Accents

When a word has more than one syllable, one of the syllables is always a little louder than the
others. Each word with two or more syllables has one syllable whose vowel is accented. For
example, for-gét.
The syllable with the louder stress is the accented syllable. Accented means that the sound of that
vowel is stressed, or louder, than those in other syllables.

There are two very simple rules about word stress

1. One word has only one stress. One word cannot have two stresses. If you hear two stresses,
you hear two words or Two stresses cannot be one word.
It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some words. But a secondary stress is much
smaller than the main [primary] stress, and is only used in long words.
2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants.

1. Accents are often on the first syllable.

Examples: ba'/sic, pro'/gram.
2.Two vowel letters together in the last syllable of a word often indicates an accented last
syllable.
Examples: com/plain', con/ceal'.
3. In words of three or more syllables, one of the first two syllables is usually accented.
Examples: ac'/ci/dent, de/ter'/mine
4. The primary accent is usually on the first syllable in three-syllable words, if that syllable is a
root.
Examplesː chár-ac-ter.

SYLLABLE STRESS

 A syllable is a small unit of speech that consists of a vowel, or a vowel and one or more
consonants.
  Stressed and unstressed syllables form the basis of the rhythmic pattern of English words.
 The vowel within the stressed syllable is longer, louder and higher in pitch.
 The vowel within the unstressed syllable is reduced and becomes a neutral, short vowel
called the “schwa” and is pronounced as /ə/. It can be spelled with a, e, i, o, or u. All of
the five vowels can sound the same if they are part of a reduced syllable.

Location of Stress
The location of stress in polysyllabic words may differ from that in Modern English.
Three properties of syllables determine the location of stress.

1. The length of the vowel.

2. The ‘weight’ of the syllable:

Heavy syllables: syllables which contain
1. a long vowel or diphthong.
2. any vowel followed by two or more consonants.

Light syllables:
— all others =
1 . short vowels followed by a single c o n s o n a n t
2 . short vowels at the end of a word

3. The position of the syllable:

final, second-to-last, third-to-last

Basic Middle English Stress Rule

1. If the last syllable is long or contains a diphthong, stress falls there.

Example: licoúr, vertú, nathelées, aldáy

(But adjectives ending in -y and -ous are not stressed on the final syllable: sély, wórthy)
 2. a. If the second-to-last syllable is heavy, stress falls there.
natūre, sóote, róote, shówres: long V/ diphthong
Ápril, pérced, engéndred: vowel plus CC

b. If there are only two syllables, stress falls on the second to-last (provided condition 1 is
not met)
évĕr, sély

3. Stress falls on the third-to-last syllable.

évĕrĕ, Zéphĭrŭs, hórrible, párdoner

General Rules for Stress Placement

Two-Syllable Words

Part of Speech Example

NOUNS: (a word referring to a person, Teacher, father, window, garden, action, paper, building,
thing, place or abstract quality) Stress the concert, SAM-ples, CAR-ton, CLImate, KNOWledge, table
first syllable of in two syllables words. /TA-ble/, scissors /SCI-ssors/
VERB (a word referring to an action, Attach, Employ, Include, Destroy, produce, achieve, apply,
event or state of being): the stress is succeed, re-LAX, Re-CEIVE, reQUIRE, deCIDE, present
usually on the second syllable /pre-SENT/, export /ex-PORT/,
Adjectives (a word that gives information
Col-or-ful, RAI-ny, FLIPpant, SPAcious, pretty /PRE-tty/,
about a noun): Stress the first syllable of
clever /CLE-ver/
in two syllables word
Prepositions (a word that comes before a
noun, pronoun or the “-ing” form of a a-MONG, di-RECT, aside /a-SIDE/, between /be-TWEEN/)
verb, and shows its relation to another
word or part of the sentence) : Stress the
second syllable
present /pRE-sent/ (a gift) vs. present /pre-SENT/ (give
something formally), export /EX-port/ (the practice or business
of selling goods to another country or an article that is
Words that are both a noun and a verb, exported) vs. export /ex-PORT/ (to sell goods to another
some words in English can be both a noun country), suspect /SU-spect/ (someone who the police believe
and a verb. In those cases, the noun has may have committed a crime) vs suspect /su-SPECT/ (to
its word stress on the first syllable, and
believe that something is true, especially something bad)
with the verb, the stress falls on the
second syllable. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For example, the
word “respect” has a stress on the second syllable both when
it’s a verb and a noun.
 Two-Syllable Words
Verbs that end in -
Verbs that end in -ate Nouns ending in -tion Nouns ending in -tion
ate
Stress is on the syllable
Stress is on the first Stress is on the Stress is on the syllable that
that precedes the suffix
syllable first syllable precedes the suffix -tion
-tion
activate activation donate donation
celebrate celebration frustrate frustration
congratulate congratulation imitate imitation
demonstrate demonstration locate location

