SIX BASIC RULES!

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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.

  1. 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-).

  1. 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.

  1. 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

  1. (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.

  1.  (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).

  1. 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.

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