STRESS IN WORDS AND SENTENCES

 

STRESS

A very important feature in English language which is used to improve pronunciation is called stress.

Stress is a degree of force with which a syllable (in a word) or a word (in a sentence) is uttered.

TYPES OF STRESS

1. WORD STRESS:

In a word, stress is given on syllable in a word. Examples-

a)    Table                  -  ˈteɪ + bl

b)    Beauty                -  ˈbjuː + ti

c)     Committee          -  kəˈmɪti

2. SENTENCE STRESS

In a sentence, stress is given on word/s in a sentence.

a)    The kids are at the school.

STRESSED AND UNSTRESSED WORDS IN A SENTENCE

 

Stress words	Unstressed words
Noun	Pronoun
Verb	Preposition
Adjective	Conjunction
Adverb	Helping verbs
Demonstrative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns

 

STRESS: TYPES AND SYMBOLS

Stress are of three types:

a)    Primary Stress

It is also called the most prominent stress and it is also represented by high mark (`)

b)    Secondary Stress

It is the second most prominent stress and it is also represented by low mark (,)

c)     Tertiary Stress

It is the weakest stress and there is no representation of this stress.

 

IMPORTANCE OF WORD STRESS

 

a)    Word stress is an essential part of the language like English.

b)    English speakers use word stress to communicate rapidly and accurately. Sometimes they can guess a word by hearing stressed syllable.

c)     If, for example, you do not hear a word clearly, you can still understand the word because of the position of the stress.

Example

photograph	photographer	photographic
ˈfəʊ tə  grɑːf	fə ˈtɒ  grə  fə	ˌfəʊ  tə  ˈgræ  fɪk

 

TYPES OF SYLLABLES ON THE BASES OF STRESS

1. Stressed syllable-

2. Unstressed syllable-

EXAMPLE OF STRESS ON SYLLABLE IN A WORD

 

WORD	PHONETIC SYMBOLS
Yesterday (3)	ˈjɛs  tə  deɪ
Reduction (3)	rɪ  ˈdʌk  ʃən
Cigarette (3)	ˌsɪ  gə  ˈrɛt
Ceremony (4)	ˈsɛ  rɪ  mə  ni
Application (4)	ˌæ  plɪ  ˈkeɪ  ʃn
Examination (5)	ɪgˌ  zæ  mɪ  ˈneɪ  ʃən
Unnecessary (5)	Ʌn  ˈnɛ  sɪ   sə  rɪ

GERENAL RULE FOR  MARKING WORD STRESS

1. One word one primary stress.

2. Stress is always on vowel sound.

RULES OF PLACING STRESS IN TWO SYLLABLE WORDS

1. Stress the first syllable of:

A. Nouns with two-syllables

                                     i.          climate                             ˈklaɪmɪt,

                                   ii.          knowledge                       ˈnɒlɪʤ

B. Adjectives two-syllable

                                     i.          painful,                            ˈpeɪnfʊl

                                   ii.          spacious                          ˈspeɪʃəs       

2. Stress the last syllable of:

A. Verbs with two-syllable

                                     i.          require                             rɪˈkwaɪə

                                   ii.          decide                              dɪˈsaɪd

3. Stress the second-to-last syllable of:

A. Words that end in -ic 

                                  i.           ecstatic                             ɛksˈtætɪk

                                ii.          geographic                       ʤɪəˈgræfɪk

B. Words ending in -sion and -tion 

                                  i.           extension                           ɪksˈtɛnʃən

                                ii.          retribution                       ˌrɛtrɪˈbjuːʃən

RULES OF PLACING STRESS IN MORE THAN TWO SYLLABLE WORDS

1. Stress the third-from-last syllable of:

A. Words that end in -cy, -ty, -phy and -gy and -al 

democracy                           dɪ  ˈmɒ  krə  si

capacity                               kə  ˈpæ  sɪ  ti

geography                            ʤɪ  ˈɒ  grə  fi

radiology                            ˌreɪ  dɪ  ˈɒ  lə  ʤi

exceptional                          ɪk  ˈsɛp  ʃə  nl

critical                                ˈkrɪ  tɪ  kəl

SENTENCE STRESS

when we say certain words more loudly and with more emphasis than others then it is called sentence stress. 

I went to Mall.

IMPORTANCE OF SENTENCE STRESS

1.   It might be a good idea to help students notice and practice sentence stress for two main reasons:

2.    It may help them communicate better, using prominence to emphasize specific parts of the sentence, conveying the intended message more effectively.

3.    Because they are more aware of how sentence stress is produced orally, learners may be better able to understand fast speech.

STRESS : FACTORS

English sentence stress is affected by several factors, most noticeably:

1. Important information (prominence). 

2. The position of the words in the sentence. 

3. The words of speech. 

 STRESSED WORDS

•        nouns

•        verbs

•        adjectives

•        adverbs

•        negative words

•        modals

•        yes, no, and auxiliary verbs in short answers

•        quantifiers

•        Question words

UNSTRESSED WORDS

•        articles

•        prepositions

•        conjunctions

•        personal pronouns

•        possessive adjectives

•        Be verb

•        auxiliary verbs

•        will, can etc

SENTENCE STRESS: EXAMPLES

       i.          We WANT to GO.

     ii.          We WANT to go to OFFICE.

   iii.          We DON'T WANT to go to OFFICE.

 

   iv.          I’ll go to the temple next friday. (Me, not any other)

     v.          I’ll go to the cinema next friday. (Not to any other place)

   vi.          I’ll go to the cinema next friday. (Not on any other day)

 

EXERCISE:

Try to give stress on appropriate words in the following sentences

•        I am Indian.

•        The kids are at the park.

•        Do you have a laptop?

•        Why are you here?

•        He bought a red car for his son.

•        We are not familiar with Sujata.

•        I am you English Teacher.

•        She does not know the answer.