Portuguese Basic -Stressed Syllables Rules

Welcome to the Course
Bem - Vindo ao Curso

​Who is your teacher ?

Quem é a tua professora?

• ​Carla Rute Romero Ferreira

• Vivo em Portugal - Azeitão

• Sou pioneira regular há 18 anos

• Fui batizada em 1997

​STRESS

In Portuguese there are some ways to tell you, where the stress of a certain word is.


Most words in Portuguese has their stress at the :

- penultimate syllable ( one before the last syllable)
- stress mark ( ´, ~, `)
- if a word ends in a certain letter or letters
- Diphthong ( a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable)

​Look for a stress mark first :


Lápis Chá
Café Fácil
Pó Chapéu

Penultimate Syllable
Most are stressed on the penultimate syllable

Cama Cavalo

Cadeira Sapato

Tamanho Pele

​If the word ends in : i , l , r, z, im, um, ins, uns, the stress shifts to the final syllable.

Papel Atum Alguns
Jornal Sorri Capaz
Fazer Rapaz Dizer


FÁCIL --- according with this rule the stress in on L, but when you have a stress mark ( ´ ) it overlap the stress L, and all the other rules.

​Diphthong
If the word ends in a diphthong (two vowels that are read together to form a single sound) like : ão, au, õe, oi, ãe, ai, ou, ei, ui - the stress also shifts to the end.


Andou Comprou Cantai
João Carapau Saberei
Campeão Mãe Compõe

Multiple Choice

Which word is stressed mark?

• Tudo

• Mesa

• Pé

• Talvez

Multiple Choice

Which word is stressed on the penultimate syllable?

• Computador

• Esquerdo

• Chávena

• Fazer

Multiple Choice

Which word is stressed on the last syllable?

• Cadeira

• Bárbara

• Saberei

• Quadro

Multiple Choice

Which word is a diphthong (two vowels that are read together to form a single sound)?

• Curso

• Claro

• Fazer

• Cão

​Reading Text

• Como posso encontrar felicidade na vida?

• Será que a maldade e o sofrimento vão acabar algum dia?

• Será que poderei voltar a ver aqueles que amo que já morreram?

• Será que Deus realmente se importa comigo?