A stressed sound is louder, longer and higher than other words. For example, in the word “yesterday,” the “yes” is louder, longer and higher than “terday.”

yes terday

Remember that syllables are the sounds in a word. For example, the word “computer” has 3 sounds (3 syllables).

In the word “computer,” the three syllables are:

com     pu      ter

The second syllable is stressed:

com     pu      ter

It is difficult to know where to put the stress on a word, and stress can change depending on the speaker’s mood or focus. Finding stress is a skill best developed by listening to many English words.

Below are some English words with the stressed syllables marked.

table → ta ble bookshelf → book shelf
refrigerator → re frig er a tor complain → com plain
question → ques tion answer → an swer
library → li bra ry apartment → a part ment
decide → de cide information → infor ma tion

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Exercise

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