25. Stress Word
• Word stress is your magic key to understanding spoken
English. To understand word stress, it helps to
understand syllables. Every word is made from
syllables. Each word has one, two, three or more
syllables.
Ex: dog --- dog = 1 syllable
mother --- mo-ther = 2 syllables
expensive --- ex-pen-sive = 3 syllables
26. There are two very important
rules about word stress:
1. One word, one stress.
2. The stress is always on a vowel.
27. While there are many exceptions to the rules of
syllable stress in English, some helpful guidelines
exist that can be used to predict stress.
Most nouns and adjectives receive stress on the
first syllable.
EX: mother, table, garden, happy, easy
Some verbs and prepositions receive stress on the
second syllable.
EX: arrive, explain, between, below, across
28. Stress on the second syllable from the end
• words ending in “ic”
Ex: graphic, geographic, geologic, photographic
• words ending in “sion” and “tion”
Ex: television, revelation, information
Stress on the third syllable from the end
• words ending in “cy”, “ty”, “phy” and “gy”
Ex: democracy, dependability, geology, society
• words ending in “al”
Ex: critical, geological
29. Numbers
Numbers in multiples of ten receive stress on the first
syllable.
EX: twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty
Reflexive Pronouns
Usually the second syllable in reflexive pronouns
receives stress.
EX: myself, yourself, herself, himself
Compound Verbs
Usually the second or last syllable receives stress in
compound verbs.
EX: outdone, outsmart, overlook, overcome, outrun
30. • Compound Nouns
The first part in a compound noun receives stress.
EX: hallway, pancakes, sidewalk, birthday
• Proper Nouns
The second part of two-word proper nouns receives
stress.
EX: Red Sea, Cook Islands, New York
• Phrasal Verbs
The second part of phrasal verbs receives stress.
EX: look out, come back, keep on, look up to
32. Content Words
Words that are
usually stressed
in a sentence
They are stressed, higher
in pitch and usually longer
in duration.
Function words
Words that are
not usually
stressed in a
sentence
They will be lower pitch
and often very quick.
33. Content Words
1. A noun (a person, place, or thing)
example : John and Marry at the restaurant.
2. A verb (went, to drive, to eat, etc.)
example : She went to the store.
3. An adverb (usually, soon, quickly, quietly, etc.)
example : He’ll be here soon.
4. An Adjective (funny, smart, boring, lazy, etc.)
example : She took the red car
34. Function Words
1. Articles ( A and The )
example: Do you have the time ?
2. Auxiliary verbs (to be, to do, to have, modal verbs; can,
must, will, etc.)
example: The wall was painted yesterday
3. Prepositions ( in, on, between, beside, above, etc.)
example:
4. Conjunction: (and, but, if)
example: I’ll call if you want.
5. Pronoun (her, him, them, us)
example: He told him
36. INTONATION
* FALLING INTONATIONS * RISING INTONATIONS
A pattern in
which your voice
falls to a low
pitch by the end
of the though
group or
statement
A pattern in
which your voice
rises to a high
pitch by the end
of the though
group or
statement
37. Falling Intonations
• Questions that begin with who, what, when, where,
why, which, and how (often referred to as “wh-
questions”) usually end in falling intonation.
Examples:
What time is it?
Who is she?
When is he coming?
38. • commands and statements end in falling
intonation. Commands and statements end in a
period.
Examples:
Commands
Shut the door!
Write your name!
Statements
The color is blue.
It is raining.
39. Rising Intonations
• Questions that can be answered with a “yes” or
“no” answer (often referred to as “yes/no
questions”) usually end in rising intonation.
The voice tone goes up at the end of the
sentence.
Examples:
Do you like candy?
Is that Mrs. Smith?
Is he coming?
40. • In addition, wh-questions that ask for clarification
or restating end in rising intonation.
Examples:
What did you just say?