The easiest two ways to determine which syllable of a word to stress is to:
The word people has two syllables. The stress is on the first syllable. The syllables of the word are peo'- ple.
When speaking English words it is important to stress/emphasise the correct syllable. Those syllables should be spoken more strongly.In words containing three or more syllables, often only one of the syllables should be stressed, as in par-ent-hood, pa-ren-the-ses But the syllables in some words have the main stress on one syllable, as indicated in bold, and a secondary, or slightly weaker stress, on another syllable, shown underlined. e.g. sub-mar-ine, in-tell-ect-ual, ex-pla-na-tion.
The first syllable
The word gazes has two syllables. The syllables are GAZ-es. The stress is on the first syllable.
The word preference has three syllables. The syllables are PREF-er-ence. The stress is on the first syllable.
The word people has two syllables. The stress is on the first syllable. The syllables of the word are peo'- ple.
Syllables provide a way to determine word pronunciation. They also let you know where to place the stress on different parts of the word.
It is important to stress the correct syllable in English words because:1) There is a customary way to pronounce words. If you stress syllables that are not normally stressed, or do not stress the syllables that are normally stressed, the hearer may not readily understand what you are saying.Compare hor-I-zon with HOR-izon, and EM-phasis, with em-PHA-sis!2) The stress changes the meaning of some words:Compare desert, desert and dessert!IF you do not stress the correct syllables you will probably still be understood by most native speakers. However, communication will be so much easier if words are spoken as they are normally spoken, i.e. with the stress on the correctsyllables.
In poetry, stress refers to the emphasis placed on a syllable within a word. This emphasis creates rhythm and helps determine the meter of a poem. Stressed syllables are usually marked with a stress mark ( ' ) above the syllable.
There are 3 syllables in determine. De-ter-mine.
When speaking English words it is important to stress/emphasise the correct syllable. Those syllables should be spoken more strongly.In words containing three or more syllables, often only one of the syllables should be stressed, as in par-ent-hood, pa-ren-the-ses But the syllables in some words have the main stress on one syllable, as indicated in bold, and a secondary, or slightly weaker stress, on another syllable, shown underlined. e.g. sub-mar-ine, in-tell-ect-ual, ex-pla-na-tion.
3 syllables in the word determine de - ter - mine [min]
first try to pronounce the word. You will find that there are places or rather syllables where you stress the most. In this case the stress would be on the 'd' the 't' and the 'ti' pronounced as 'sh'. The syllables would be de.ten.tion. You can refer to the dictionary for more information on stress and syllables. De-ten-tion
The first syllable
u-NIQUE
The word gazes has two syllables. The syllables are GAZ-es. The stress is on the first syllable.
There are two syllables in the word whirling. The syllables are WHIR-ling. The stress is on the first syllable.