Safari - Nov 8, 2020 at 9:47 PM PDF

Word Stress Rules
in English
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Rules, Stories and
Exercises to Practice All
English Tenses
What is word stress?

In some languages, each syllable in
each word is pronounced with the
exact same stress.
English is not one of those

languages. English has its own
rhythm, complete with its own vocal
music. This means that one part of a
certain word is said louder and
longer than other parts of the same
word.
It is something that is completely

natural for English speakers, but
something ESL students can learn
from learning the correct way to
pronounce new words, practicing
their conversational skills, and by
learning the rules for using word
stress.
A few things to
remember:
1. A word can only have one
stress. In a very long word you can
have a secondary stress, but it is
always a much smaller stress.
2. Only vowels are stressed, not

consonants. The vowels in English
are a, e, i, o, and u. The consonants
are all the other letters.
3. There are many exceptions to

the rules. The word stress rules in
English are complicated. Remember
that there are exceptions to every
rule. Use a dictionary to check the
word stress of new words. Soon, you
will know English well enough to add
word stress naturally.
It is important that you stress the

right syllables, so people can hear
and understand your words.
Before continuing, make sure you

read and understand the basics of
Word Stress and Syllables.
Word stress rules

1. Two-Syllable nouns and
adjectives
2. Two-Syllable verbs and

prepositions
3. Three-Syllable words
4. Words ending in er, ly
5. Words ending in consonants and

in y
6. Words with various endings
7. Words ending in ade, ee,

ese, que, ette, oon
8. Stress on the second from the

end syllable
9. Stress on the third from end

syllable
10. Word stress for compound

words
11. Proper nouns
12. Reflexive pronouns
13. Numbers
1. Two-Syllable nouns
and adjectives
In most two syllable nouns and
adjectives, the first syllable takes on
the stress.
Examples:
SAMples
CARton
PURple
RAIny
CHIna
HAPpy
2. Two-Syllable verbs
and prepositions
In most two syllable verbs and
prepositions, the stress is on the
second syllable.
Examples:
reLAX
reCEIVE
diRECT
aMONG
aSIDE
beTWEEN
deCIDE
More about word

stress on two-syllable
words
About 80% of two-syllable
words get their stress on the
first syllable.
There are, of course, exceptions

to this rule, but very few nouns
and adjectives get stress on
their second syllable.
Verbs and prepositions usually

get stress placed on the second
syllable, but there are
exceptions to this too.
Note:
There are many two-syllable words

in English that can be pronounced in
two different ways. The stress
change also changes the part of
speech of the word.
Examples:
PREsent = a gift (noun); non

past or future (adjective)
preSENT = to give something to
someone (verb)
OBject = something you can

see and touch (noun)
obJECT = to disagree with
something (verb)
3. Three-Syllable
words
For three-syllable words, look at the
word ending (the suffix), using the
following as your guide:
4. Words ending in
er, ly
For three-syllable words ending with
the suffixes er or ly, the stress is
placed on the first syllable.
Examples:
ORderly
SIlently
LOvingly
MAnager
GARdener
EAsier
5. Words ending in
consonants and in y
If there is a word that ends in a
consonant or in a y, then the first
syllable usually gets the stress.
Examples:
RARity
OPtimal
GRAdient
GEnorous
6. Words with various

endings
Take a good look at the list of
suffixes below (suffixes are word
endings).
The stress is going to be on the

syllable right before the suffix. This
applies to words of all syllable
lengths.
Examples:
1. able: ADDable, DURable,

LAUGHable
2. ial: differENTial, SOcial,
fiNANcial
3. cian: muSIcian,
phySIcian, cliNIcian
4. ery: BAkery, SCEnery
5. ian: coMEdian, ciVILian,
techNIcian
6. ible: reSIstible, imPOSsible,
TERRible
7. ic: arCHAic, plaTOnic,
characteRIStic
8. ics: diaBEtics, paediAtrics,
TOpics
9. ion: classifiCAtion, repoSItion,
vegeTAtion
10. ia: MEdia, bacTERia, vicTORia
11. ient: inGREdient, PAtient,
ANcient
12. ious: mySTERious, reLIgious,
VARious
13. ish: SELfish, ENglish, PUnish
14. osis: hypNOsis, diagNOsis,
osMOsis
7. Words ending in
ade, ee, ese, que,
ette, oon
Words that use the suffix ade, ee,
ese, eer, que, ette, or oon have
the primary stress actually placed on
the suffix.
This applies to words of all syllable

