STRESS IN SOME "-ATE" ENDING VERBS

Some "-ate" ending verbs have different stress patterns in BE and AmE. Most di-syllabic "-ate"
ending verbs are stressed on the first syllable in AmE but on the second in BE RP as shown in
the examples below.

AmE: (Stress on 1st syllable) BE: (Stress on 2nd syllable)

DOnate doNATE

LOcate loCATE

DICtate dicTATE

PULsate pulSATE

PLAcate plaCATE

Patterns of stress placement in -ate ending polysyllabic words in British and American English
are two. In one pattern, stress falls on the same syllable in the two varieties, but on different
syllables in another pattern. Examples of words with similar stress pattern may include
eVACuate, DUplicate, FUmigate, QUIVocate, GRADuate IMitate, CHECKmate, BATE,
PROXimate, FULminate, acCENtuate, RUminate, eRAdicate, etc.

Some -age ending disyllabic words similarly fall in the category of stressing words the same way
between the two varieties. For example, SALvage, MANage, COTTage, BANdage, PASSage,
MARRiage, RUMMage, CLEAvage.

STRESS IN COMPOUND WORDS

In English, as in many other languages, two or more simple words, each of which is normally
stressed on its own, are usually combined to form one single word. A word that is formed by
combining two simple words (or more) in that manner is known as a compound word.
Depending on the number of syllables in each of the words that have now combined to form a
compound, a compound word may be bi-syllabic or multisyllabic. Also, a compound may be
CLOSED, i.e. where the words in the compound are written together as one as in coalman,
someone, overdue, bookworm, upset, etc; it may be OPEN, where the component words are
written separately as in night club, fruit juice, phone call, bus stop, etc; or HYPHENATED,
where the elements in the compound are joined together with a hyphen as in brother-in-law,
forty-five, old-fashioned, etc.

Let us now look at stress in the different types of compound Words, starting with the closed
compound.
A. Stress in Closed Compound Words

Two separate words are often written together as a single word in closed compounds. For
example, each of the two one-syllable words coal and man is normally stressed in an utterance.
The two words can however be combined to form coalman. Now that the two words have
become a single word, each of them can no more be stressed as before. The new word is a bi-
syllabic word and, as we saw in our discussion of bi-syllabic words above, only one of its two
syllables can be said with primary stress. When this happens, the stress on the other syllable is
usually reduced to a secondary stress or to a tertiary stress. In that case, that syllable is not as
strong as it was when it was a full word or on its own. In coalman, therefore, the first syllable is
stressed while the second is not. As a result, that word is pronounced as COAL-man.

Some learners of English stress the final word of the English compound words instead of the
initial as in boy-FRIEND, frying-PAN. However, many bi-syllabic compound words are stressed
on the initial or first syllable while many others are stressed on the second or final syllable.

The following are some examples of the two types:

Initial Final

COALman backYARD

DUSTbin byPASS

TEAcup upSET

BOYfriend backDATE

RAINcoat subDEAN

Nobody has done a count of the words in the two classes, but those that are stressed on the initial
syllable appear to be in the majority. Many compound words also contain three syllables while a
few contain more. The words 'butterfly' and 'countrywide', for example, contain three syllables
and should be pronounced as BUTTerfly and countryWIDE with stress on the initial and the
final syllables respectively. Below is a list of more compound words and their British English
stress patterns:

DUSTbin COALmine BOYfriend

RAINcoat CARferry backROOM

BACKbite TEAcup PANcake

BACKground SUITcase backPEdal

GAminghouse GIRLfriend backDATE

B. Stress in Open Compound Words

There are two words written separately in open compounds. Each word has a stress pattern of its
own, but when two words come together as a compound, they are stressed differently. This is
because one of the words must be pronounced with the prominence characteristic of primary
stress while prominence on the second word is reduced to that of a secondary or tertiary stress.
The first syllable of the first word of the compound is usually stressed in an open compound.
Examples include:

JERRy can PRINTing house BLOTTing paper

WEDDing ring BOARDing school POSToffice

CHEWing stick PRINTing table

CHEWing gum WATer bottle

C. Stress in Hyphenated Compound Words

Hyphenated compounds are two (or more) words joined together with a hyphen to function as
one word; e.g. old-fashioned, bad-tempered, forty-five, brother-in-law. When a hyphenated
compound functions as a compound adjective, the second part of the compound is usually
stressed as in bad-TEMpered and old-FASHioned. Whenever there is a short word in the middle,
such as brother-in-law or all-in-all, the stressable syllable of the first element of the compound is
often stressed as in BROther-in-law, ALL-in-all, FREE-for-all. In hyphenated numerals, the first
element is often stressed, e.g. FORty-five, TWENty-three, SIXty-seven.