-ate Endings of Verbs and Nouns

Note that the -ate word ending is pronounced fully in verbs but is reduced in adjectives and nouns.
For example, the -ate ending of the word separate is pronounced /eIt/ when it is a verb and /It/ when it is a
noun.
Verb Adjective Noun
They have decided to separate. They will live in separate
(separate /eIt/) houses. (separate /It/))

She alternates between feeling Do you have an alternate plan?

happy and sad. (alternate /eIt/) (alternate /It/)
He will graduate next spring. He will be a college graduate.
(graduate /eIt/) (graduate /It/)
Can you estimate the cost of I would like to have an
the repairs? (estimate /eIt/) estimate of the costs. (estimate
/It/)
I will duplicate this document. Please make a duplicate of it.
(duplicate /eIt/) (duplicate /It/)
It was an appropriate decision.
(appropriate /It/)

Reflexive pronouns
Rule Example
Reflexive pronouns show that the action affects the myself, himself, itself, yourself, herself, ourselves,
person who performs the action. The second syllable my-SELF, Them-SELVES, Our-SELVES
or the last syllable is stressed usually takes the
stress.

WORD STRESSː Compound Nouns

In compound nouns, the first word is stressed, and the two words are said
together, with no pausing in between the words. Key and board is pronounced as keyboard.
(Note that compound nouns can be written either as a single word or as two separate words.)

Two-part verb
TWO PART VERBS
Many idioms are two-part verbs, and many two-part verbs are idioms.
A two-part verb consists of a verb and a preposition, as in sit down or stand up. Certain verb and-
preposition combinations that are two-part verbs are also compound words.
The difference is in their stress patterns.
In a two-part verb, it is the second word, the preposition, which is stressed

Compound Verb Two-part verb Compound Verb Two-part verb

Checkup Check-up Cleanup Clean up
Takeoff Take-off Takeover Take-over
Workout Work-out Layoff Lay-off
Backup Back-up Tryout Try-out

COMMON SUFFIXES and STRESS

 SUFFIXES AND WORD STRESS
Suffixes serve to mark past tense verbs and plural nouns. Suffixes also serve to change word
structure.
For example:
creation: a noun creates: a verb creative: an adjective creatively: an adverb

Proper nouns
Proper nouns are specific names of people, places or things. The second word is always the one that takes the
stress
Word Example Example Example
Proper nouns Jeniffer Spain Google
North DAKOTA Mr. SMITH
Proper nouns Apple INCORPORATED

Numbers
If the number is a multiple of ten, the stress is placed on the first syllable.
Word Example Example Example
Numbers TEN FIF-ty
ONE-hundred

Stress and Schwa

When a syllable is stressed, it is Pronounced.

 Longer in duration
 Higher in Pitch
 Louder in volume

A stressed syllable is denoted by placing a stress mark(') Just before the stressed syllable
/ri'si:v/

New Pattern—Stress
 In words with more than one syllable, one syllable is usually more emphasized or
stressed than the others.
 To decode these words, it is helpful to recognize which syllable is most stressed.
  If you don’t put the stress on the right syllable, the word won’t sound right.
 There are a number of two-syllable words in English that are spelled the same, but
shifting the stress from the first to the second syllable changes the meaning of the word.
 If the stress is on the first syllable, it is a noun. If it is on the second syllable it is a verb.

Difference between a noun and a verb?

A noun is an object, place or thing; a verb is the action word in the sentence.
Some words have different meanings depending on which syllable is stressed.

The word is object.

The sentence is: I object to that ugly object being in the room.
In the first use of object, the syllable that is stressed is ject. It is a verb meaning to protest or
complain.
In the second use, it is acting as the noun and ob is stressed. There it means a thing.

Shifts in Stress: When we stress something, we give it more emphasis and force.
1. object: I object to that ugly object being in the room.
2. conduct: Your conduct will not be questioned if you conduct yourself properly.
3. record: I would like to record my voice on a record.
4. produce: The farm will produce food and we will sell the produce at the market.
5. desert: Don’t desert me when we go into the desert.
6. present: I hope they will present me with a present for my birthday.

