Stress in longer words and

compound words
 What is stress?
• In a word with more than one syllable,
syllables that stand out more than others are
stressed. An unstressed syllable is one that
does not stand out.
 one-stress word/two-stress word
• A one-stress word has one stressed syllable
(e.g /kəmˈpliːt/ complete ).
• A two-stress word has one syllable with main
stress and another with secondary stress.
(e.g./ˌdɪs.əˈgriː/ disagree)
 main stress (or primary stress)
• In a word with more than one syllable, the
syllable with main stress stands out more than
any other. In most dictionaries the symbol ' is
placed before the syllable with main stress.
‘ -shows main stress
E.g. hundred [ ˈhʌn.drəd ]
kindergarten [ˈkɪndəˌgɑːtən]
controversial [ˌkɒn.trəˈvɜːʃəl ]
 secondary stress
• In some words with more than one syllable, a
syllable with secondary stress stands out less
than the syllable with main stress, but more
than the remaining syllables. In most
dictionaries the symbol , is placed before the
secondary stressed syllable
,- shows secondary stress
e.g. kindergarten [ˈkɪndəˌgɑːtən]
Controversial [ˌkɒn.trəˈvɜːʃəl ]
 Prominence
• A prominent word stands out from other words around
it.
For example, in the phrase II one of my FRIENDSII
friends is prominent and the other words non-
prominent.
• If a word has more than one syllable, it is only
necessary to make one syllable prominent (the
prominent syllable) in order to make the whole word
stand out.
For example, in II it's your responsiBILityll,
-BIL- is the prominent syllable and responsibility the
prominent word.
 stress shift
• When a word is used in conversation and
emphasized, one of the stressed syllables is made
prominent. In a one-stress word this is the
stressed syllable, and in a two-stress word it is
usually the syllable with main stress.
• Prominence can move to the secondary stressed
syllable in a word like 'controversial' when it is
followed by a word with another prominent
syllable, particularly when the first syllable of the
following word is prominent:

She gave a CONtroversial ANswer.

 Other words which often have stress
shift include:
• , alto'gether, , inde'pendent, , indi 'stinct, ,
medi'ocre, , satis'factory, , uni'versity, ,week
'end, ,worth'while.
• some place names which have main stress on
the last syllable, such as: , Ber' lin, , Kow' loon,
, Montre ' al.
• -teen numbers - , thir'teen, , nine ' teen; and
two-part numbers - , forty- ' five, , seventy- '
eight.
 Longer words…
• Some words are made up of a root and a
suffix:
 Suffixes which don't usually change
the stress pattern
• Suffixes which don't usually change the stress pattern in the
root word include -able, -age, -al*, -er, -ful, -less, -ness, -ous
and -fy.
' comfort - ' comfortable
' amplify - ' amplifier
' foolish - ' foolishness
per' cent - per' centage
re ' gret - re ' gretful
d i ' saster - d i ' sastrous
• Exceptions with -able and -al include:
a d ' mire - ' admirable
' medicine - me' dicinal
pre ' fer - ' preferable
' agriculture - agri ' cultural
Before the suffixes -ious, -ulous, -orous
and –eous…
• The main stress usually comes in the syllable before the suffix:
' industry - i n 'dustrious
a d ' vantage - advan' tageous
' mystery - my' sterious
' outrage - out' rageous
• Some suffixes themselves usually have the main stress. These
include -ee, -eer, -ese and -ette.
, a bsen ' tee , refu ' gee , engi ' neer , mounta i ' neer
,Japa n ' ese , Nepa l ' ese , cigar' ette d i ' skette
• Exceptions include: ' omelette, ' etiquette, em' ployee (although
less commonly we use , employ'ee). Note : Some people say
'ciga rette.
 suffixes: -ial, -ic, -ion, -ive, and -ity
• The main stress is usually on the syllable
immediately before the suffixes:
' ed i tor - edi ' torial
ac ' celerate - ac , cele' ration
' generous - , gene' rosity
' atmosphere - , atmos 'pheric
' instinct - in ' stinctive
di 'verse - di 'versity
 When a word ends with one of the
consonants t or s and the suffix -ion
• -tion is pronounced:
/tʃən/ after the letter s: suggestion, digestion
/ʃən/ after other letters: education, adoption
• -sion is pronounced:
/ʃən/ after a consonant: extension,
comprehension
/Ʒən/ after a vowel: decision, persuasion
• -ssion is pronounced:
/ʃən/ admission, expression
Some words change the pronunciation
of the vowel in the main stressed
syllable
 A change in the pronunciation of the
consonant(s) that follow it

