Word stress

Hello my wonderful students! Today, we're going to talk about something super important for speaking good English: Word stress. No, it’s not about feeling stressed while learning words, but how we say them!

Understanding Word Stress

Every word with more than one syllable in English has a part that we say louder, longer, and with a higher pitch. This is called word stress.

Word stress is the emphasis placed on a particular syllable within a word. It's like saying one part of the word with more energy than the others. Think of it as hitting a drum harder on one beat.

Why is this important? Well, getting word stress right helps people understand you clearly. If you stress the wrong part, it can confuse your listener, or even change the meaning of a word!

Rules for Word Stress (General Guidelines)

Nouns and Adjectives (2 syllables): Usually, the stress is on the first syllable.

Examples:

TEA-cher (not tea-CHER)

MAR-ket (not mar-KET)

HAP-py (not hap-PY)

Verbs (2 syllables): Usually, the stress is on the second syllable.

Examples:

pro-DUCE (not PRO-duce)

be-GIN (not BE-gin)

ex-PLAIN (not EX-plain)

Words that are both Nouns/Adjectives and Verbs

Sometimes, a word can be both a noun/adjective and a verb. The stress can help us know which one it is!

Example:

PRE-sent (noun/adjective): "Chidi gave Aisha a PRE-sent (gift)." "The food is PRE-sent (here)."

pre-SENT (verb): "Aisha will pre-SENT her project today."

CON-duct (noun): "The school has a strict code of CON-duct."

con-DUCT (verb): "Tunde will con-DUCT the orchestra."

So, next time you are speaking English, especially during your UTME or WASSCE oral exams, pay attention to which part of a word you are stressing. It makes a big difference!

Practice makes perfect! Try saying these words aloud, putting the stress on the correct syllable. Ask your friends or teacher to listen to you. You'll sound more natural and confident, like a true English master!