Additional Words for Re-Teaching:

conTEST-CONtest, INsult-inSULT, REbel-rebel, PERmit-perMIT.

Concept—Schwa
When a vowel is in a syllable that is not stressed, it is often reduced to a neutral sound that we
call schwa. The schwa makes the sound /ə/. syllable has the vowel, but it does not have either the
long or short sound.
 It only occurs in syllables that are not stressed. It can be spelled with any of the vowels.

THE SCHWA VOWEL

1. The schwa is the shortest, the simplest, and the most frequent sound in English speech.
2. The schwa vowel requires no movement of the tongue, the jaw, or the lips, and there is no
visible face movement.
3. The sound is felt only at the larynx as a short, voiced sound.

There are two versions of the schwa: one stressed and one unstressed.
1. THE STRESSED SCHWA (ʌ)
2. THE UNSTRESSED SCHWA ( )

Schwa occurs in two different circumstances:

1. in an unstressed syllable of a multi-syllable word
2. as a reduced vowel sound in a function word
The schwa basically sounds like /uh/… It’s a pretty lazy sound, like a soft, weak version of a
short /u/.The schwa symbol used in the International Phonetic Alphabet is Ə. It looks like an
upside-down letter e.
Schwa occurs in the syllables next to a stressed syllable.
In words with more than one syllable, not every syllable is given equal emphasis when spoken.
Three levels of syllable stress are possible:

1. stressed /⬤/
2. secondarily stressed /●/
3. unstressed /•/

Schwa
The examples below show schwa as it is exhibited when spelled with each vowel. They syllable
containing schwa is bold.
Vowel Example
'a' spelling: again: /ə 'gɛn/, vitamin: /'vɑɪ tə̬ mɪn/, a- GAIN,VIT-a-min, balloon, about
'e' spelling petition: /pə ˈtɪʃ ən/, celebrate: /ˈsɛl ə breɪt/, e- LEC-tric, CEL-e-brate camel,
'i' spelling president: /ˈprɛz ə dɛnt/, experiment: /ɪk 'spɛr ə mənt/, PRES-i-dent, ex-PER-i-ment
 family, pencil
'o' spelling occur: /ə 'kɚ/, condition: /kən ˈdɪʃ ən/, oc-CUR,con-DI-tion wagon, offend
'u' spelling campus: /ˈkæm pəs/, support: /sə ˈpɔrt/, um-BREL-la,sup-PORT album, medium
'y' spelling syringe, vinyl

How to Identify the Schwa Sound

Every multi-syllable word has a single stressed syllable. The single stressed syllable of the word has the
most emphasis. The remainder of the syllables may have a secondary stress or may be unstressed.
Once learners can recognize stressed syllables, it becomes easier to predict when schwa will be used in an
adjacent, unstressed vowel, regardless of the spelling.
Example: pict(ure), (a)round, small(er), horr(or),nat(io)n(a)l, Simil(a)r, temper(a)t(ure), cel(e)brat(io)n,
happin(e)ss,(A)meric(a)
Rule Example
If long and short vowels both don't sound right, try the When they sound out bay-con, they can try
schwa sound. try to substitute the /uh/ schwa sound in one substitute the /o/ for /u/ and say bay-cun
of the vowels first.
The letter 'A' at the end of multi-syllable words is da-ta = datuh, A-las-ka = uhlaskuh, tuba,
usually a schwa. English words cannot end in 'u'. If you panda, zebra, (Florida)
hear /uh/ at the end of a word, it is often letter 'a'.
For the short u sound, we usually use the letter <a>. Since
<a> is a substitute for the short u sound at the end of
words, then we know that if we see an <a> at the end of
words, then it likely will make the /uh/ sound. And yep,
it’s usually a schwa.
The letter, 'A' at the beginning of multi-syllable words a-go = ugo, a-bout= ubout, across, afraid,
is often a schwa. awake, around, agre, -about, across, -able,
actor, artist
If 'a' is stressed, then 'a' will not have schwa sound
When a word begins with 'a' + consonant and it is an
OPEN syllable on its own (meaning it’s the only letter in
the syllable), then it is usually a schwa
Multi-syllable words ending in a vowel + “l”, The cam-el= camul, den-tal= dentul, tunnel,
Vowel before the letter 'L' at the end of words is usually a pencil, nickle, camel
schwa.
Multi-syllable words ending in “-on” or “-an”, The wag-on = wagun, hum-an = human, Bacon,
 Vowel (usually a or o) before the letter 'n' at the end of lemon, wagon, button, dragon, ribbon
words is often a schwa.
Multi-syllable words ending in Vowel + r at the end of teacher, dollar, visitor, colour, culture , father,
a word, is schwa , At the end of any word -er, -ar, -or, -re, doctor Exception: Guitar, Insure, metaphor,
-ure, -our,-ur flour, sugar, popular, Calendar Vichar,
teacher, faster Better, Butter, doctor, editor,
Actor, Author, favour, colour,Humour,
theatre, Centre, Metre, Arthur, murmur
Multi-syllable words ending in -ion/-ian, Politician, pronunciation, correction,
musician, discussion
'io'/'ia' = /schwa/
Multi-syllable words ending in -ous, Dangerous, Nervous, fabulous
'ou' = /schwa/
On the immediate syllable, preceding the stressed syllable. ability, decoration
'o', 'a', 'er', 'or', 'ur', 're', they became Schwa
If any prefix, contain, o, a = /schwa/ to/day, ba/lloon, at/test
Heteronym (Spelling same different pronunciation and conduct (n)= behavior, conduct (v),
meaning), Same word acts as Noun, adjectives and verbs, produce(v), permit(v)
Verbs in first syllable, o, er, ro, ur = schwa
In 2 Syllable words and 3 Syllable words, sound of voice Thousand, second, Blackberry
'a' in second syllable.
Verbs in first syllable, o, er, ro, ur = schwa
Suffixes, -ment, -ance, -ence, -graphy, -logy, -phony Symphony, psychology
On an unstressed syllable, any vowel + r spelling can be ar spelling on unstressed syllables: dollar,
pronounced schwa + r polar, grammar
or spelling on unstressed syllables: comfort,
honor, ignorance

