VOA慢速英语2019--The Rules of Word Stress, Part 1

 

In English, syllable¹ stress is hugely important for communication. The word “stress” here means saying part of a word louder and holding the sound a little longer than other parts.

For example: movie. I said MO- a little louder and longer than -vie. If I had said, mo-VIE, people probably would have had no idea what I was saying.

In today’s Ask a Teacher, we will tell you some rules of English word stress, a request from our reader Larissa.

Answer:

Hello Larissa,

Thanks for asking! The good news is that English has a few word stress rules. The bad news is that English also breaks those rules from time to time. Still, the rules can act as useful guides.

Before we start, you need to be familiar with syllable counting. If you are not, visit our Ask a Teacher page and read “How to Count Syllables².”

For today, we will focus on two-syllable words.

Ok, let’s begin.

1. Most two-syllable nouns and adjectives stress the first syllable. Listen to some examples. The word meaning is not important:

quiet

enzyme³

coffee

playdate

fussy⁴

table

Some exceptions include “asleep” “machine” and “hotel,” which stress the second syllable. But don’t try to memorize exceptions. You will get to know them from exposure and practice.

2. Two-syllable words that end in -er or -en almost always stress the first syllable, too. It does not matter whether the words are nouns, verbs or adjectives. Have a listen:?

smarter

father

writer

listen

open

spoken

3. Most two-syllable verbs and prepositions stress the second syllable. Take a listen:

within

enjoy

involve

around

escape

beneath

Again, there are some exceptions, like the verbs “follow” and “cancel.”

4. Here’s where it gets a little tricky⁵: Some English words can be nouns or verbs, depending on stress. With stress on the first syllable, the following words act as nouns. And on the second, they act as verbs:

record - record

present - present

produce - produce

suspect - suspect

desert - desert

Again, there are exceptions. Some two-syllable words act as nouns or verbs with no change in stress, like “answer,” “promise,” “visit” and “reply.”

All in all, listening and speaking are the best ways to get comfortable with word stress in English. In time, your ear will tell you what sounds correct.

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

syllable – n. any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced

familiar – adj. easy for you to recognize because you have seen, heard or experienced it many times in the past

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

comfortable – adj. causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty

1 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

2 syllables   

n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a word with two syllables 双音节单词
• 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

3 enzyme   

n.酵素，酶

参考例句：

• Above a certain temperature,the enzyme molecule will become unfolded.超过一定温度，酶分子将会展开。
• An enzyme that dissolves the fibrin of blood clots.能溶解血凝块中的纤维的酶。

4 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

5 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。