Positions of Primary Stress in Words

Two-Syllable Words
comMIT, iDEA, conJURE, dePART, rePENT, inJECT, obSERVE, diRECT, PAper, REAson,
PEOple, SOcial, PEtrol, TEAcher, CONduct(n), DUty, CHAlenge, COver, INjure,
BAttered,beLIEVE, unDO, dePEND, acUTE, VILlage, INfluence, COMment, FORmat,
GEnuine, Adult, BOTtom,CARrier, VOmit PURchase, WOman, ARtist, HUmor, PREView,
COLleague, BROADcast,GENtle, REStaurant, cOMmerce, BEret, SCHEdule, SUMmon,
coSTUME, IN-law, aSTUTE, roBUST, exTREME, extent, reMOVE, exPRESS, guiTAR,
poLICE, unTOLD, aWARE, misTAKE, advice, sucCESS, apPROACH, caREER, arTISTE,
resPECT, doMAIN, reMAIN, acCRUE, iRATE, adHERE, coHERE, apPLAUSE, apPLAUD,
inSTEAD, reQUEST, inSIDE, OutsIDE, ConTROL

Three-Syllable Words
MInister, MIracle, SOcialist, INdustry, Educate, EXercise, OCcupyY, TElephone, INnocent,
PUNishment, RElative, PREferable, PEdistal, INterested, BEnefit, CorRECtion, apPArent,
misTAken, caDAver, opPOnent,conTRIbute, eMOtion, acCOUNtant, emBARrass, alMIGHty,
comPOnent, jalopy, lumBAgo, veNEreal, exPAtriate, reLAtion, underSTAND, afterNOON,
saboteur, panaCEA, overCOME, OverSEE, guaranTEE, franchiSEE, disaGREE, reporTAGE,
decomPOSE, masqueRADE,

Four-Syllable Words
FORtunately, Agriculture, DANgerously, CIRCumstances, Socialism, inforMAtion,
underSTANding, overZEAlous, eduCAtion, underexPOSED, misunderSTAND, huMIliate,
imPOSsible, inDEfinite, techNOlogy, anTIcipate, ePItome, aVAIlable, entrepreNEUR,
underemPLOYED, CHAracterise, Amiable, Amicable, TRIbalism, indigNAtion, indiREctly,
contriBUtion, superinTEND, superimPOSE

Five-Syllable Words
inDEfinitely, imPErialism, OCCAsionally, maNIpulable, imPRACticable, meTAbolism,
inEvitable, humiliAtion, CApitalism, ENterprisingly, CANnibalism, NAtionalism, indisPUtable,
opeRAtional, incaPAcitate, privatiSAtion, discrimiNAtion, characteRIStic, opporTUnity,
agriCULtural, interNAtional, converSAtional, REgionalism, organiSAtion, encycloPAEdia,
communiCAtion, maTErialism, inexCUsable, dramatiSAtion

Six-Syllable Words
indiVIdualism, indisTINguishable, irritaBIlity, characteRIStically, familiArity, availaBIlity,
responsiBility, electrifiCAtion, solidifiCAtion, experimenTAtion, individuaLIStic,
insubordiNAtion

CONTRASTING NOUN-VERB STRESS

The position of stress in a word when it is a noun or an adjective can change when the same
word functions as a verb. This transfer of stress from one syllable to another helps the listener to
grasp the exact information intended in the speech. Put stress on the first syllable when saying a
noun. Put stress on the second syllable when saying a verb. However, this rule does not apply to
all words that can be used as either a noun or verb. Below are examples of the word-class pairs.
The stressed syllables are written in bold letters.

NOUN VERB
combine combine
The farmer has a combine for his fields. She will combine all of the ingredients.
permit permit
I bought a park permit for ten dollars. Will you permit me to enter the enclosure?
object object
The object is precious to us. Do you object to his decision?
content content
What are the contents of the locker? I am content to stay at home tonight.
rebel rebel
The rebel had an important cause. I will rebel against the oppressive regime.
progress progress
What kind of progress can I expect? The assistance helped Dan to progress quickly.
contest contest
Sara entered the poster contest. I think he should contest his father’s will.
present present
She will love that present. He will present his business plan to us.
address address
What is your current address? Please address me as Mr. Roberts.
desert desert
The Sahara desert is vast. Jerry plans to desert the army.
insult insult
What he said is an insult to me. Do not insult my intelligence.
contrast contrast
The colour contrast is beautiful. Should I contrast red and green in this picture?
entrance entrance
The entrance to the theatre was blocked. We were entranced by the performance.
discount discount
Will you give me a 25% discount? I promise not to discount your ideas.
conduct conduct
His conduct was admirable in that situation. Please conduct yourself with integrity.
record record
Do you have a record of your birth? I did not record our conversation.
survey survey
Karen will send the completed survey back. The premier came out to survey the damage.
converse converse
Her ideas are converse to what I thought. I will converse with you in private.
produce produce
I buy all of my produce at Superstore. How much oil does that well produce?
defect defect
There is a serious defect in his heart. His family was forced to defect for their safety.
subject subject
What was your favourite subject in school? Please do not subject me to that situation again.
project project
I have been assigned to the Hibernia Project. What do you project for our future earnings?
convert convert
She is a convert to healthy eating. Will you convert to Catholicism?
protest protest
The protest remained peaceful. I protest the thought of you joining my
practice.
reject reject
The reject pile was growing larger. I am forced to reject those controversial ideas.
refuse refuse
The refuse dump is outside of town. She will not refuse my kind request.
suspect suspect
The primary suspect was a known criminal. Do you think Carl will suspect anything?
conflict conflict
The conflict was resolved easily. I think that meeting conflicts with my
schedule.
envelope envelope
I addressed the envelope to Mrs. Knight. A warm feeling enveloped my body.