Suffixes with a Schwa sound (uh)

Suffix Example Suffix Example Suffix Example

-al animal -an human -ance appearance

-ant important -ar lunar -ard wizard

-ate accurate -cian musician -cious delicious

-dom freedom -ed added -en wooden

-ence licence -ent student -er writer

-es buses -est biggest -ful joyful

-ial initial -in raisin -le little

-less pointless -ment entertainment -ness happiness

-on cotton -or doctor -our colour

-ous famous -ple apple -ra zebra

-ren children -sion explosion -son person

-tain certain -thon marathon -tion position

-ule schedule -um album -ure measure

-us focus -ward forward

Schwa: Syllabic consonant (Schwas we don’t Pronounce)

Schwa followed by a sonorant (/n, l/ and less frequently /m, ŋ, r/) → /ә/ often drops out → the
sonorant becomes syllabic.
In some word endings containing the sounds /m, n, l/ like FATHOM, PASSION or LITTLE, the schwa
sound can be omitted, leaving a syllable without a vowel sound – known as a syllabic consonant.
Omitting a schwa also tends to happen before /r/ in words like CAMERA, DICTIONARY and HISTORY,
which would be /ˈkamərə/, /ˈdɪkʃənəri/, and /ˈhɪstəri/ in slower speech.
In all of the above examples, the option of removing the schwa is normally shown in dictionaries with
brackets:
Word endings containing the Example
sounds
‘M’ FATHOM
‘N’ PASSION, button, dozen, hadn’t, certainly, listening, definition
‘L’ LITTLE, pedal, quarrel, bottled, penalty, crystallize, traveller
‘R’ CAMERA, DICTIONARY and HISTORY, cigarette, cemetery

Schwa Example
Description Example
The second syllables in the following sofa, bitten, pencil, carrot, circus.
words are unstressed and the letters
highlighted in red represent the schwa
sound.
The first syllables are unstressed in this again, effect, bikini, police, support, syringe.
next group of words, so the schwa sound
appears in the first syllable for each word.
Words that Start with a Schwa Sound about above again ago ahead alive alone amaze amount away
balloon effect elastic electric erupt event obtain occur offend
The schwa sound is often pronounced at
omit confess continue police protect today tomorrow upon
the beginning of words with an initial
unstressed syllable.

