American Pronunciation
Real American Pronunciation
Word Stress |
Thought Groups |
Sounds of English |
Reduction |
American
Phrasal Stress |
Linking |
Emphasis |
Consonants & Vowels |
Word Stress
In every word in English, there is one main emphasized syllable. The vowel sound in this syllable sounds higher in pitch, longer, and louder, and this is called stress. This helps create the rhythm of the
language, and knowing how to recognize the stressed syllable will help you with comprehension. Placing the stress where it should be when you're speaking helps native speakers understand you better as well.
Click on |
to hear an |
example. |
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What are the patterns?
English word stress is not always on the same syllable, like in some languages. Many times, though, it is one of the last three syllables in the word. Here are some examples of stress in different syllables of the word:
computer |
languages |
pronunciation |
Could you hear a difference in tone, length, and loudness between the stressed and unstressed syllables?
Sometimes you can predict the stress placement because of the type of word or the ending you put on it.
Here are some general rules:
Word type |
Where is the stress? |
Examples |
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center |
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Nouns |
on the first syllable |
object |
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flower |
|||
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Two syllables
release
Verbs on the last syllable admit arrange
Word type |
Where is the stress? |
Nouns
(N + N) on the first part (Adj. + N)
Compound |
Adjectives |
|
(Adj. + P.P.) |
|
on the last part (the |
|
verb part) |
|
Verbs |
|
(prep. + verb) |
Examples
desktop pencil case bookshelf greenhouse
well-meant hard-headed 
old-fashioned
understand overlook outperform
Word type
Phrasal Verbs
-ic
-tion, -cian, Word with -sion
added ending -phy, -gy, -try, -cy, -fy, -al
-meter
Where is the |
Examples |
stress? |
turn of |
|
|
on the particle |
buckle up |
|
hand out |
|
economic |
|
geometric |
the syllable |
electrical |
before the ending |
technician |
|
graduation |
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cohesion |
|
photography |
|
biology |
the third from the |
geometry |
last syllable |
parameter |
|
thermometer |
|
barometer |
Listen and Practice 
Where do you hear the main stress in these words?
Click to hear the word, then click on the syllable you think is the stressed syllable.
1. congratulations |
con |
gra |
tu |
la |
tions |
2. darkroom |
dark |
room |
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|
|
3. solid |
so |
lid |
|
|
|
4. magnify |
mag |
ni |
fy |
|
|
5. sophisticated |
so |
phis |
ti |
ca |
ted |
6. undergo |
un |
der |
go |
|
|
7. topical |
to |
pi |
cal |
|
|
8. computer desk |
com |
pu |
ter |
desk |
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9. complete (v) |
com |
plete |
|
|
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10. abstract (n) |
ab |
stract |
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Listen for the word stress of the given words in the sentence. Play the sentences.
1.My teachers really amuse me.
2.That is kept confidential in the file cabinet.
3.The president's family lives in the White House.
4.According to my calendar, we have an appointment at three.
5.I'm going to print out the handouts for the geology class now.
Main
Thought Groups
In written English, we use punctuation to show where the pauses in 
the sentences should be. When we speak English, our listeners don't see the punctuation, but we don't generally run all the words together
in a stream of equally-emphasized words either; we group words by
their meaning, and pause between them. This allows us to speak in phrases or thought groups, and to pause just after important
information that we emphasize.
If we are speaking slower and clearer, the phrases are shorter, but if we are speaking fast, the phrases are longer and we don't emphasize as many words. It's important to know where to put the pauses in the sentences so that you can sound more like a native- speaker.