stress placement

[maithu]

Dear all my teachers and friends,

Please help me clear this statement: " There is no rule of stress placement in English language".

In my knowledge, I said 'fault' and had an example as follow:
with the word 'present'. if stress is on first syllable, it's a noun. If stress is on second syllable, it's a verb.

Thank you for your help.

[buggles]

Hi Maithu,
There are some rules about stress placement, but like a lot of English there are many exceptions.
Generally, the stress comes on the first syllable of a two-syllable word like "doctor" or "dentist".
For words with many syllables, the stress is usually on the third-from-last syllable like syllable or "hospital or certificate.
You're right about "present". It is correct to present a present!
You won't go wrong very often if you follow the two rules I've suggested, but as I said before, be prepared to come across many exceptions.
Hope this helps.
Buggles