rules for stress

[Nannou]

One of the major difficulties I have when I speak English is applying the rules of stress in words.
I don't know which syllable should be stressed in the word I pronounce.

Can you help me by providing a thorough list of rules for the stressed syllables in English words, please?

Thanks in advance

[xpert]

This game will help you a lot. CLICK
I hope you enjoy it

[Baba Yaga]

Originally Posted by xpert

This game will help you a lot. click
I hope you enjoy it

link does not work (crying)

[xpert]

Originally Posted by Baba Yaga

link does not work (crying)

It works. I've just played the game

[yiuho]

Originally Posted by Nannou

One of the major difficulties I have when I speak English is applying the rules of stress in words.
I don't know which syllable should be stressed in the word I pronounce.

Can you help me by providing a thorough list of rules for the stressed syllables in English words, please?

Thanks in advance

I suggest you buy a pronunciation dictionary with CD which has both American English and British English Pronunciation cos sometimes the stress in the words are difference in American English and British English. I am using Longman Pronunciation Dictionary with CD and Cambridge Pronouncing Dictionary, I tried to find all popular words in these dictionaries and find out the stresses and their differences in American and British Pronunciation.

[LeMoyne]

The greatest difficulty about the rules for stress I think constitute words with a stress pattern that can change, depending on context. A very famous and often given example is (stressed part in bold):

Q: Where's Gordon, do you know?
A: Well, I guess he's upstairs.

1: Now I've looked in every room for the keys, I can't find them.
2: Why don't you look upstairs, maybe you've left them there?

(There may be better examples.)

Is there any website dedicated to this special rule in pronunciation/stress? Where I can get an overview, or something, as to which exact rules hold in cases like those given above...

[teachenglish1]

Hi guys. I am not a qualified teacher, but a teacher in training, just to let you know.
I have a book on teaching pronunciation and it outlines some guidelines for stresses on English words. Note that these are only guidelines and are not watertight rules. They may help.




Main vocabulary:
Many ‘everyday’ two-syllable nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable.
SISter, BROther, MOther, WAter, PAper, TAble, COFfee, LOvely etc.


Prefixes and suffixes:
These are not usually stressed in English.
QUIetly, oRIGinally, deFECtive etc.


Compound words:
Words formed from a combination of two words are usually stressed on the first word.
POSTman, NEWspaper, TEApot, CROSSword.


Dual words:
Words that are used as a noun and a verb normally have the noun rule as above (stressed on the first syllable) and usually stress the second syllable when used as a verb.
IMport (n), import (v); REbel (n), reBEL (v); INcrease (n), inCREASE (v).





As I said earlier these are only guidelines and there are probably many exceptions but I hope this may help a little.

[BobK]

No wonder nannou is confused. French is blissfully simple (in only one respect - word-stress).

Apart from the stress you'll find in a dictionary, and the contextual differences already mentioned (upstairs/upstairs), stress can affect syntactical relations:
Tom hit Dick and then Harry hit him. => Dick is the object of two hits
Tom hit Dick and then Harry hit him. => Dick is the object of the first hit, but Tom is the object of the second.

Purists will say 'Aha, but you're confusing stress with intonation". Hmm. A microphone couldn't tell the difference.

b

[Nannou]

Originally Posted by BobK

No wonder nannou is confused. French is blissfully simple (in only one respect - word-stress).

Apart from the stress you'll find in a dictionary, and the contextual differences already mentioned (upstairs/upstairs), stress can affect syntactical relations:
Tom hit Dick and then Harry hit him. => Dick is the object of two hits
Tom hit Dick and then Harry hit him. => Dick is the object of the first hit, but Tom is the object of the second.

Purists will say 'Aha, but you're confusing stress with intonation". Hmm. A microphone couldn't tell the difference.

b

Thanks BobK for your valuable remark. Yet, I think that I'm not confusing stress with intonation. I'm only asking for some rules for the stess in words and not in sentences.
I once read in a book that the stress in the words ending with "tion" is on the last but one syllable (e.g.: exploration).
That's why, I thought that there should be a resource/link where I can find a list of rules like the one I mentioned.

I'm thankful and grateful to all of you for all the help you offer.

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Nannou

Thanks BobK for your valuable remark. Yet, I think that I'm not confusing stress with intonation. I'm only asking for some rules for the stess in words and not in sentences.
I once read in a book that the stress in the words ending with "tion" is on the last but one syllable (e.g.: exploration).
That's why, I thought that there should be a resource/link where I can find a list of rules like the one I mentioned.

I'm thankful and grateful to all of you for all the help you offer.

That rule is OK, but you didn't apply it right: it's 'exploration'.

I'm afraid I don't know of such a link, but I'll be on the look-out.

b