When a word has many syllables, one of them is always pronounced more strongly. This is called word stress, and we say that the syllable is stressed. Syllable is checked by the vowel, if there will be two vowels, definitely there will be two stresses.
Dictionaries tell you which syllable is stressed. The most popular system is to put with an apostrophe (') just before or just after the stressed syllable in the phonetic transcription of the word.
Rules of Word Stress in English
1. One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one word. It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some words. But a secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long words.)
Dictionaries tell you which syllable is stressed. The most popular system is to put with an apostrophe (') just before or just after the stressed syllable in the phonetic transcription of the word.
Rules of Word Stress in English
1. One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be one word. It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some words. But a secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long words.)
2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants.
3. The consonant before Vowel is called onset and after Vowel is called coda.
Here are some more, rather complicated, rules that can help you understand where to put the stress. But do not rely on them too much, because there are many exceptions. It is better to try to "feel" the music of the language and to add the stress naturally.
Hafiz A.Majid
English Diploma
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