RULES OF WORD STRESS

Rules of word
stress
Rules of word stress


RULES OF WORD STRESS

I. STRONG AND WEAK SYLLABLES
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II. TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS
There is a general tendency for verbs to be stressed nearer the end and nouns to be stressed nearer the beginning.
VERBS
If the first syllable is weak, then the first syllable is stressed. Thus:

‘enter’ ˈentə

‘open’ ˈəupən
‘envy’ ˈenvi
‘equal’ ˈiːkwəl
The syllable is also unstressed if it contains əʊ (e.g: ‘follow’ ˈfɒləʊ , ‘borrow’ ˈbɒrəʊ).
If the final syllable is strong, then that syllable is stressed even if the first syllable is not strong. Thus:
‘apply’ əˈplaɪ
‘attract’ əˈtrækt
‘rotate’ rəʊˈteɪt
‘arrive’ əˈraɪv
‘assist’ əˈsɪst
‘maintain’ meɪnˈteɪn
Two-syllable simple adjectives are stressed according to the same rule, giving:
‘lovely’ ˈlʌvli
‘divine’ dɪˈvaɪn

‘even’ ˈiːvən
‘correct’ kəˈrekt
‘hollow’ ˈhɒləʊ
‘alive’ əˈlaɪv
But with most stress rules, there are exceptions, for example: ‘honest’ ˈɒnɪst, ‘perfect’ ˈpəːfɪkt, both of which end with a
strong syllable but are stressed on the first syllables.
Note: We have this pattern:
First
syllable
Weak
Strong
Weak
Strong

Second
syllable
Weak
Weak
Strong
Strong

Place of stress
First
First
Second
Second

NOUNS
Nouns require a different rule: stress will fall on the first syllable unless the first syllable is weak AND the second syllable is
strong. Thus:

‘money’ ˈmʌni
‘divan’ dɪˈvæn
‘product’ ˈprɔdʌkt
‘balloon’ bəˈluːn
‘larynx’ ˈlærɪŋks
‘design’ dɪˈzaɪn

III. THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS
VERBS
In simple verbs, if the final syllable is strong, then it will receive primary stress. Thus:
‘entertain’ ˌentəˈteɪn
‘resurrect’ ˌrezəˈrekt
If the last syllable is weak, then it will be UNSTRESSED, and the stress will be placed on the penultimate syllable if that
syllable is strong. Thus:
‘encounter’ ɪnˈkauntə
‘determine’ dɪˈtəːmɪn
If both the second and third syllable are weak, then the stress falls on the initial syllable:
‘parody’ ˈpærədi
‘monitor’ ˈmɔnɪtə
However, in words with a weak first syllable, the stress comes on the next syllable:
‘mimosa’ mɪˈməuzə
‘disaster’ dɪˈzɑːstə
‘potato’ pəˈteɪtəu
‘synopsis’ sɪˈnɔpsɪs


Note: To simplify, look at the table:
First
syllable
Weak/Strong

Strong/Weak
Weak
Weak/Strong

Second
syllable
Strong/Weak
STRONG
Strong
Weak

Third syllable

Place of stress

STRONG
Weak
Weak
Weak

Third
Second
Second
First

NOUNS
When a three-syllable noun has a strong final syllable, that syllable will not usually receive the main stress:
‘intellect’ ˈɪntɪlekt
‘marigold’ ˈmærɪgəuld
‘alkali’ ˈælkəlaɪ

‘stalactite’ ˈstæləktaɪt
ADJECTIVES
Same rules, such as:
‘opportune’ ˈɔpətjuːn
‘insolent’ ˈɪnsələnt
‘derelict’ ˈderɪlɪkt
‘anthropoid’ ˈænθrəpɔɪd

