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Sentence Stress Rules Explained

Content words like nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs are usually stressed in speech, while function words like articles, prepositions and connectors are typically unstressed. There are some exceptions, such as nouns of wide denotation becoming unstressed when preceded by an adjective. The chart provides guidelines on stress patterns for different parts of speech, noting they may be stressed or unstressed depending on factors like emphasis, position in sentence, or whether in affirmative/negative forms. Stress is an important aspect of connected speech.

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171 views2 pages

Sentence Stress Rules Explained

Content words like nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs are usually stressed in speech, while function words like articles, prepositions and connectors are typically unstressed. There are some exceptions, such as nouns of wide denotation becoming unstressed when preceded by an adjective. The chart provides guidelines on stress patterns for different parts of speech, noting they may be stressed or unstressed depending on factors like emphasis, position in sentence, or whether in affirmative/negative forms. Stress is an important aspect of connected speech.

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Tamara
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SENTENCE STRESS

Content words are almost always stressed in connected speech, whereas form
words are usually unstressed.

For some exceptions to the rule above, please see the chart below.

➢ Nouns are usually stressed. They convey important information. (If


both speaker and listener already know what they are talking
about, nouns are replaced by pronouns.)
➢ In the case of nouns of wide denotation, i.e. nouns that refer to
very general concepts, they are stressed if they are used on their
NOUNS own. However, if they are preceded by an adjective, the adjective
receives the stress and the noun is unstressed.
Some examples of nouns of wide denotation are: thing, man,
people, place, etcetera.
/aɪ kən siː ə mæn/
/aɪ kən siː ən əʊld mæn/
➢ Adjectives are usually stressed.
➢ In the case of comparatives and superlatives formed by adding
more and most, either the adjective or more and most are
stressed.
/ðɪs eksəsaɪz ɪz mɔː dɪfɪkəlt ðən ðæt wʌn/ OR
ADJECTIVES /ðɪs eksəsaɪz ɪz mɔː dɪfɪkəlt ðən ðæt wʌn/
➢ Possessive adjectives are usually unstressed, except for emphasis
or special reference.
/hi pʊt hɪz hæt ɒn tɒp əv maɪ kəʊt/
➢ Demonstrative adjectives are usually stressed.
/dʊ jə laɪk ðiːz flaʊəz/
➢ Adverbs are usually stressed.
ADVERBS
/dəʊnt draɪv səʊ fɑːst/
➢ Main verbs are usually stressed.
MAIN VERBS
/ɑːsk jə tiːʧə/
➢ Interrogative words are usually stressed.
INTERROGATIVE /weə həv jʊ pʊt ɪt/
WORDS
/waɪ dɪd jʊ du: ɪt/
➢ They are always stressed.
INTERJECTIONS /waʊ/
/əʊ/
➢ Negatives are always stressed.
/aɪ kɑːnt lɪv wɪðaʊt juː/
NEGATIVE /ʃi geɪv mi nəʊ ekspləneɪʃən/
FORMS
/wi dɪd nʌθɪŋ tə help hɪm/
/nəʊbɒdi keɪm/
➢ They are usually stressed.
QUANTITATIVES /hi hæz lɒts əv frendz/
, NUMERALS
/aɪ əʊnli red ðə fɜːst θriː ʧæptəz/
and ORDINALS
/aɪ niːd sʌm ədvaɪs/
➢ They are usually stressed.
CONTRACTIONS /ɪts reɪnɪŋ tədeɪ/
/ðeəz ə kæt ɪn ðə gɑːdn/
➢ They are usually unstressed.
/ðə mæn iz kæriɪŋ ə bæg/
ARTICLES
➢ They may be stressed for emphasis or special reference.
/ɪt ɪznt ði: haʊs / bət ɪts ə haʊs/
➢ They are usually unstressed.
RELATIVES
/ðə mæn hʊ geɪv mi ðə bʊk ɪs maɪ brʌðə/
➢ They are usually unstressed in the affirmative and interrogative
forms.
/dɪd jʊ laɪk ɪt/
AUXILIARY /aɪ məst stʌdi/
VERBS and
➢ They are only stressed in the affirmative form when they are used
MODALS
in final position OR for the sake of emphasis or special reference.
/aɪ du: laɪk ɪt/
/jes ʃi hæz/
➢ Monosyllabic prepositions are usually unstressed.
/liːv ɪt ɒn maɪ desk pliːz/
➢ They are stressed in final position OR for the sake of emphasis or
special reference.
PREPOSITIONS
/wɒt ə jʊ lʊkɪŋ æt/
/ðə letə iz fɔː piːtə / nɒt frɒm piːtə/
➢ Longer prepositions are usually stressed.
/wi pleɪd ɪn spaɪt əv ðə reɪn/
➢ They are usually unstressed.
/ðeɪ dɪdnt gɪv mɪ wʌn/
➢ They are stressed in final position OR for the sake of emphasis or
special reference.
/hi: keɪm / bət ʃi: dɪdnt/
PRONOUNS
➢ Emphatic, personal and demonstrative pronouns are usually
stressed.
/aɪ maɪself spəʊk tə hɪm/
/gɪv mɪ hɜːz ənd teɪk maɪn/
/ðæts ɔːfəl/
➢ Monosyllabic connectors are usually unstressed.
/hiːl rɪtɜːn tədeɪ ɪf ɪt dʌznt snəʊ/
CONNECTORS
➢ Longer connectors are usually stressed.
/ɔːlðəʊ hɪ dɪdnt siː hɜː / hɪ stɪl lʌvd hɜː/

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