Word stress Rule 1 The first part of

Word stress

Rule 1 The first part of a compound word is usually stressed. n Here are some examples: NOTEbook, HAIRcut, AIRport, BATHroom, LUNCHroom. n Here is a sentence: John left his NOTEbook in the LUNCHroom.

Rule 2 Stress is usually placed on the syllable that contains the root or base word. That means that word prefixes are usually NOT stressed. n Here a few examples: un. PAID, in. CLUDE, pre. DICT, re. MIND, in. VEST. n Here is a sentence: Thomas did not pre. DICT that his in. VESTments would lose value.

Rule 3 It also means that word suffixes are usually NOT stressed. n For example: SLOWly, FASTer, SPEAKing, CAREful, WORKable. n Here is a sentence: James is SPEAKing SLOWly for the students.

Exceptions to the suffix rule are English words of French origin such as: million. AIRE, volun. TEER and pictur. ESQUE. These words are stressed on the suffix itself. n Here is a sentence: Bill Gates is a million. AIRE.

Suffixes affect word stress In some words the stress or emphasis will fall on the suffix itself. This is often true when a suffix of French origin is added to English words. Here are some examples: n engin. EER, bouti. QUE, pictur. ESQUE, chauf. FUER, va. LET, Vietnam. ESE, refu. GEE

When a suffix is added to the end of a base word, the stress pattern of the word usually changes. The stress usually falls on the syllable that comes immediately before the added suffix. n Parisian n Democrat democratic n Alphabet alphabetical n Mystery mysterious n Possible possibility n Accuse accusation

n Symptom symptomatic n Alcohol alcoholic n Athlete athletic n Economy economical n Magic Atlantic identical developmental accidental n Biology ecology reality activity nationality n Japanese auctioneer pioneer trustee n Columbian Cambodian Canadian

In many English words the stress falls on the syllable just before the suffix. This pattern works with the suffixes; graphy, tion, ial, ity, & ogy. Here are some examples: n pho. TOgraphy, edu. CAtion, me. MORial, cur. IOSity, bi. OLogy

In verbs ending with the suffix "ate" the second syllable before the suffix receives the most stress. Here a few examples: n GRADuate, ap. PREciate, com. MUNicate, ar. TIculate

Stress on root or base n un. PAID- The rent was unpaid for three months. n in. CLUDE- Please include your name and address. n pre. DICT-Thomas predicts it will be sunny tomorrow. n un. ABLE- I'm unable to help you today. n re. MIND- Will you remind me to call home after class? n pre. PARE- Richard said he would prepare dinner tonight.

Prefixes NOT stressed n SLOWly-Christina walks very slowly. n FASTer- John walks faster than I do. n SPEAKing- Jean likes speaking in class. n CAREful- Please be careful walking home at night. n SMALLest- Lucy is the smallest person in the class. n DRINKable -The water in the bathroom is undrinkable!

Most two-syllable words stress the first nouns (90%) are stressed on the first syllable. Here are some examples: n MARket-Sally buys bananas at the market. n TEAcher-Mr. Williams is my computer teacher. n FRIday -We're going to the movies on Friday. n PAper- I need to buy paper for the printer. n KITchen -The kitchen is a mess! n BROther Robert's brother is very kind.

Stress Shifts Same spelling, different pronunciation n Conduct yourself properly so that your conduct will not be questioned. n It may conflict with my schedule. If it does, a conflict will arise. n When you convert from one religion to another, you are known as a convert. n Don’t desert me when we go into the desert. n I object to that ugly object being in this room. n She will present you with a present on your birthday. n The farm will produce food for the produce section of the supermarket.

n You need a permit to park here. n Please permit me to part here. n That sounds like an insult. n Don’t insult the visitors. n They see produce at the market. n Cars produce a lot of smog. n They negotiated a contract. n Your muscles contract when you exercise. n He made a lot of progress.

n Let’s progress to the next item. n Handle the object carefully. n Did his boss object to the change? n She got an increase in pay. n They tried to increase their profits. n Please answer the questions on the survey. n Let’s survey the situation before we decide. n We completed the project. n Project the slides onto the wall. n The crowd’s conduct was disorderly. n We are planning to conduct an experiment on that.