What is word stress?
Word stress is the emphasis placed on one syllable in a multi-syllable word. The stressed syllable is louder, longer, and slightly higher in pitch than the others. In English, stress placement is not predictable from spelling alone — you need to learn it word by word or by recognising patterns.
Why stress placement matters
Misplaced stress is one of the leading causes of misunderstanding in English, even when all the sounds are correct. 'DEsert' (dry land) versus 'desSERT' (sweet course) are understood differently not because the vowels differ, but because the stress does.
Stress shift with suffixes
Adding certain suffixes shifts the stress: -tion, -sion, -ity, -ic push the stress to the syllable immediately before them. PHOtograph → phoTOgraphy → photoGRAPHic. Learning these patterns saves time.
Noun versus verb stress pairs
Many two-syllable words in English use stress to distinguish nouns from verbs. Nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable; verbs on the second. RECord (n.) / reCORD (v.). PROtest (n.) / proTEST (v.). PERmit (n.) / perMIT (v.).
Ejemplos
- PHOtograph / phoTOgraphy / photoGRAPHic
Stress shifts with each suffix
- PREsent (n.) / preSENT (v.)
Noun vs verb stress pair
- OBject (n.) / obJECT (v.)
Same pattern
- INcrease (n.) / inCREASE (v.)
Same pattern
- naTION / naTIONal / naTIONality
The -ity suffix pulls stress back.
Ejercicios
Escribe la sílaba acentuada en MAYÚSCULAS para cada palabra.
information
comfortable
necessary
economy
opportunity