IV. COMPLEX WORD STRESS
If the stem consists of more than one syllable, there will be a secondary stress on one of the syllable of the stem. It CANNOT
fall on the last syllable of the stem and is if necessary, moved to an earlier syllable.
Suffixes carrying primary stress themselves
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“-ee” ‘refugee’ˌrefjuˈdʒiː
“-eer” ‘mountaineer’ˌmauntɪˈnɪə
‘-ese’ ‘Portuguese’ˌpɔːtʃʊˈgiːz
“-ette” ‘cigarette’ˌsɪgəˈret
“-esque” ‘picturesque’ ˌpɪktʃəˈresk

‘evacuee’ ɪˌvækjuˈiː
‘volunteer’ˌvɔlənˈtɪə
‘journalese’ˌdʒəːnəlˈiːz
‘launderette’ ˌlɔːndəˈret

Suffixes that do not affect stress placement

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“-able” comfort ˈkʌmfət
comfortable ˈkʌmftəbəl
“-age”: anchor ˈæŋkə
anchorage ˈæŋkərɪdʒ
“-al”: refuse rɪˈfjuːz
refusal rɪˈfjuːzəl
“-en”: wide waɪd
widen ˈwaɪdn
“-ful”: wonder ˈwʌndə
wonderful ˈwʌndəfəl
“-ing”: amaze əˈmeɪz
amazing əˈmeɪzɪŋ
“-like”: bird bəːd

birdlike b'ɜːrdlaɪk
“-less”: power ˈpauə
powerless ˈpauələs
“-ly”: hurried ˈhʌrid
hurriedly ˈhʌrid
“-ment” (noun): punish ˈpʌnɪʃ
punishment ˈpʌnɪʃmənt
“-ness”: yellow ˈjeləu
yellowness ˈjel.əʊ
“-ous”: poison ˈpɔɪzən
poisonous ˈpɔɪzənəs
“-fy”: glory ˈglɔːri
glorify ˈglɔːrɪfaɪ
“-wise”: other ˈʌðə
otherwise ˈʌðəwaɪz
“-y”: (adjective or noun): fun fʌn
funny ˈfʌni
(“-ish” in the case of ADJECTIVES does not affect stress placement: ‘devil’ ‘devilish’; however, VERBS with stems
of more than one syllable always have the stress on the syllable immediately preceding “-ish”. Thus: ‘replenish’,
‘demolish’)

Suffixes that influence stress in the stem
In these examples, primary stress is on the last syllable of the stem


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“-eous” ‘advantage’ ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ
“-graphy” ‘photo’ ˈfəutəu ‘photography’ fəˈtɔgrəf
“ial” ‘proverb’ ˈprɔvəːb
‘proverbial’ prəˈvəːbiəl
“-ic” ‘climate’ ˈklaɪmɪt/
‘climatic’ klaɪˈmætɪk
“-ion” ‘perfect’ ˈpəːfɪkt
‘perfection’ pəˈfekʃən
“-ious” ‘injure’ ˈɪndʒə
‘injurious’ ɪnˈdʒuəriəs
“-ty” ‘tranquil’ ˈtræŋkwɪl ‘tranquility’ træŋˈkwɪlɪti
“-ive” ‘reflex’ ˈriːfleks
‘reflexive’ rɪˈfleksɪv

‘advantageous’ ˌædvənˈteɪdʒəs

Finally, when the suffixes ‘-ance’, ‘-ant’, and ‘-ary’ are attached to single-syllable stems, the stress is always placed on the stem
(‘guidance’, ‘sealant’, ‘dietary’). When the stem has more than one syllable, the stress is on one of the syllables in the stem. To
explain this, we need to use a rule based on syllable structure, as was done for simple words in the abovementioned part. If the
final syllable of the stem is strong, that syllable receives the stress. For example: ‘importance’, ‘cenetary’. Otherwise the
syllable BEFORE the last one receives the stress: ‘inheritance’, ‘military’.
Prefix
The best treatment seems to be to say that stress in words with prefixes is governed by the same rules as those for polysyllabic
words without prefixes.