PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Relation of the Schwa /ə/ and stress words
Schwa is a quick, relaxed, neutral vowel pronunciation very close to a short u. The purpose of schwa is to allow unstressed syllables to be said more quickly so the main beats of spoken words are easier to place on the stressed syllables.
General Rules for Syllable Stress
Two-syllable words:
Most nouns and adjectives receive stress on the first syllable.
Examples: mother, table, garden, happy, easy, famous
Some verbs and prepositions receive stress on the second syllable.
Examples: arrive, explain, begin, between, below, across
Three-syllable words:
The primary stress does not change in a word when the endings -er, -or, or -ly are added.
Examples: perform/performer, translate/translator, rapid/rapidly
In words ending in a consonant + y, the first syllable receives primary stress.
Examples: history, faculty, energy
Word with suffixes:
Generally, the primary stress is on the syllable that comes just before the suffix.
Examples: -ion: nation, suggestion, onion, opinion, decision, occasion
-ic: metric, plastic, academic, artistic, problematic, magnetic
-ment: assignment, department, apartment, agreement
Compound Nouns:
The first part of a compound noun receives stress.
Examples: hallway, pancakes, sidewalk, birthday, paycheck, newspaper
Proper Nouns:
The second part of two-word proper nouns receives stress.
Examples: North America, Red Sea, Cook Islands, New York
Numbers:
Numbers in multiples of 10 receive stress on the first syllable.
Examples: twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty
Compound Verbs:
Usually, the second or last syllable of compound verbs receives stress.
Examples: outdone, outsmart, overlook, overcome, outrun, outdo
Apply:
Look at these words. Decide where the syllable stress will be in each word.
si-lent com-mit-ment preg-nan-cy a-cross
