Stress is extremely important in English. Stressing the wrong syllable or pronouncing all syllables with equal stress are a common problem for non-native speakers. So how can I tell which syllable to stress?
Although the rules for stress are very complicated and have many exceptions, there are a few common patterns that are easy to remember.
WORD STRESS
Every word has one stressed syllable which is pronounced louder, longer and higher.
| Stress on 1st syllable: | |
| Two-syllable nouns | label, format, table, coffee, breakfast |
| Two-syllable adjectives | lucky, grateful, handsome, boring, silly |
| Two-syllable adverbs | often, sometimes, mostly, rarely, never |
| Compound nouns | toothpaste, bookshelf, sunshine, headset |
| Stress on 2nd syllable: | |
| Two-syllable verbs | invent, reply, decide, persuade, divide |
| Phrasal verbs | pass out, give up, turn off, give in |
USING GRAMMAR TO PREDICT STRESS
Sometimes, the same word can be either a noun or a verb. In general, nouns stress the first syllable, verbs, the second.
| Nouns | Verbs | Nouns | Verbs | |
| CONvict | conVICT | REcall | reCALL | |
| CONduct | conDUCT | CHECKout | check OUT | |
| INsult | inSULT | PROduce | proDUCE | |
| RUNdown | run DOWN | SUSpect | susPECT | |
| MAKE up | Make UP | BREAK up | Break UP |
Notice the stress in the following noun/verb pairs.
- When someone insults me, I don’t take the insult very well.
- Someone should conduct an investigation into his conduct.
- I suspect the suspect will want to call a lawyer.
- I don’t recall the beef recall of the 1990’s.
- The final project will help us project a better image.