7 Word stress rules in English language

Category: Pronunciation

To communicate clearly when you are speaking in English, it’s important to stress the correct syllable in each word. All words of more than one syllable have what is called word stress. This means that at least one of the syllables is longer and louder than the other syllables. Basically, stressing means to emphasize a sound.

Uses:

• Communicating clearly and accurately.
• Understanding meaning (PRE - sent is a gift, pre - SENT is an action).

There are three very important rules about word stress:

• One word, one stress.
• The stress is always on a vowel.
• Prefixes and suffixes are never stressed.

Rules for stressing
​RULE #1
Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives
Stress on the first syllable.
 
Examples:
AP-ple
PRE-sent
HA-ppy
CLE-ver

RULE #2
Most two-syllable verbs and prepositions
Stress on the last syllable.
 
Examples:
re-QUIRE
pre-SENT
be-TWEEN

RULE #3
Three-syllable nouns
Stress on the first syllable (except words with long vowel sound: engiNEER).

Examples:
POL-i-tics
GOV-ern-ment
GEN-er-al

RULE #4
Three-syllable adjectives
Stress on the first syllable (except words with long vowel sound: PortuGUESE).
 
Examples:
GEN-er-al
DEL-i-cate
EX-cel-lent

RULE #5
Three-syllable verbs
Stress on the first syllable (except words with prefixes: reMEMber, conTINue).

Examples:
OR-gan-ize
DEC –o-rate
SIG-ni-fy

RULE #6
Words that end in -cy, -ty, -phy and –gy
 Stress on the third-from-last syllable.
 
Examples:
de-MOC- ra-cy
un-CER-tain-ty
ge-OG-ra-phy
ra-di-OL-o-gy

RULE #7
Compound nouns
Stress on the first part.
 
Examples:
HAIR-brush
SOME-thing
HOW-ever
CLASS-room
BREAK-fast
FOOT-ball

Remember that there are exceptions to every rule. Use a dictionary to check the word stress (’) of new words. The best way to learn English stress is to listen to audio materials and to repeat them after the speaker.