Words that End with a Schwa Sound China comma extra lava panda pasta sofa umbrella zebra
animal coral dual fatal hospital oval pedal postal royal viral
The schwa sound is often pronounced at
atlas compass pleasant salad thousand broken children
the end of words with a final unstressed
eleven even happen heaven kitten oven taken token anthem
syllable.
item problem system tandem basket carpet cutlet fidget
helmet pelmet piglet prophet quiet violet angel bagel bowel
camel level model pixel towel travel vowel apple battle bible
cattle jungle maple noble paddle turtle uncle denim blossom
boredom bottom custom fathom freedom kingdom phantom
random wisdom arson beckon button common cotton demon
felon lesson ribbon wagon abbot bigot carrot idiot ingot
maggot parrot pilot pivot zealot purpose asylum album
medium opium possum serum talcum bogus bonus cactus
discus minus mucus rhombus Venus virus walrus Beryl
Cheryl Daryl vinyl bargain Britain captain certain curtain
fountain mountain villain
Schwa Sound in Middle Syllables alphabet vitamin astronaut dinosaur circumstance energy
poverty bulletin celebrate enemy telephone
Schwa Sound in More Than One accident* analysis banana cafeteria cinema conference
Position delicate elephant* eleven gorilla octopus Pennsylvania

Word stress Rules

We can only stress vowels, not the consonants.
Write co / zy, tu / lip, ho / bo, and u / nit on the board. Include the slashes for syllables
division.
An open syllable always ends in a vowel. It usually has a long vowel.

When a multi-syllable word has a long vowel usually this is stressed.

Example: emplo'yee, exam: ig-'zam
Listen to the vowel sound in the second syllable in human = hu/man.
The second syllable that doesn’t have the stress is pronounced /ə/.
[NOTE: Repeat with the words private and person.]

word is about.
Step 1. Divide words into syllable a/bout
Step 2. it has 2 syllables: a – BOUT. [Exaggerate the a/bout’
stress].
The second syllable has the stress. I‟ll put a mark
next to b-o-u-t like this. [Draw a mark: a / bout΄]
Step 3. First syllable has the vowel a, but it does not have ə / bout’
either the long or short a sound. It has a schwa
sound, so I will underline it

word is upon.
Step 1. Divide words into syllable u/pon
Step 2. Mark the Stress u/pon’
Step 3. Students should pronounce the first syllable ’u’ ə / pon’
as a schwa sound. That is the schwa sound: /ə/.

Activity
Mark the syllable that is stressed. Then underline the vowel letter in each word that has the
schwa sound.
word is random.
Step 1. Divide words into syllable ran/dom
Step 2. Mark the Stress. The first syllable has the stress. ran΄/dom
 Step 3. The second syllable ’dom’ has the vowel o, but it ran΄/dəm
does not have either the long or short ‘o’ sound.
It has a schwa sound, so we underline it. That is
the schwa sound: /ə/.

Activity
Mark the syllable that is stressed. Then underline the vowel letter in each word that has the schwa sound.
word is larceny.
Step 1. Divide words into syllable, it has three syllables. larceny= lar /ce/ny lar/ ce/ ny
Larceny means stealing.
Step 2. Mark the Stress. The first syllable has the stress. lar΄/ ce/ ny
Step 3. The second syllable ends with the vowel e, but it does not have either lar΄/ ce/ ny
the long or short e sound. It has the sound of the schwa.

Activity
Mark the syllable that is stressed. Then underline the vowel letter in each word that has the schwa sound.
Word is instrument = in / stru / ment
Step 1. Divide words into syllable, it has three syllables. in / stru / ment
Step 2. Mark the Stress. The first syllable has the stress. in΄ / stru / ment
The last syllable is a suffix. IN – stru - ment.
[Exaggerate the stress on in].
Step 3. The second syllable ends with a vowel ‘stru’, but in΄ / stru / ment
it does not have either the long or short u sound.
It has the sound of the schwa /ə/, so underline it.

Find the Schwa

1. ran΄ / dom 2. lar΄ / ce / ny 3. a / gen΄ / da 4. fu΄ / gi / tive

5. spec΄ / ta / cle 6. ab / so / lute΄ 7. fan΄ / ta / sy 8. mod΄ / i / fy
9. sym΄ / pa / thy 10. at / ten΄ / dant
The words are divided into syllables for you.
 Mark the syllable that is stressed.
 Then underline the vowel letter in each word that has the schwa sound.

1. a / bout΄ 6. al΄/ pha / bet

2. in΄/ stru / ment 7. cus΄/ tom /er
3. a / way΄ 8. ac΄/ ro / bat
4. pol / lute΄ 9. a / part΄/ ment
5. en΄/ e / my 10. rel΄/ a / tive

Additional Words for Re-teaching:

above, stomach, antelope, octopus, oven, colony, absolute, negative, legacy.

Activity.
 First, divide the words into syllables.
 Then mark the syllable that has the stress.
 Last, underline the vowel that has the schwa sound.
 There is an example done for you.