lengths.
Examples:
1. ade: lemoNADE, cruSADE,

arCADE
2. ee: aGREE, jamborEE,
guaranTEE
3. eer: sightSEER, puppeTEER
4. ese: SiamESE, JapanESE,
chEESE
5. ette: cassETTE, CorvETTE,
towelETTE
6. que: unIQUE, physIQUE
7. oon: baLOON, afterNOON,
carTOON
8. Stress on the
second from the end
syllable
You put stress on the second syllable
from the end of the word with words
ending in ic, sion, and tion.
Examples:
iCONic
GRAPHic
hyperTENsion
teleVIsion
nuTRItion
reveLAtion
Note: Native English speakers don't

always agree on where to place the
stress on a word. For example, some
people pronounce television as
"TELevision" while others say
"teleVIsion."
9. Stress on the third

from end syllable
You put stress on the third from end
syllable with words that end in cy,
ty, phy, gy and al.
Examples:
deMOcracy
geOGraphy
ALlergy
NAUtical
CLArity
CRItical
10. Word stress for

compound words
A. Compound noun
A compound noun is a noun made
out of two nouns that form one
word. In a compound noun, the
most stress is on the stressed
syllable of the first word.
Examples:
SEAfood (sea + food)

ICEland (ice + land)
TOOTHpaste (tooth + paste)
FOOTball (foot + ball)
BAsketball (basket + ball)
B. Compound
adjectives
A compound adjective is an
adjective made of at least two
words.
Often, hyphens are used in

compound adjectives. In compound
adjectives, the most stress is placed
in the stressed syllable of the second
word.
Examples:
ten-MEter
rock-SOlid
fifteen-MInute
old-FAshioned
C. Compound verbs
A compound verb is when a subject
has two or more verbs. The stress is
on the second or on the last part.
Examples:
Matilda loves bread but

deTESTS butter.
Sarah baked cookies and ATE
them up.
Dogs love to eat bones and love
to DRINK water.
D. Noun + compound
nouns
Noun + compound Nouns are two
word compound nouns. In noun +
compound noun, the stress is on the
first word.
Examples:
AIRplane mechanic
PROject manager
BOARD member
11. Proper nouns

Proper nouns are specific names of
people, places or things. For
example: Jeniffer, Spain, Google.
The second word is always the one

that takes the stress
Examples:
North DAKOTA
Mr. SMITH
Apple INCORPORATED
12. Reflexive
pronouns
Reflexive pronouns show that the
action affects the person who
performs the action. For example: I
hit myself.
The second syllable usually takes the

stress.
Examples:
mySELF
themSELVES
ourSELVES
13. Numbers
If the number is a multiple of ten,
the stress is placed on the first
syllable.
Examples:
TEN
FIFty
ONE-hundred
Word stress and

dictionaries
Another great tip for beginning
English learners is to grab a
dictionary.
Dictionaries are great tools for

learning word stress.
For every word, the dictionary

indicates where the stress goes, for
example by placing an apostrophe
before the stress.
Take a look at your dictionary to find

out how your dictionary indicates
word stress.
Remember, there are

exceptions to all of these
rules. The best way to learn
word stress is to look at a
dictionary or a word
pronunciation guide and
practice speaking English
daily. The more experience
you have with English, the
easier it will be.
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Word Stress Rules

Click Here for Step-by-Step

What is word stress?

English is not one of those

It is something that is completely

2. Only vowels are stressed, not

3. There are many exceptions to

It is important that you stress the

Before continuing, make sure you

Word stress rules

2. Two-Syllable verbs and

4. Words ending in er, ly

5. Words ending in consonants and

6. Words with various endings

7. Words ending in ade, ee,

8. Stress on the second from the

9. Stress on the third from end

10. Word stress for compound

11. Proper nouns

12. Reflexive pronouns

More about word

There are, of course, exceptions

Verbs and prepositions usually

There are many two-syllable words

PREsent = a gift (noun); non

OBject = something you can

6. Words with various

The stress is going to be on the

1. able: ADDable, DURable,

This applies to words of all syllable

1. ade: lemoNADE, cruSADE,

Note: Native English speakers don't

9. Stress on the third

10. Word stress for

SEAfood (sea + food)

Often, hyphens are used in

Matilda loves bread but

11. Proper nouns

The second word is always the one

The second syllable usually takes the

Word stress and

Dictionaries are great tools for

For every word, the dictionary

Take a look at your dictionary to find

Remember, there are

Get Vocabulary, Grammar

Join our mailing list now and get a

Are you a teacher or a student?

* We respect your email privacy and you can

Return from Word Stress in English

Return to Really Learn English Home

Top of this page

Please share this page with

Textbooks and Workbooks

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English Short Stories Book and

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