Word Stress Rules

Word Stress Practice

Rules and Exceptions

Deduce the rules

discuss with your classmate(s)

Multiple Select

What do these words have in common:

unhappy - dishonest - insane ?

Choose all the ones that apply

• They're all adjectives

• They're all nouns

• They all have a prefix

• They all have a suffix

• The prefix is NOT stressed

Multiple Select

What do these words have in common:

decrease - disobey - return?

Choose all the ones that apply

• They're all adjectives

• They're all verbs

• They all have a prefix

• The prefix is always stressed

• The prefix is NOT stressed

Rule #1

Prefixes are not usually stressed

Multiple Choice

Where's the stress in these verbs?

appear - conclude - define - employ

• in the first syllable

• in the second syllable

• in the third syllable

Multiple Choice

Where's the stress in these adjectives?

alive - complete - distinct - extreme

• in the first syllable

• in the second syllable

• in the third syllable

Rule #2

The second syllable is stressed when it's the root of the word

But!

How do we know that?

( Most words coming from Latin and

hence more similar to Spanish follow this pattern)

Multiple Choice

Where's the stress in these words:

harden - straighten - suffer - punish ?

• first syllable

• second syllable

Multiple Choice

What else is true about these words:

harden - straighten - suffer - punish ?

• They're exceptions to rule #1

• They're exceptions to rule #2

Multiple Select

What's true about these words:

mother - house - people - hunger

• They're all adjectives

• They're all nouns

• They all come from German

• They're all stressed on the first syllable

• They're all stressed on the second syllable

Rule #3

Most two syllable words coming from German

are stressed on the first syllable

( Most everyday words in English follow this rule)

Multiple Choice

But... wait a minute!

What's going on with these words:

hotel - mistake - success - design

• They're all nouns

• They're stressed on the second syllable

• They're exceptions to rule # 3

• All of the above

Multiple Select

Choose all the options that are true about these words:

myself - ourselves - herself

They're all...

• object pronouns

• reflexive pronouns

• stressed on the first syllable

• stressed on the second syllable

• None of the above ( life is so fake =(

Multiple Select

Choose all the options that are true about these words:

outdo - overlook - outsmart

They're all...

• phrasal verbs

• compound verbs

• stressed on the first syllable

• stressed on the second syllable

What about 3 syllable words?

Multiple Choice

Where's the stress in these words:

acceptance - employer - gorilla

• First syllable

• Second syllable

• Third syllable

Multiple Choice

Where's the stress in these words:

afternoon - kangaroo - seventeen

• First syllable

• Second syllable

• Third syllable

Multiple Choice

Where's the stress in these words:

seventy - yesterday - strawberry

• First syllable

• Second syllable

• Third syllable

Rule #4

Three syllable words

have more changeable stress

depending on their suffix and origin

Great Job!

We'll practice more in a coming lesson!