Lesson 1: Word Stress and Syllable Patterns

🟦 Introduction

Imagine trying to understand someone who says all parts of a word with equal force—like a robot. It would sound odd and be hard to follow, right? That’s why word stress is so important in spoken English. Stress gives rhythm and melody to speech and helps listeners understand which parts of a word are important.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to:

• Break words into syllables

• Identify which syllable is stressed

• Apply common stress rules

• Recognize how word stress affects meaning in everyday conversation and exams like WASSCE

🟩 Key Concepts and Explanations

1. What is a Syllable?

A syllable is a unit of sound made up of one vowel sound, often combined with consonants. It’s the “beat” of a word. You can clap it out when speaking.

Examples:

• Dog = 1 syllable

• Mon-key = 2 syllables

• Com-pu-ter = 3 syllables

• Uni-ver-si-ty = 5 syllables

Try this: Place your hand under your chin. Say “elephant.” Notice how many times your chin drops—that’s the number of syllables!

2. What is Word Stress?

Word stress means one syllable in a word is said more strongly than the others. This syllable is:

• Louder

• Longer

• Slightly higher in pitch

Compare:

• ‘TAble (first syllable stressed)

• ta‘BLE (unnatural or incorrect)

3. Why Stress Matters

Changing the stressed syllable in a word can:

• Change its meaning

  e.g. REcord (noun) vs reCORD (verb)

• Affect understanding in listening tests

• Make your English sound more natural

4. Stress Rules and Patterns

Let’s look at helpful guidelines for guessing where the stress should go:

5. Stress Changes in Word Families

Some words change their stress depending on whether they are used as nouns or verbs:

This is a common feature tested in WASSCE listening and pronunciation tasks.

6. Stress and Pronunciation in Longer Words

In longer words (3+ syllables), stress patterns follow suffix rules or root syllables:

Examples:

• DEsert vs deSERTion

• PHOtograph → phoTOGrapher → photoGRAphic

Notice how the stress shifts with added suffixes.

🧭 Sample Walkthrough

Example: “Education”

Step-by-step breakdown:

1. Count syllables: Ed-u-ca-tion = 4

2. Listen or say it aloud: Stress is on the third syllable – ca

3. Breakdown: ed-u-CA-tion

Let’s try another word: Understand

• 3 syllables: un-der-stand

• Stress: on the third syllable – STAND

Use this pattern to guess and confirm stress in unfamiliar words.

🟨 Practice Exercises

Exercise A: Count the Syllables

How many syllables do these words have? Try clapping them out.

1. Biology

2. Banana

3. Electricity

4. Hand

5. Examination

✅ Answers:

1. 4 (bi-o-lo-gy)

2. 3 (ba-na-na)

3. 5 (e-lec-tri-ci-ty)

4. 1 (hand)

5. 5 (ex-am-in-a-tion)

Exercise B: Identify the Stressed Syllable

Choose the stressed syllable in each word:

Exercise C: Sentence Listening Clues (Optional)

In a WASSCE audio clip, you might hear:

• “He works as an engiNEER.”
  What job does he do? (Hint: stress tells you it’s not engine but engineer)

🔁 Recap

Here’s what you’ve learned:

• A syllable is a beat in a word.

• Word stress makes one syllable stronger.

• Stress changes meaning and makes speech clearer.

• Rules help you guess where to place stress.

• Stress is key to listening tests and natural English speaking.