English Pronunciation · Stress

English Word Stress Practice

Stress is the extra weight on certain syllables in a word – and on certain words in a sentence. Get it right and people understand you easily.

Wortbetonung im Englischen: die Regeln, typische Fehler deutscher Sprecher und Übungen.

photograph→photographer→photographic

Rules that really help
German stress traps
“Tap the stress” – 16 words
8-question quiz

1 What Is Stress?

A stressed syllable stands out from the others. You can hear four signals:

Loudness

Stressed syllables are usually louder.

Pitch

The voice often steps up or down on them.

Length

They are held slightly longer.

Clear vowel

The vowel is full and clear; unstressed vowels often reduce to schwa /ə/.

Some languages have fixed stress – Polish, for example, usually stresses the second-to-last syllable. English stress is variable: you have to learn it with each word, but the rules below help a lot.

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2 Noun or Verb? Stress Changes Meaning

In many two-syllable pairs, the noun is stressed on the first syllable and the verb on the second.

present noun · present verba birthday present / present the results

record noun · record verba new record / record a video

contract noun · contract verbsign a contract / muscles contract

object noun · object verba strange object / I object!

project noun · project verba new project / project the slides

The vowels change too: a REC-ord /ˈrekɔːd/, to re-CORD /rɪˈkɔːd/. More on the Compound and Noun–Verb Stress page.

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3 Stress Rules That Really Help

Two-syllable words

Nouns & adjectives – usually 1st syllable

table · happy · window

Verbs – usually 2nd syllable

relax · decide · begin

Suffixes

Suffix	Effect	Examples
-ic, -ical	stress on the syllable before	economy → economic · history → historical
-ity	stress on the syllable before	electric → electricity · possible → possibility
-ion	stress on the syllable before	educate → education · inform → information
-er, -ly, -ment, -ness	no change	teacher · quietly · development · happiness

Compounds

Compound nouns – first part

greenhouse · blackboard · bus stop

Compound adjectives & verbs – second part

well-known · old-fashioned · understand

Word families often move their stress: photograph · photographer · photographic. See Stress Shift Words and Three- and Four-Syllable Words.

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4 German Stress Traps

Many words look almost the same in German and English – but the stress is in a different place. German often stresses the end of borrowed words; English often stresses the beginning.

German	German stress	English stress
Kalender	Kalender	calendar
Produkt	Produkt	product
Artikel	Artikel	article
Musik	Musik	music
Material	Material	material
Katalog	Katalog	catalogue
Horizont	Horizont	horizon
Diplomat	Diplomat	diplomat

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5 Tap the Stress

Say each word aloud, then tap the syllable you think is stressed.

Score: 0 / 0

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6 Sentence Stress and Meaning

Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are normally stressed; function words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns, conjunctions) are normally weak: She BOUGHT a NEW CAR. But any word can be stressed to show contrast: She DID buy it!

One sentence, seven meanings

I didn’t say she stole the book.Someone else said it.

I didn’t say she stole the book.I deny saying it.

I didn’t say she stole the book.I suggested it – but I didn’t say it.

I didn’t say she stole the book.Someone else stole it.

I didn’t say she stole the book.She borrowed it – she didn’t steal it.

I didn’t say she stole the book.She stole a different book.

I didn’t say she stole the book.She stole something else.

Grouping changes meaning too

I saw the man | with a telescope.A short pause after “man”: I used a telescope to see him.

I saw | the man with a telescope.“the man with a telescope” is one thought group: the man had the telescope.

More on the Sentence Stress & Rhythm and Thought Groups pages.

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7 Schwa and Rhythm

Unstressed syllables are short and often use the schwa /ə/ – the most common vowel sound in English: banana /bəˈnɑːnə/, about /əˈbaʊt/.

English is often described as stress-timed: the stressed syllables come at fairly regular intervals and the weak syllables are squeezed in between.

The CAT SAT on the MAT.3 beats

I’ll GO to the MARket.sounds like: ail GO tə ðə MAH-kit

Practise the beat with the Rhythm Practice beat trainer.

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8 Typical Problems and How to Practise

Wrong syllable

Using the stress of the German word: ka-LEN-dar instead of calendar.

Every word strong

Stressing function words makes speech sound heavy and slow.

Full vowels everywhere

Saying to as /tuː/ instead of weak /tə/ (before a vowel: /tu/).

Learn stress with the word. Mark it in your notes: CAL·en·dar.
Use the pairs. Practise REcord / reCORD, PREsent / preSENT in short sentences.
Read aloud and stress only the content words.
Contrast. “I want APPLES, not ORANGES.”
Clap or tap the stressed syllables to feel the rhythm.
Listen for stress and schwa when you hear native speakers.

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