, contract, > contractual
The stress pattern of most four-syllable words in English will be determined by one of the rules above, often rule 3. But if no prefix or suffix rule applies, the norm is that a four syllable word will be stressed on the second syllable. This is notably the general rule with words beginning with "Greek" or "Latin" morphemes,
Examples: analysis,
anaesthetist, circumference, diameter,
ecology, geographer, parameter,
paralysis, phenomenal, philosophy,
phonology, psychiatrist,
But
take care: there are plenty of exceptions to this principle, and it is
best to check the pronunciation of any long words that do not include
recognisable prefixes or suffixes, using a good dictionary.Stress and phonetics
It is also important to remember that stress affects phonetics. While all vowels and diphthongs are heard in stressed syllables, the vowels of unstressed syllables are often weakened, as the examples have shown. By far the most common vowel sounds in unstressed syllables in English are the "schwa" (phonetic symbol [ə] ) and short i (phonetic symbol [i] ).This list
of rules is not
complete,
but it does
explain where to place the main accent in the
majority of words in English.
Generally speaking, these rules are very easy to apply. There are
however some word families where it is necessary to take care. The
classic example of this is the family of words based on the root noun nation.
The main stress will be on different syllables depending on the way the
word ends; what is important to remember, however, is that the rules
above apply in each case.nation, national, nationally,
nationalise, nationalising,
nationalist,
international
nationality
nationalistic
nationalisation
nationality
nationalistic
nationalisation
Discover two more pages about
spoken English
► Accents and dialects of English.
► The sounds of British English - phonetics
► Accents and dialects of English.
► The sounds of British English - phonetics
Test yourself
Can you situate the tonic syllable (main stress) in these words which all obey the rules?
Britain,
England, Edinburgh, region, regional, economic, to
complain, community, to refuse, considering.
Click to show answers
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