xample:

Let's look at the following words :

A disyllabic word ,i.e a word having two syllables(separated by the hyphen (-):
1 Pre-'sent Here ,the second syllable is stressed .
Lets look at another example ,a tri - syllabic word i.e a word having three syllables.
2 con-ver-'sation
You must have noticed that here ,the stress is on the last syllable.
Now , look at this - another example ,a poly - syllabic word i.e a word having more than
three syllables.
3 mo-bi-li-'za-tion
Here , you will find that the stress is on the fourth syllable.

While speaking in English , one has to be careful , which word in the sentence is being stressed and
which syllable of that word is being stressed . Because any mistake in this area will lead to
miscommunication.For instance :
pre'sent means to present something (verb/action) on the other hand stress on the first syllable i.e
'present means a gift ( noun/thing).
So ,
Would you like to be pre'sent/ (the) 'present in the meeting ?
The choice is yours !
Look at the sentences given below :
1. Can I eat 'sandwich ,'mother ?
2. Can I eat sand'wich ,'mother ?
While Sentence 1 communicates the meaning that the child is hungry and wants to eat sandwich , in
the second sentence the stress on 'wich' creates confusion (which ?).

Can you think of the possible confusion arising due to a mis/dis- placement of stress in the disyllabic
word , object ?
The obvious error is in the use of the word as a noun /verb .
This brings us to a very important aspect , that of rules for determining which syllable in a word is to
be stressed . It may seem confusing and complicated to you , but remember with out practicing
the word stress you can never realize your dreams of a near perfect skill in speaking and
comprehending English rhythm. The only mantra is your will and practice. So , get ready for an
exciting over view of word stress rules .

Rules of Word Stress

Given below is a table which will give you some idea as to which syllable in a word should be
stressed while speaking. It is in no way an exhaustive list , exceptions are always there.The only
way to learn word stress is its constant , conscious use .
Example

Rules for Word Stress

Stress on

Example 1

Words with weak prefix

Root

a'bove

com'pose

Di - syllabic Nouns/Adjectives

First

'holy

'window

Di -Syllabic Verb

Second

ob'ject

pre'sent

Words ending in -esce,-ese,-ique,-ete,-ette,-ee,- last/final/ultimate

ade,-eer,-aire,-ain'
Words ending in -ic,-ial,-ian,-ion,-ious,-ental,ential'
Words ending in -ate,-ise/-ize,-fy,-ty,-crat,-cy,phy,-gy,-graph,-meter'

syllable
Penultimate syllable

question'naire ga'zette
'dental

mu'sician