Example: seldom sel΄ / dom

1. banana ba / nan΄ / a
2. Canada Can΄ / a / da
3. around a / round΄
4. vista vis΄ / ta
5. spectacle spec΄ / ta / cle
6. computer com / pu΄ / ter

Words with Schwa Words without schwa

Del/a/ware
 Al/a/bam/a splen/did
a/ma/zing or a/maz/ing ret/ro/spect
pho/tog/ra/phy or pho/to/graph/y sa/cred
Chi/na va/ca/tion
Ja/pan

Activity
Mark the syllable that is stressed. Then underline the vowel letter in each word that has the schwa sound.
Word is Delaware.
Step 1. Underline the vowels, except for that final e. [Underline Delaware
the vowels.]
Step 2. There is 1 consonant between e and a so, try to divide De/la/ware
before the consonant. Same for the next division. [De / la
/ ware]. That would be De – la – ware.
Step 3. [Pronounce all 3 vowels as long vowels.] That doesn’t sound like any place
I know.
Step 4. Now I have to „Be Flexible. ‟ Let’s divide after the l. That still doesn’t sound right
Del – a – ware. [Pronounce the a as a long vowel and
stress all syllables the same.]
Step 5. Let’s try putting the stress on the first syllable— OK, that is a state I know. It must
DELaware. be the Delaware River.

Activity: Mark the Stress

1. a / bout΄ 6. al΄/ pha / bet

2. in΄/ stru / ment 7. cus΄/ tom /er
3. a / way΄ 8. ac΄/ ro / bat
4. pol / lute΄ 9. a / part΄/ ment
5. en΄/ e / my 10. rel΄/ a /tive

Change in Sounds
NOTE:
2-letter words ending with a don ‘t usually have a long vowel, e.g., pa, ma. If students pronounce va to rhyme with
ma, explain that as a syllable in a larger word, open syllables usually have a long vowel sound

Write plod, scrap, pos, and flat in a vertical list on the board. 1. (CVC), They have 1 vowel and
end in a consonant.
1. What kind of syllables are these and why?
2. Short
2. What kind of vowel sound do they have?
Add an e to each of the syllables: plode, scrape, pose, and flate. 1. The vowel becomes long.
1. What happens when ‘e’ is added to these syllables? 2. VCe, the vowel is long.
2. What kind of syllables are these?
Write cra, bru, cli, and va on the board. 3. Open syllables. They have just
one vowel and end in a vowel.
1. What kind of syllables are these?
4. (long)
2. What kind of vowel sound do they have?
Write cle, ble, ple, and fle on the board.
-Cle, At the end.
What kind of syllables are these? Where do these syllables come in
a word?

Stress Review

What do we mean when we say that some syllables are stressed in a word?

 Some syllables are emphasized more; some syllables are said longer or louder.
 In words with more than one syllable, one syllable is stressed or emphasized more than
the others.

Activity: With the stress marked and have students check their work. PowerPoint with
stress marks:

1. gentlemen gen΄/ tle / men

2. movement move΄/ ment
3. unruly un / ru΄/ ly
4. cohesive co / he΄/ sive
5. renovate ren΄/ o / vate
6. deducted de / duct΄/ ed
 Stressed Words

Names of Places: When pronouncing a place New York, Las Vegas, Central Park, Palm Springs,
always stress the last word. South Africa, North Dakota, Venice Beach, Mount
Everest

Names of People: When pronouncing a name—of George Washington, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton,
a person or place always stress the last word. Martin Luther King, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts

Stress Proper Names, Titles, Times: The last Martin Luther King, Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, The
word in a proper name or title is given primary President of the United States, Ambassador of the
stress. United Nations, Columbia University, The College of
Law, St john's college at Cambridge, The
EXCEPTION: The names of streets are an
Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts.
exception. Stress is placed on the word before
Street. Repeat the following: Main Street Second
Street Twenty First Street
Abbreviations - The last letter receives primary CD, DVD, ATM, USA, ID, HDTV, ASAP, UK,
stress in abbreviations. Bachelor of Arts BA, Medical Doctor MD, Doctor of
Philosophy PHD, Master of Science MS, Doctor of
Dental Science DDS, Master of Business
Administration MBA
Times and Dates - The final item is given primary Ten to five, 12:00 o'clock, 1:30 pm, 4:05 am,
stress on times and dates. Wednesday the 20th, Monday afternoon, june 10th,
Saturday morning, the 20th, Friday, october 15,2004