SIX BASIC RULES: to help you place the tonic accent on multi-syllable words in English.
These rules do not cover all the aspects of word stress in English; but they do cover the large majority of plurisyllabic words in the language.
The problem: should you say: difficult or difficult or difficult?
Here are the main principles that determine how words are stressed or accentuated in English.
- A word is normally stressed on the first syllable, unless there is a reason to put the stress somewhere else.
2) The "reasons" are either suffixes (like -ity or -ion) or prefixes (like con-, dis-, ex- or in-).
- If the suffix (ending) starts with the letters i or u this will affect the position of stress in a word.
Sample suffixes: -ion, -ual, -ial, -ient, -ious, -ior, -ic, -ity, etc.
The stress comes on the syllable before the suffix.
Examples: Atlantic, comic, sufficient, explanation, residual.
There are only a very few exceptions to this rule.
- Other suffixes do not affect the stress of a word.
Sample suffixes: -al, -ous, -ly, -er, -ed, -ist, -ing, -ment
Examples: Permanent, permanently, develop, development
- (i) Prefixes are not normally stressed in two-syllable words, except in some nouns or adjectives.
Examples: To ex'pand, to de'fend; but an 'expert, a report.
Bisyllabic nouns starting with a prefix need to be learned individually.
- (ii) Prefixes are usually stressed in three-syllable nouns and adjectives, but not always stressed in verbs.
Examples: 'Continent, 'incident, 'exercise;
to con'sider, to en'visage but to 'indicate
(All three syllable verbs ending in -ate are stressed on the first syllable).
- Rule 3 takes priority over all others, notably when a "rule 3 ending" is followed by a "rule 4 ending",
Examples : perpetually, deliciously, conditional, conditioner, illusionist.
This list of rules is not complete, but it does explain where to place the main accent in the majority of words in English.