1. Nouns and adjectives with two syllables
The rule: When a noun (a word referring to a person, thing, place or abstract quality) or an adjective (a
word that gives information about a noun) has two syllables, the stress is usually on the first syllable.
Examples:
table /TA-ble/
scissors /SCI-ssors/
pretty /PRE-tty/,
clever /CLE-ver/
Exceptions: Unfortunately, there are exceptions to this rule. It could be that a word was borrowed from
another language or it could be totally random. You just have to learn these “outsiders” by heart. Here are
three words you can
start with:
hotel /ho-TEL/
extreme /ex-TREME/
concise /con-CISE/
2. Verbs and prepositions with two syllables
The rule: When a verb (a word referring to an action, event or state of being) or a preposition (a word that
comes before a noun, pronoun or the “-ing” form of a verb, and shows its relation to another word or part
of the sentence) has two syllables, the stress is usually on the second syllable.
Examples:
present /pre-SENT/
export /ex-PORT/
aside /a-SIDE/
between /be-TWEEN/
3. Words that are both a noun and a verb
The rule: Some words in English can be both a noun and a verb. In those cases, the noun has its word
stress on the first syllable, and with the verb, the stress falls on the second syllable.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll see that this rule is a derivation from the prior two sections and
notice some of the same words. However, this is a separate section since those pairs of words are
relatively common in English and they’re likely to cause misunderstanding due to the same spelling.
Examples:
present /PRE-sent/ (a gift) vs. present /pre-SENT/ (give something formally)
export /EX-port/ (the practice or business of selling goods to another country or an article that is exported)
vs. export /ex-PORT/ (to sell goods to another country)
suspect /SU-spect/ (someone who the police believe may have committed a crime) vs suspect /su-
SPECT/ (to believe that something is true, especially something bad)
There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For example, the word “respect” has a stress on the second
syllable both when it’s a verb and a noun.
4. Three syllable words ending in “er” and “ly”
The rule: Words that have three syllables and end in “-er” or “-ly” often have a stress on the first syllable.
Examples:
orderly /OR-der-ly/
quietly /QUI-et-ly/
manager /MA-na-ger/
5. Words ending in “ic,” “sion” and “tion”
The rule: When a word ends in “ic,” “sion” or “tion,” the stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable.
You count syllables backwards and put a stress on the second one from the end.
Examples:
creation /cre-A-tion/
commission /com-MI-ssion/
photographic /pho-to-GRA-phic/
6. Words ending in “cy,” “ty,” “phy,” “gy” and “al”
The rule: When a word ends in “cy,” “ty,” “phy,” “gy” and “al,” the stress is often on the third to last
syllable. Similarly, you count syllables backwards and put a stress on the third one from the end.
Examples:
democracy /de-MO-cra-cy/
photography /pho-TO-gra-phy/
logical /LO-gi-cal/
commodity /com-MO-di-ty/
psychology /psy-CHO-lo-gy/
7. Compound nouns
The rule: In most compound nouns (a noun made up of two or more existing words), the word stress is
on the first noun.
Examples:
football /FOOT-ball/
keyboard /KEY-board/
8. Compound adjectives and verbs
The rule: In most compound adjectives (a single adjective made of more than one word and often linked
with a hyphen) and compound verbs (a multi-word verb that functions as a single verb), the stress is on
the second word.
Examples:
old-fashioned /old-FA-shioned/
understand /un-der–STAND/
Mastering the subject of word stress isn’t easy, as there are many rules and exceptions. While native
speakers do it naturally, English learners have to get there through a lot of practice and repetition.
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