Scribd
Upload
44 views4 pages

Handout #5 (NEW)

This document discusses sentence stress in English. It notes that content words such as nouns, verbs, adjectives are normally stressed, while function words like articles, pronouns, prepositions are usually unstressed. It provides examples of content and function words. It also describes some intricacies of stress for words like "that", "have", and differences in pronunciation of "the" and "to" depending on the following sound. The document is intended as a handout for students to learn about stress patterns in English sentences.

Uploaded by

Олександра Онощенко
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
44 views4 pages

Handout #5 (NEW)

This document discusses sentence stress in English. It notes that content words such as nouns, verbs, adjectives are normally stressed, while function words like articles, pronouns, prepositions are usually unstressed. It provides examples of content and function words. It also describes some intricacies of stress for words like "that", "have", and differences in pronunciation of "the" and "to" depending on the following sound. The document is intended as a handout for students to learn about stress patterns in English sentences.

Uploaded by

Олександра Онощенко
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Fonetyka AM, handout #5 Paweł Rydzewski

SENTENCE STRESS1

1) CONTENT WORDS (STRONG FORMS)

Words that carry lexical meaning (content words) are normally STRESSED. Those are the

following:

a) nouns

b) adjectives

c) numerals

d) adverbs

e) verbs (except auxiliaries)

f) negative forms of verbs

I can swim vs. I can’t swim

g) interrogative pronouns and question words

who /ˈhu/ | /ˈhu:/

which /'witʃ/

when /ˈwɛn/ | /ˈwen/

where /ˈwɛr/ | /ˈweə/

h) demonstrative pronouns

this /ˈðɪs/

that /ˈðæt/

these /ˈðiz/ | /ˈði:z/

i) possessive pronouns

mine /ˈmaɪn/

yours /ˈjɔrz/ | /ˈjɔ:z/

hers /ˈhɝz/ | /ˈhɜ:z/

1
Where relevant, the differences in transcription are accounted for in the following fashion: /GA/ | /RP/.

1
Fonetyka AM, handout #5 Paweł Rydzewski

j) indefinite pronouns

much /ˈmʌtʃ/

many /ˈmɛni/ | /ˈmeni/

everybody /ˈɛvriˌbɑdi/ | /ˈevriˌbɒdi/

2) FUNCTION WORDS (WEAK FORMS)

Monosyllabic words which carry grammatical meaning (function words) are usually

UNSTRESSED. Those are the following:

a) articles

a;an /ə/; /ən/

the /ðə/; /ði/

some /səm/

b) personal pronouns

he /hi/

she /ʃi/

it /ɪt/

c) possessive adjectives

my /maɪ/

your /jər/ | /jə/

her /hər/ | /hə/

d) auxiliary verbs

must /məst/

can /kən/

should /ʃəd/

2
Fonetyka AM, handout #5 Paweł Rydzewski

e) prepositions

at /ət/

on /ɔn/ | /ɒn/ EXCEPTION

for /fər/ | /fə/

f) conjunctions

and /ənd/; /ən/

but /bət/

g) relative pronouns

who /hʊ/; /hə/

that /ðət/

which /wɪtʃ/

3) INTRICACIES

a) “that”

 that is unstressed when it is a relative pronoun

The dog that bit me was ugly. /ðə ˈdɔg ðət ˈbɪt mi wəz ˈʌgli/ | /ðə ˈdɒg ðət ˈbɪt mi wəz ˈʌgli/

 that is stressed when it is a demonstrative pronoun

That dog was ugly. /ˈðæt ˈdɔg wəz ˈʌgli/ | /ˈðæt ˈdɒg wəz ˈʌgli/

b) “have”, “has”, “had”

 have, has, had are stressed when they refer to: possession, obligation & to eat (lexical

meaning)

I have a dog. /aɪ ˈhæv ə ˈdɔg/ | /aɪ ˈhæv ə ˈdɒg/

I have to go. /aɪ ˈhæv tə ˈgoʊ/ | /aɪ ˈhæv tə ˈgəʊ/

I have dinner at 8. /aɪ ˈhæv dɪnər ət ˈeɪt/ | /aɪ ˈhæv dɪnər ət ˈeɪt/

3
Fonetyka AM, handout #5 Paweł Rydzewski

 have, has, had are unstressed when they function as auxiliaries (grammatical meaning)

I have been studying. /aɪ həv bɪn ˈstʌdɪŋ/ | /aɪ həv bi:n ˈstʌdɪŋ/

c) “the”

 is pronounced/transcribed as /ðə/ before consonants (including /j/ and /w/)

the boy /ðə ˈbɔɪ/

the uniform /ðə ˈjunəfɔrm/ | /ðə ˈju:nɪfɔ:m/

the winner /ðə ˈwɪnər/ | /ðə ˈwɪnə/

 is pronounced/transcribed as /ði/ before vowels

the apple /ði ˈæpəl/

the hour /ði ˈaʊər/ | /ði aʊə/

the honesty /ði ˈɑnəsti/ | /ði ˈɒnəsti/

d) “to”

 is pronounced/transcribed as /tə/ before consonants (including /j/)

to give /tə ˈgɪv/

to you /tə jʊ/

 is pronounced/transcribed as /tʊ/ before vowels (including /w/)

to eat /tʊ ˈit/ | /tʊ ˈi:t/

to win /tʊ ˈwɪn/

to honor /tʊ ˈɑnər/ | /tʊ ˈɒnə/

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy