Word stress

Stress means to say one part of a word stronger than another part. In English, each word with two or more syllables receives stress.

For example

To stress a syllable within a word

Make the vowel sound longer.
Say the syllable (a little) louder.
Increase the pitch.
- Pitch is sometimes confused with volume. Pitch is related to tone, or quality of sound, and may be different at the same volume.

Unstressed syllables are weaker, softer, and with decreased pitch. Unstressed syllables in English usually sound like the schwa /ə/.

Placing stress correctly is important because the wrong stress can create confusion.

Most two-syllable words get stress on the first syllable.

Compound nouns normally get stress on the first syllable.

Compound verbs normally get stress on the second syllable.

Reflexive pronouns get stress on the second syllable.