English Sounds: Words and sentences stress

Word stress

Each word has a special stress, we can identify two important rules for the word stress;

One word has only one stress. (one word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses. If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one word, there can be a "secondary" stress in some words, but this stress is much smaller tan the main stres
We can only stress wovels, never consonants.

One-syllable words
One-syllable words are stressed on the vowel sound in the word. Note that a diphthong is one complex vowel sound that forms only one syllable. A diphthong is stressed on its first main component.

CAT

Two-syllable words

Two-syllable nouns

Nouns of two syllable are usually stressed on the first syllable.

CONvict

Nouns may be stressed on the last syllable if there is a long vowel or a diphthong in it. Words of foreign origin (especially words of French origin) may be stressed on the last syllable.

poLICE

Two-syllable adjectives

Also adjectives with tow syllables are usually stressed on the first syllable.

FUNny

Two-syllable verbs

Two-syllable verbs are usually stressed on the second syllable, especially if the first syllable is a prefix.

unLOCK

Three-syllable words

Three-syllable nouns

Three-syllable nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable

POLitics

But many nouns, especially those derived from verbs with prefixes, have stress on the second syllable.

diRECtor

Some nouns have primary stress on the last syllable if there is a long vowel or a diphthong in it.

engiNEER

Three-syllable adjectives

Three-syllable adjectives are usually stressed on the first syllable.

EXcellent

Some adjectives have one more stress on the last syllable if there is a long vowel or a diphthong in it.

OBsolete / obsoLETE

Some adjectives do not repeat the stress of the noun from which they were derived and are stressed on the second syllable.

from SYMbol ---> symBOlic

Three-syllable verbs

Three-syllable verbs often have primary stress on the first syllable (even if it is a prefix) and secondary stress on the last syllable (which is often a verb suffix).

MODernize

But many verbs, especially those with prefixes, have stress on the second syllable.

reMEMber

If the prefix consists of two syllables, its first syllable usually gets secondary stress.

underSTAND

Four or more syllables

Long words usually have two stresses: primary stress and secondary stress. But there are some long words with only one stress.

Only one stress

ACcuracy

On the second syllable

aMERica

Sentence stress

In English, there are stressed words and non-stressed words while we pronounce a sentence. There is a group called Content Words, this group of words are the most important of the sentences (focus word) and because of that we make the emphasis in that word. Function words is another group, we never focus this words in a sentence.

Content words

Nouns