• In other words like this, there is a change in

the pronunciation of the vowel in the stressed
syllable and also the spelling of either this
vowel and/or the consonant(s) that follow it:
Some words are made up of a
prefix and a root.
Common prefixes include: de-, dis-, il-,
re-, un-
• In some words the prefix is unstressed and is
only made prominent for particular contrast
• Usually have only one (main) stressed syllable:
dislike /dɪˈslaɪk/ or have secondary stress on the
prefix
reconsider/ˌriː.kənˈsɪd.ər/
 de- and re- prefixes
• the prefix is usually pronounced /dɪ/ and /rɪ/
if it is unstressed and /di:-/ and /ri:-/ if it has
secondary stress. Compare:
• d e ' gra de /d ɪ/ but: , decom ' pose /di:-/
• re ' c \ a i lll /r ɪ/ but: , recon ' sider /ri:-/
• Some words beginning re- have the same
spelling but a different stress and meaning
depending on whether re- means 'again' or
not:

• Note! When re- means 'again', the words are

sometimes spelt with a hyphen, e.g. re-cover,
re-count
In some words with prefixes, the prefix
itself is stressed.
 Compound nouns
• A compound noun is a fixed expression which
is made up of more than one word and which
has the function of a noun. Some are written as
two words, some with a hyphen, and some as
one word
' crash , barrier
, double- 'glazing
' baby,sitter
 The following types of compound
noun usually have main stress on the
first part:
NOUN + NOUN (' airport)
• Notice, however, that if the first part gives the
material that the second part is made out of,
main stress usually goes on the second part.
Compare: , cotton ' wool but: a ' cotton , plant
• Exceptions are most compounds ending with -
cake, -bread and -juice:
' cheesecake, ' gingerbread, ' orange , j u ice
NOUN + -ING FORM
• ' bird-,watching 'house-,hunting 'fly-,fishing.
Exceptions: pe,destrian 'crossing, ,thanks'giving

-ING FORM + NOUN

• dressing,gown 'sitting,room 'freezing,point
Exceptions: ,managing di'rector de,fining'moment
,casting'vote
VERB + NOUN
• ' search,party con'trol,tower
• NB!
• Other phrases may have the same forms, but
are not compounds. In these, main stress
usually goes on the second word. Compare :
'driving,licence ( a compound) but:
,driving 'rain
• Most ADJECTIVE + NOUN COMPOUND NOUNS have
main stress on the second part and secondary stress on
the first part:
, social se'curity , hot po'tato , absolute 'zero
Exceptions: ' blind spot, 'dental,floss 'easy,chair
'broadband 'greenhouse
• ADJECTIVE + -ING FORM
, central ' heating
• PAST PARTICIPLE + NOUN
, split in'finitive
, global ' warming
i n,verted 'commas
, passive ' smoking
, lost ' property
What is . . .
a system that records phone messages for you?
voicemail
a building made of glass used for growing plants?
greenhouse
a way of studying where you mainly study at home?
distance learning
a problem that no-one wants to deal with?
hot potato
the activity of looking for a house to live in?
house-hunting
the temperature at which liquid becomes gas?
boiling point
a group of people who look for someone who is missing?
search party
thread used for cleaning between the teeth?
dental floss
a ring of rubber for holding things together?
rubber band